Glancing at the clock, Touma noted that it was getting late. Or early, depending on your point of view. Staring at the red numbers glowing "12:00", it occurred to him that he should probably put his book down and go to bed, but he didn't really feel like it. So he went back to the well-thumbed volume and continued to read, despite his disagreement with the clock.

In the quite of the apartment, Touma heard a faint rumble in the distance. Some thunderstorms were headed towards town. He didn't pay any attention to them. He'd heard things worse than thunderstorms over his incredibly short life. It was strange; Touma realized that he was no longer scared of thunderstorms like he had been as a child. But then, he reminded himself, Arago was a representation that there were better things to fear than a few sonic booms from the clouds.

He remembered when he was a child, before his parents split up, how if there was a thunderstorm he'd run into his parents' room and they'd hug him and comfort him and stroke his soft blue hair. His father would explain that thunder was the result of the energy of lightning as it raced, faster than sound, towards the ground, or wherever it was headed, bringing forth a sonic boom to scare little children. His mother would scold his father for talking about storms, while she would try to sooth him with other topics to discuss. As a child, he felt safe in their arms.

Touma shook his head, chuckling to himself in the empty, thunderously silent apartment. It was so hard to believe that he was a child, once upon a time. At fourteen, he ended up fighting Arago, which was followed by Shikaisen in New York, Mukara in Africa, and finally the grief stricken Suzunagi. Now he was in college, on break, with essentially no parents. His father lived in the laboratory, and his mother traveled the world in search of a scoop. It was nice to be back home, he had to admit. Tokyo was good, but Osaka had its own charm that could only be called home. It was kind of a shame that his parents' schedules didn't match up with his for break, but they would once summer came. While it wasn't easy, his parents had always made time for him and he appreciated it greatly. He may be a little lonely from time to time, but that was nothing compared to how full his life was on a whole.

Looking at the book on his lap, Touma realized he'd spent more time thinking than reading, as usual. The thunder was almost on top of him, and he was getting tired. Glancing at the clock again, it read "1:06". Touma gave up. He turned off the light and headed for his room. He had set up the futon earlier, so he just pulled of his clothes, threw them in the hamper, noting he'd have to do a wash the following day, and slid under the covers. While the storm raged overhead, Touma fell fast asleep.

Touma's sleep did not go undisturbed, for he dreamt. They were not the usual nightmares of Arago, which still plagued him every now and then, but just normal everyday dreams. His normal dreams were of his friends, in the peaceful times, without any worries, just having fun and enjoying their close bond. Times like Ryo's sixteenth birthday party resurfaced in Touma's sleepy mind. Visiting Seiji's dojo and showing off their skills to the students. Going to the beach with Shin. Visiting Shuu's family's restaurant. Those times were so happy. Any time with his friends was happy. Touma dreamed of his childhood, with both of his parents. Experimenting with his father, visiting his mother's work place. More recent times filtered up in his dreams, times with his new friends from college. Scenes like Toramaru making a scene in class leaving Touma and Kenji to try and bail him out. Thoughts of Megumi flying off the handle in her cute little way and making him smile.

The sunlight was streaming through the windows when Touma finally opened his eyes. He grunted, rolling under the sheets and tried to block out the light. He was having such good dreams; did he have to wake up now? Alas, he was awake, so he might as well have some sort of meal. Sighing, he got out of the futon.

Touma let out a loud yawn, startling the birds that were chirping outside his window. He ignored them. His habit of waking up late usually startled any birds in the area since his yawns were very loud. It was actually quite amusing. His roommate Kenji had stated on several occasions that Touma's yawn could interrupt his studying like nobody's business.

Touma got up, utilized the toilet, and then went down the hall to the furo. One of the advantages of his mother's journalism was that she pulled a decent salary. She was hardly rich, and often had to push things to make ends meet, but she was able to afford a decent apartment with its own well-sized furo, a washing machine and quite a lot of space. He had moved here shortly after passing his college entrance exam because her apartment was closer to the college. A "furo" is a bathing room, separate from the toilet where you can take your bath.

Even though he now lived with his mother, he lived in Tokyo for the school year. Touma had thought long and hard about going to Tokyo University, like Shin had, but decided on the college he was currently going at. It had more to offer Touma in what he wanted, so he ignored the prestige of Toudai. It had turned out for the best, since he'd met the closest friends he had outside of the Troopers, Kenji and Toramaru. Toudai is slang for Tokyo University.

Sliding into the hot water, Touma let out a relaxed sigh, letting the warm water soak into him. Kenji and Toramaru were quite a pair indeed. When Touma had first started college he had a nagging fear that he would be alone again like he was in high school. He was blessedly wrong when he found Kenji as a roommate. Even more so when Toramaru started to hang around with them. Kenji was studious, good-hearted, and open, a sort of mix of Touma and Ryo. Toramaru, by contrast, was loud, selfish and very guarded in a bizarre combination of Shuu and Seiji. Oh the stunts they got away with in college.

He shook in the water. Touma had been pleasantly surprised that Toramaru lived in Osaka as well and Kenji was in the prefecture. Admittedly, he had hoped one of his parents would be home enough for him to introduce them, but it was alright that they weren't. Touma had put to bed his constant loneliness after Arago's first war. He didn't have a reason to be lonely just because his parents weren't around as much as he would have liked or they would have preferred. He needed look no further than the Troopers to see that he was never alone. From that strength of friendship, Touma found the courage to go out and pursue other friends as well.

One of the benefits of the Troopers was that Touma had learned that friendship was not something that serendipity simply dropped onto your lap. It was something that took work and wasn't just about the happy moments. Touma had already had to help Kenji through the loss of his mother, and Toramaru with being in the hospital. Friendship took time patience and the ability to accept people as being far from perfect.

Touma noted the clock was still progressing with time, got out and toweled himself dry before replacing the cover over the bath and getting dressed. He ran a wet comb through his hair and put on his headband. Headbands had been going out of style recently, but he could really care less. With naturally blue hair, he'd stand out anyway. Who cared if he had a headband as well?

Walking into the kitchen, Touma got out a frying pan, a rice steamer, some eggs and fish. It didn't take long for him to cook his small breakfast and he ate quietly in the empty apartment. It was a small breakfast by anyone's standards, but it was already noon, so Touma knew he'd be having lunch soon. Shuu would probably have some sort of fit, seeing such a small meal. Knowing him, he'd probably march right into the kitchen and start cooking even more food for Touma to eat. Touma wouldn't have minded, but he had more of a sweet tooth than an appetite for all foods. Of course, Touma mused, if Shin were cooking, then he'd probably would eat everything offered. Shin's love of cooking gave him plenty of practice so he was actually quite good at it. Touma thought that he was lucky to have friends who loved to cook. His sweet tooth was always satisfied when they were around.

All this thinking wasn't going to get chores done. Downing the last of his tea, Touma cleaned the dishes thoroughly and put them away. Then he gathered up the clothes that had been gathering for the past week and put them in the washing machine and started it.

While the clothes got washed, Touma wandered into his room to try and work on some of his ongoing projects. The room itself was stuck somewhere between childhood and adulthood. He had an unstrung bow and quiver, along with a target out lying around. Touma would have to find someplace to put that someday. There were also many pictures of the sky, stars, and weather. An interesting side effect of his armor was being fascinated by his element. Touma just couldn't stop admiring the stars. It didn't matter if he was in the country on a crystal clear night or in the city looking through the clouds to the sun beyond.

Picking up his papers, Touma noted that there actually wasn't anything he could do at this point. Some of his papers weren't there. In his rush to pack to come home, he'd lost some of his research. That meant it was either at his room at Tokyo, or it was with his roommate Kenji. Touma dug around his papers a little more. He knew he had the number around somewhere.

"Aha!" Pulling out the number, Touma returned to the kitchen and pulled a chair over to the phone. Kenji may be the quiet studious type, but Touma knew that he had a pension for talking a lot once he found a friend.

The phone rung until a little girl picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi?" Don't know the literal translation, but it's how the Japanese answer the phone.

"Let me guess," Touma chuckled. "Satsuki-chan, right?"

"Hai," the little voice answered. "Dare desu ka?" Yes, . . . Who is this?

"Touma. Hashiba Touma," he replied. "May I speak with your brother Kenji?"

"Touma-san?"

"Yes. You can drop the -san."

Satsuki giggled. "You're the new friend Nii-chan doesn't stop talking about." Big Brother i.e. Kenji

Touma laughed with her. "Yes, that sounds like Kenji. He doesn't stop talking when someone can listen, does he?"

Satsuki's voice continued to laugh. "Hahaue used to talk as much as him. Those two could talk for hours." Mom. . .

Touma quieted. Satsuki seemed to be doing well since her mother's death. It had only been a year, but then little children always seemed to bounce back quickly. Kenji was still prone to bouts of just wanting to be alone, but he was better. Touma suspected having him and Toramaru close by helped him get through it while he was away from home.

"Touma?" Satsuki asked. "Nii-chan says that Hahaue is happy were she is now. Do you think so?" Kenji . . . Mom

He smiled despite himself. Evidently she was also missing her mother from time to time. "Yes, Satsuki-chan. I think she's happy and watching over you to make sure that you are happy."

The little girl offered a sound of agreement.

"Ne, can I speak with Kenji now?" Hey. . .

"Hai, Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii-chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan! Phoooooone!" Yes, Kenji!

Touma moved the receiver away from his ear. The little girl had quite a set of lungs on her.

"Satsukiiiiiiiiii!" came Kenji's voice from across the room. "You just blew the eardrum of whoever's on the phone!"

"Ah! Gomen nasai!" she cried over the phone. Sorry!

"Satsuki, give me the phone."

"But I haven't finished apologizing to Touma!"

"Touma? Great! Now give the phone so I can talk to him."

"But I have to apologize!"

"Satsuki, please give me the phone."

"No! Hahaue taught me to apologize when I made a boo-boo. I have to apologize!" Mom. . .

"You've already apologized, now please give me the phone!"

Touma couldn't help but laugh as he listened to Kenji try to wrestle the phone from his little sister.

"Touma?"

"Kenji? Could that possibly be you? Why, I haven't heard from you all day." Touma's smile grew wide.

"Well I'd say that you've heard me ever since you picked up the phone."

"Why Kenji! Whatever gave you that idea?"

"Ha, ha," Kenji grumbled. "So what's up?"

"Not much," Touma replied. "I was just looking through my papers and discovered I'm missing some of my research. Can you check through your--"

"Way ahead of you my friend," Kenji replied, his voice light. "I was going through my own papers yesterday for my project and discovered your chicken scratch that you call handwriting."

Touma winced, grateful that that his roommate couldn't see him over the phone. "At least I can READ my own handwriting," he retorted.

"Really?" Kenji responded, laughing into the phone. "I don't know how. Your kanji is almost indistinguishable from your hiragana." There was some rustling of pause on the other end of the phone, and then some rustling of papers. Touma could feel his face heat up. kanji is the original alphabet that was stolen from Chinese characters. Hirigana is a second alphabet that symbolizes phonetic sounds and is used for pronunciation of kanji, or if a kanji isn't available for a word.

"I mean come on," Kenji continued. "Is this a re or a n? Ma or su? E or go? Ki or sa? Which is it?" Kenji chuckled. "Even Satsuki can write better than this!" Touma's friend couldn't stop laughing and Touma could swear that his blush was reaching up into his hair. re, n, ma, su, e, go, ki, and sa are all letters in the hiragana (and also katakana) alphabet. We looked them up and the various pairs are similar in strokes, so feasibly they could be easily mistaken for the other.

"Touma? You there?" Kenji's voice started to show concern. "You know I'm just teasing, right?"

"Yes, Kenji," Touma growled. "And when I get my hands on you, you will know the full fury of what I can do." There was a silent pause. "You know, I think I can find just the kick-ass armor for the situation. You do know that I'm pretty good with a bow and arrow, don't you?"

Kenji's voice sounded exaggeratingly scared as he replied, "Oh no! Please not the arrows! You champion of every tournament you come across! Please!" They both laughed for a good while. "So," Touma's roommate continued through his laughing, "what kind of armor can kick my ass? I mean it's modern day Japan! Armor wouldn't stand a chance against what we've got today!"

Touma smiled to himself. If only Kenji knew. Putting on his most serious and logical voice, he responded, "A magic armor endowed with the winds and stars could probably do pretty well against machines."

Kenji's laughter increased.

"A second armor with the power of fire could aid the armor of wind in stopping machines from defeating them."

It sounded like Kenji was crying, he was laughing so hard. Touma didn't know how he kept his voice so even.

"If other armors are required, then perhaps the five eastern elements could combine and work together. To make sure they would flatten any adversary, perhaps four more armors could be added to the mix with the power of the four seasons."

That did it. Kenji dropped the phone and it sounded like he was down on the floor laughing. After several minutes, Touma's friend finally picked up the phone.

"Do my ears detect a disbeliever?" Touma asked, sending Kenji into another fit of laughter.

"Touma, my friend," Kenji wheezed between chuckles, "You have got to let me borrow your muse. You and your armor! You're impossible when you go deadpan historian on me!"

Touma smiled. Talking about his armor in the sense of a thing for comedy had helped him deal with the things he'd gone through. After Suzunagi, the five of them were left pretty scared on many levels. When Touma had gotten into college, there were many times in conversation that he would think of mentioning his armor since it was pertinent in some way shape of form. The Tenkuu was as much a part of him as anything else, so he wanted to mention it the same way he might mention some aspect of himself or a story of something that happened to him. Rather than try to explain the concept of magic since most people wouldn't believe him, Touma had adopted a sort of deadpan method of mentioning armors that sounded much like a boring professor, droning on and on about material that no one cared about. This normally struck his friends as funny so he kept it up.

It actually wasn't until a few months ago that Touma realized that talking about his armor in such a way and opened his mind to seeing the atrocities he and the others had gone through as something other than horrendous. Viewing things in a more humorous light had helped him deal with the hell he had gone through. He didn't look back on those memories with bitterness anymore. They were memories he cherished and enjoyed in a way that his friends outside of the Troopers couldn't really know or understand.

"So would you mind coming over with my papers? I'm further behind than I would like," Touma stated, smiling brightly.

"Yeah, but not today," Kenji replied. "I have to do a lot of stuff today. Gotta go to the bank, pick up Jiro from a friend's house, and our father is coming home early for a family dinner."

"That's fine," answered Touma. "I'll probably be out this afternoon anyway. Why not tomorrow? I can stay home and we can probably talk for a while?"

"Sound's good. Where's your place again? I think I left the directions back in Tokyo."

Smiling, Touma started to give directions, hoping that Kenji would be able to make it the following day. As studious as his roommate was, he also had a bad habit of being late. He hung up the phone and started to go back to his room.

Glancing at his watch, however, he noted that the clothes were probably ready by now. Turning, he went down the hall. Sure enough, the clothes were done, so he went to the balcony by the living room and rolled the clothes out onto the clothes line to let them dry in the warm afternoon sun. The thunderstorms the previous night had made for a wonderful day. Touma couldn't help but smile. With the sun shining brightly in the middle of a bright clear blue sky without a cloud in sight, he let his already high spirits lift.

The only thing missing was that he had to admit, deep down, he was sort of missing his parents. His father had been stuck in the lab lately due to his research, and his mother was away in England on some political function going on. Unfortunately, it seemed every time she was able to book a flight home, something came up and she had to stay. Touma understood that his mother was busy, and she sounded extremely frustrated at being unable to return, but they both knew it couldn't be helped. So Touma missed her.

Leaving the clothes to dry, he went back inside and cleaned up his room a little more. He had been doing research on astrology and the stars, his favorite subject. While the class was listed as a simple GER, he had jumped at it once he had the chance. The same way, Touma was sure, any of the other Troopers would jump at the chance to study their elements given the opportunity. It was simply second nature.

As he filed his papers more properly, even if they were stacked behind his quiver, Touma remembered when his father introduced him to science. He was about six at the time, and was getting into his father's way at the lab. So to keep him busy, his father had given him a piece of paper and told him to follow the instructions and write about he learned. It was a simple experiment, putting a hard-boiled egg over a soda bottle that had a burning candle in it, but to Touma, the very idea of watching the egg get sucked, unbroken into the bottle and trying to figure out why it had happened, had opened up a whole new world for him. From then on, non-fiction books were an adventure as he tried to figure out why certain things happened.

Once his papers were put into a decent order, Touma went out to the balcony, still lost in his own thoughts.

A gentle breeze left over from the thunderstorms the previous night ruffled his hair. Touma looked up to the clear blue sky and smiled. The heavens rarely looked as beautiful as they did after a storm, crystal clear and bluer than ever. He liked thunderstorms for that reason. The aftermath was always gorgeous. Not a single lonely cloud awaiting friends. Instead all the clouds had a party and then cleaned up and left, leaving the sky open and stunning.

Pulling himself away, Touma wandered into the tv room and absently turned on the television and started to flip through the channels, not really paying attention.

All his life, he had spent his time waiting for a good friend to come to him, rather than seeking one out himself. It wasn't until the Troopers that he learned how to go out and look for friends. Now he had several good friends that he could depend on, with and without magical yoroi. It was so different from when he was at school, People were nice to him, but nobody reached out to him in friendship. His parents were all he had, even after the divorce. The Troopers, however, showed him how people his own age could interact and have a fun. The reality of such a close bond was far more than just having a good time. The bond was about being there for each other in times of despair, loneliness, hope and joy.

Touma had had that once with his parents, long ago. But now, it was the Troopers who provided him with that closeness that the human spirit longed for. When he had gotten to college, Touma set out determined he'd make friends. And lo and behold, he'd met Toramaru and Kenji in one of his English classes. The following semester, he and Kenji became roommates.

A sudden sound exploded through the empty apartment. Touma's stomach had growled. "All right, all right," Touma muttered to himself. "I didn't have a big enough breakfast, fine." He left the balcony went into the kitchen, got out the rice steamer and fish again, but instead of eggs, he pulled out some pickled vegetables and started to make a good-sized meal.

While he was pulling out what he needed to cook, the phone rang, startling Touma in the silence of the apartment. He was startled so much, he dropped his box of rice, which spilled all over the floor. Mumbling several curses, Touma picked up the phone.

"What?" he growled.

"You okay?" came a low voice that belonged to Toramaru.

"You're timing is impeccable, as always," Touma bit out. "Your call made me drop my rice all over the floor."

"Itai." Ouch.

"Ah. So what's up?" Touma pulled out a broom and dustpan, cradling the receiver on his shoulder as he scooped up as much as possible and dumped the now dirty rice into the trash.

"Well, I've got another appointment with my doctor this week."

Touma straightened. "Oh." Toramaru had been in the hospital last year after getting hammered by an opposing soccer team. His leg had been thrashed so badly, he still wore a knee brace regularly. Any chance of Toramaru continuing on the soccer team was destroyed and upset him greatly. He had been praying for a chance to play again and it seemed like he was getting almost desperate.

"Toramaru, you don't have to play soccer. Soccer isn't the only thing you can do."

"I know that," his friend replied, unusually subdued. "It's just that soccer was where I excelled more than anything. And now I can't do it any more."

"So throw your knowledge of soccer into something else. You're into journalism, so become a sports commentator."

"I was already planning on that," Toramaru stated. " 'And there goes the Japanese soccer team, champions of the world cup!' " Toramaru's more loud personality started to come through again as he lapsed into his commentator voice, which was highly exaggerated.

Touma chuckled while he cooked. "So how's your father and brother doing?"

"Chichiue's working long hours again, and Aniki finally got a job and is out of my hair." Toramaru's sarcasm was crystal clear. "In reality, Chichiue had to go to Beijing on business so Aniki and myself have the run of the household. Aniki got a job at Mitsubishi. He's turning his love of cars into a real job. Of course, in order to be closer to his job, he's had to move to Yokohama, but that's not too bad. I'm in Tokyo for most of the year anyway, so it's just a short train ride if I want to visit."

Touma smiled. "I'll have to join you some time. I have a friend who lives in Yokohama. He has a very nice restaurant."

"Oh yeah," Toramaru replied. "I remember you telling me about him. Chinese kid, right? Something like Chuu or Fuu, or something like that--"

"Shuu," Touma corrected.

"Yeah, and he loves food even more than you, right? He must put a real strain on the restaurant!"

Touma chuckled despite himself as he dished out his lunch. He knew that Toramaru's humor tended to boarder on rude, and if anyone else had said that, he would have come to Shuu's defense. However this was how Toramaru was, playing the complete idiot who didn't know when funny was actually rude.

"Better not let him hear you say that," Touma retorted, half in defense of Shuu, half in good humor. "He's liable to do something."

"Like what? Sit on me?"

The mental picture in Touma's head was enough to send him laughing, almost spitting out his lunch.

"Actually," he replied, getting a hold of his laughter, "he's pretty good with a bo staff and nunchuku."

"So he'll bonk me on the head and then sit on me."

Touma stopped laughing. He could handle his boisterous friend's humor on most points, but he couldn't stand it when he got around to making fun of someone's fighting ability. Shuu was an accomplished fighter and had saved Touma's own skin more times than he could probably remember. The same with the rest of the Troopers. "Toramaru, you're pushing it." His habit of making fun of Touma's other friends tended to push the boundary of his patience. Some teasing he understood. He'd teased the Troopers himself on many occasions, but when it came to areas where they had great pride, Touma drew a line.

"Ah, gomen," Toramaru stated, not really sounding sorry. "I forgot you have an overprotective streak when it comes to them." sorry

Touma didn't reply. He was protective for a reason, but Toramaru didn't understand that since he didn't know about the battles they had fought. So Touma merely steered his friend away from insulting topics when they started to arise. And despite how he sounded, Toramaru was usually sincere in what he said. He was sorry, he just didn't sound it.

"You still eating?" Toramaru asked, "You're awfully quiet."

Touma sipped his tea. "Yes, I'm eating. It's not like I get a word in edgewise."

"Hai, hai." Yeah, yeah.

Glancing at the clock, Touma's eyes almost bulged out of his head. "That's the time!" He gulped down the rest of his food. "Sorry, Toramaru, but I have to go. I'm running late!"

"Eh? For what? Oh! Do you have a date with Megumi?"

"That's later," Touma replied, "I got to log in my hours today."

"Alright. Have fun. I swear; I'll never understand your obsession with flying."

Touma didn't respond, but muttered a goodbye before hanging up the phone and grabbing his wallet, keys, jacket and bike before heading to the door.

Once out on the crowded street, he got a running start with his bike down the hill. Cruising down the hill, Touma listened as bits of the Kansai ben filtered into his ears. It was funny. He had never picked up on the dialect. Between the fact that his parents weren't from Osaka originally, and that he was always reading standard Japanese, he'd never spoken Kansai ben. The kids at school sometimes made fun of him because he didn't speak like the rest of them.

Touma got off his bike and carried it down the steps to the subway. He couldn't believe how late he got started. It was so unlike him, he was always punctual for everything. But when talking to any of his friends, time always seemed to slip away from him. Getting his ticket, he got onto the subway, held onto his bike, and let the rocking of the car relax the muscles he didn't even realize where tense.

Kenji was making the train ride into Osaka tomorrow, so he'd probably have to go out and get some food the following morning. He had been getting low on real food, actually haven eaten up the last of it that morning. After the fiasco with the rice he was definitely going to have to get more. Touma would probably also have to visit Toramaru this week since he was obviously feeling anxious. Probably the day after. If he mentioned it to Kenji, maybe he could visit as well and the three of them could get into trouble as well. They were very good at it. Any classes they had together usually made the professor grow a few extra gray hairs. Mainly because Toramaru would cause some sort of scene or make a fuss, leaving Kenji and Touma to try and get his butt out of the fire.

One time stuck out in Touma's memory from their English class when they all met. Toramaru came parading into the class, almost halfway through and looking overly bedraggled. So he came up and plopped between Kenji and Touma, saying in a very loud voice that they shouldn't have left him behind. Kenji and Touma had no idea what he was taking about of course, but it succeeded in getting all three of them in trouble. In the end, Touma made up a story on the fly to get them out of trouble. In return, Toramaru treated them at the local bar. While it didn't seem fun at the time, Toramaru's retelling of it usually was. That was over two years ago. Touma still had stories he could tell of the war that was seven years ago. Time could really fly.

A voice over the intercom interrupted Touma's thoughts. This was his stop. Rolling his bike out of the car and up the stairs, he got on and continued to head out of town, ignoring all the people around him whom seemed to have someone with them.

It was so hard to believe that it had been over seven years since he got his armor. Six years since he and the others had fought Arago. It seemed like yesterday when he was lounging around Nasutei's house, or up at Ryo's cabin, strategizing on battle instead of doing what normal teenagers did. Now he was twenty and in college, doing very well for himself. When he reflected on it, the friendships with Kenji and Toramaru almost seemed superficial if compared to what he shared with the other Troopers. But his college friends were close in their own right.

Touma paused at a corner, got his bearings, and turned left. He had left the city long ago, and now was almost where he wanted to be out in the airfields. Pausing at the gate, Touma went down to the smaller building in the center of the field, avoiding planes and mechanics that waved greetings to him. He was a fairly familiar face around here after all. He'd been training for his pilot's license for almost a year now. He wasn't quite there yet, but that was never the point. The point was that he could fly again. Ever since Suzunagi had taken away their armors, he'd been feeling very earth-bound. He wanted to fly again, and the only way he could was in a plane.

Once at the building, Touma found the man in charge.

"Kononachi wa, Touma," waved Yoiichi, his Osaka dialect thick. "What brings you out here today?"

Touma smiled. Since he'd been in college, he'd been logging in flight time when he could, so the little airfield was used to irregularities in his showing up, though he always called ahead. "A need to leave this planet for a while," he answered. "Been feeling a little too grounded."

"Know what you mean," the old pilot replied. "You ready to give me a nap up there again?"

Touma couldn't help laughing. Everyone on the airfield knew that Yoiichi was the hardest pilot to pass under, but that somehow Touma had once lulled him to sleep in the air. Touma never let them know that it was because he used to fly in armor and was used to following the wind currents. He just let them think it was his own magical touch, which, in a way, it was.

"Only if I don't jerk the plane into another loop-de-loop," he answered. Touma was also known on the field for doing tricks no new pilot would dare to try, or any old pilot.

Locking up his bike, Touma filled up the necessary paper work that this was just more flight time to get his license. With that out of the way, Touma and Yoiichi got into the plane and started it up.

"How do you work everything so well?" Yoiichi asked again. It was almost a part of their routine.

"Natural need to fly," he always replied. It was. His armor may be no more, but flying was such an intricate part of him, the same way watching the weather, the stars, or anything else connected to the heavens filled up a part of him that no one could touch.

That was one of the things Yoiichi seemed to understand. Most pilots dreaded giving Touma his flying hours because he'd always do something dangerous. Yoiichi, on the other hand, had been an old World War II pilot. He understood Touma's need to fly and show that he was one with the winds. So when the old man said Touma would start learning under him, nobody was really surprised. If anything, the people on the airfield wondered why it took so long for Yoiichi to take him under his wing, so to speak.

Touma continued the take off procedures, going through each check with well-practiced ease. "You ready jii-san?" he smiled. old man

"You bet, kid," the bald man replied. Touma nodded, took off the final safety lock and accelerated the propeller to the proper rpms.

As the propeller gained speed, Touma took off the break and started down the take-off strip. The horizon sped towards them until finally he pulled back the controls and ascended into the sky. Within seconds, they were soaring through the air as if Touma had grown a pair of wings and carried Yoiichi as they traversed the skies. "I'll never get tired of that," the old man murmured.

"Neither will I."

The next few moments were passed in silence. No words could ever pass between the two of them as the heavens opened before them. The bright blue spring sky shined all around them with the same radiance of the sun, which illuminated the earth below them. Touma gently banked the plane, so that he and Yoiichi could look down to the green earth below. Below them the large planes of the airfield seemed nothing more than the miniatures that Touma used to build as a child, placed on a green blanket hugging around the mountains that rose up and pointed their peeks toward the golden disk of the sun. It was stunning.

Finishing the banking maneuver, Touma let out a very long sigh. Yoiichi echoed him.

"Fine job, kid. Fine job."

"Thanks."

"So what's bugging you?"

"Eh?"

The old man turned to him. "When you came in today, you looked like you were fighting off some sorta darkness. What's eating you?"

Touma paused in consideration. He'd been having a pretty good day. Nothing was really overly wrong. Well, except for one thing. "My mother hasn't been able to come home yet. She has to keep canceling her flight."

"A little lonely again?"

"Yes."

"If that big apartment is so lonely without your ma there, then just get your own place, with a roommate or something."

"When I'm in Tokyo, I have my own place with a friend of mine. I've told you that before."

"I don't mean when you're in college, I mean here at home."

Touma paused, watching the ground beneath them melt from high mountains into a vast cityscape jungle, with stone and metal canyons, and little insects that looked like humans buzz about their daily lives.

"I'm okay for the most part. I've just been missing her lately. My father I can see any time, even if he is busy. My mother, though, is gone for now."

"Hn."

They were silent again for a long time. Touma didn't explain himself further; instead he slowly started to turn the plane, leaving the city-canyon filled with people. It wasn't until a bamboo forest was below them that old Yoiichi spoke.

"I understand."

"You do?"

"Yup. I lost a lot of friends back in the war. Some by kamikaze, some by the Amerikaijin. It doesn't matter how I lost them. I just lost them. I remember once in a while. Whenever I go out by Hiroshima, or Nagasaki. Whenever I see an old movie about the war. It just hurts. I feel alone. But you know what kid?"

"What?"

"As much as you miss your mother, you still have her. No, you may not see her for a while at a time, but you've still got her. When she gets home, you'll catch up on everything you need and you won't miss her as much."

"Arigatoo, jii-san." Thanks, old man.

Yoiichi had a point. All day he had been pretty happy, but nagging at the back of his mind was the fact that he missed his mother. In a smaller way, he also missed the Troopers. His mother didn't have the yen for long-distance phone calls, and he didn't have the yen for a train-ride all over Japan with all of it going into college. What was worse was that, even though he kept in contact with everyone through the mail, he could never put down into words what he really felt. Somehow, just saying, "I miss you, guys," didn't quite portray how he really felt.

That was the problem with writing things down. Even though Japanese had so many different ways of saying one thing, Touma could never find the way that truly expressed how he felt. Only writers, people who were good with words, could portray what they wanted, and so easily. Shin was pretty good at it. He could really make you feel something in the letters he wrote. Ryo had a knack for it as well. But Touma, he could easily take hours going over and over what he was writing. Words didn't express what the face or the eyes, or even the human voice could.

Perhaps that was part of the reason why he missed his mother at that moment. Touma had always been a visual person, and looking at words didn't always convey the meaning he wanted. He found letters too impersonal, and phones didn't show the face. As a child, Touma had often watched his parents' faces as they talked. His father's angular chin could stretch into an incredibly goofy smile as he gave of the most ridiculous explanations of something, which of course, he had believed as a child. Though his father's voice was on the rough side, he had this way of just smoothing everything over with a tug at his ever-present beard, or a mischievous wink. His mother, by contrast, had a very silky, delicate voice, and she would often pull off her glasses and chew on the end of them. Touma liked it when she did that. He could see her eyes better that way.

"Ground control to Touma!"

"Eh?"

"Where'd you go just now?"

"Gomen, jii-san," Touma apologized. "I was just thinking about what you said. Was there something you needed?" Sorry, old man.

"No. Your eyes were starting to droop. That usually means you're more in your head than the skies."

"Gomen." Sorry.

"Don't apologize. You've got a lot on your mind, Touma-kun."

"Hey! Don't call me -kun!"

"So ya, so ya. Only your mother calls you that, ne?" Right, right. …correct?

Touma blushed. "Ano…jii-san…" Hey…old man…

"You don't blush often. You need a girl in your life."

"JII-SAN!" His blush deepened. OLD MAN!

Conversation basically lightened from there. Considering the rather embarrassing turn of events, as Touma approached the airfield again, he pulled of several stunts. Partially to pay old Yoiichi back, partially to cover his humiliation, and mostly to show off to the pilots still on the ground.

Finally making his approach to the landing strip, Touma and Yoiichi laughed as the people who had been staring at them ran out of the way, giving them a wide berth.

"I do believe they're nervous around us," the bald old man commented.

"Now why would that be I wonder?"

Both chuckled as Touma finally cut the engines. They got out and walked into the hanger.

"A good fly today."

"Hai." Yes.

"Next time you drop by," the old pilot started, seating himself in his chair, "why not bring some of your friends? Or maybe your family?"

"I'll think about it."

Touma left the airfield on his bike in a good mood, one that was probably even better than he was in when he got there. Whenever he went flying that happened. It probably had to do with actually leaving the ground a while, if only for a few hours. His armor had been Tenkuu. A part of him would probably always be in the air. And that was ultimately why he continued to strive for his pilot's license. Shin understood how he felt. His brown haired friend had a love affair with the ocean that would never die, the same way his love of they sky continued to make his heart beat all that much faster. The others didn't have the same access to their elements as he and his ever-swimming comrade did. Though the other Troopers appreciated their elements just as much, such a connection could not be made as frequently as both Touma and Shin could do. Especially Ryo. Seiji had the sun's light, and Shuu was always on firm ground. But Ryo couldn't join with fire the way wind and water could connect to their masters.

Touma shook his head and entered the subway station. His fiery teammate may not be able to connect with fire like he could with wind, but he had Byakuen to make up for that. They were all pretty balanced. That also explained why five very different people could be such good friends. While Shuu was probably the only one with a truly stable family life, they had all found their balance somewhere with not only their elements, but also their lives. For Touma, it had been books.

That was his balance when he got his armor, and when he met his friends. Books were always a good way to escape from things that one just couldn't deal with. Books could distract him from the loneliness he felt as a child. All the others had something similar. By being balanced individuals, it didn't take much adjustment to create a balanced team. He was good with plans. Ryo could think well on his feet and alter plans for what happened in battle. Shuu had energy to spare for all of them; Shin kept them all calm and Seiji had good focus. They all balanced each other perfectly.

Looking at the subway map, he paused. He didn't have time to go home, he'd had way to late a start. Megumi would just have to take him as he was. But he did have some time to kill before he was supposed to meet her at the restaurant. He was still on a high after being in the air, and the best way to continue that was to go to only one place.

The ride seemed to go by more quickly than when he had first came out. Once in downtown, Touma rode his bike up and down the hills, turning when necessary. It didn't take long to reach his destination, a dojo.

He locked up his bike and took off his shoes at the entrance. Padding down the hall, he found the changing room and went to his locker. Once there, he pulled out his white gi and pale blue hakama. Touma mentally winced. While he didn't mind blue jeans, a dark blue shirt, or even his armor, he hated it when he was perpetually in blue. While he'd be the first to admit he liked blue, it was not the only color he liked. However, because his hair and eyes were blue, and he occasionally would wear a blue shirt or blue jeans, people seemed to think he lived in blue. Oh well.

He changed quickly and went back out into the dojo. While he technically was interrupting scheduled classes, he didn't believe anybody was using the archery field at this time. After the war, Touma had made it a point to keep in practice with his archery and fighting skills. After all, one never knew.

Unfortunately, there was someone at the archery field. Two someones actually. Akemi and Shiho Yamaki. Wife and daughter of the dojo's owner respectively. Akemi was showing her little five-year-old how to pull back a bow.

"Yamaki-san, Shiho-kun. Konnichi wa," Touma greeted politely. Miss Yamaki, Shiho. Hello.

"Touma-nii-chan!" Shiho ran up to him and jumped up into his arms. "Kononachi wa!" she all but shouted. "Big Brother Touma", literally. Better translated as "Uncle Touma". "Hello" in the Kansai ben dialect.

"Shiho-san," Akemi scolded. "Don't use that dialect. You're a Yamaki. You can speak better than that."

"Hai! Kaa-chan! Konnichi wa, Touma-nii-san!" She seemed rather pleased with herself at pronouncing the normal Japanese dialect so properly. Yes! Mom! Hello Uncle Touma!

Touma chuckled and lifted little Shiho into the air. "Konnichi wa, Shiho-kun! How are you today?" Hello, Shiho!

"Genki desu! Kaa-chan was just showing me how to use a bow!" Fine! Mom…

Akemi smiled, taking Shiho from Touma's arms. "Yes, I was. Now Shiho-san, show Touma-san what you've learned."

"Hai!" Yes!

Shiho raced over to the children's bow she had and slid over the wooden amada till she was at the center. She knocked her arrow, rather poorly Touma noted, and pulled it back as far as her little arms could take it, which was about her forward shoulder. Naturally, when she let the arrow loose, it bounced on the ground, halfway to the targets. Touma smiled, ruffling the frustrated little girl's chin-length hair.

"For a first shot, Shiho-kun, that was very good."

Shiho disagreed. Loudly. "But I didn't even hit the target!" she wailed. "I wanna be good like Touma-nii-chan and hit the bulls-eye every time and it's not fair I can't do it and the stupid bow won't pull back far enough and the arrow couldn't fly far enough and I shoulda done better and-"

"Now Shiho-san," Akemi cooed, kneeling down to her daughter. "It's not very nice to wail like that. You are a Yamaki. You will learn and do even better than Touma-san."

Shiho quieted down a moment, sniffled, and looked up to her mother. "Honto ka?" Really?

"Yes. But you can't do that unless you practice, ne?"

The little five-year-old wringed her hakama a little bit more, then wiped her face on her gi. "Okay, Kaa-chan." mom

Touma couldn't help but smile as he watched Akemi slowly show Shiho how to pull back the bow properly, hold the arrow, and sight the target. Little Shiho had regarded him as a nii-san ever since she was born, which was right around when Shikaisen had kidnapped Seiji in New York. Americans could certainly produce some strange people. Still, even though he didn't show up at the dojo very often, the sweet little girl had latched onto him. He never did know why. Maybe because he was so easy to spot in a crowd. But her cute innocence could really brighten a person's day. Already, everybody at the dojo treated her with respect and absolutely loved her. She was the epitome of adorable.

Perhaps that was the pride of her parents talking, but she had this way of getting on the good side of every student of the dojo to the point that those who had graduated often came back to visit her. Touma feared the day she grew up and realized how much power she had.

Pulling back the bow, he let an arrow fly, which hit dead center, as expected. He repeated the process with several other arrows, being very careful not to split the shaft of those already on the target. When he had done that, years ago when he was just a novice, Yamaki-sensei had given him a lecture about watching where he was aiming. Arrows were expensive, so he had to watch what he was doing.

In a way, he envied little Shiho. She was learning martial arts to continue the family tradition, and because she wanted to be like Touma-nii-chan. He had started out that way, but eventually, it became about survival instincts, and not just fun. The war with Arago made him grateful for all of his training, but also bitter that it was needed. While there was no doubt that all of that time under various sensei had saved him, he had learned how to fight solely for the sake of fun. But once he need it to save the world, all that was fun turned sour. If he went through his stances, Touma would often remember certain times he used it against the tin cans that Arago had sent.

It wasn't that he hated his training. It wasn't that he was ungrateful. But sometimes, things were just….Touma didn't know. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that he could even inflict such damage. That he had spent his life training in the perfect way to kill. He knew very well just what all those moves could do and he wouldn't want to do that to another living souls at all. No one deserved to be under his arrows, or at his feet. The killing just wasn't right, even though it saved his world.

Thankfully, his dry historian-sense of humor had eased things over the years.

Touma noticed that the last arrow of his quiver had just been sent to the target. He pulled out his geta and walked out to retrieve the arrows. Akemi joined him, gathering her daughter's arrows, which were scattered on the ground.

"You seem off today, Touma-san."

"Eh?"

"You're shots today seem automatic."

"Well, I've sorta been thinking too much again."

"Touma-san, there is no such thing as 'thinking to much'. However, it is when one does not think enough that one should be scared."

"I suppose so."

"Do not suppose so. Be so."

Touma pulled the last of his arrows out. Leave it to Akemi-san to try and be mysterious about things. She was so like her husband in that regard. Always saying things in unusual ways when what she meant wasn't very clear. Touma had to really think about it before he understood what she meant. At other times though, she could be remarkably blunt.

Quivering the last of his arrows, Touma returned to the engawa and pulled back his bow again. Little Shiho did the same. Releasing arrow after arrow, Touma thought about what Akemi-san had said. He often found that he had the habit of over-analyzing things and because of that, he felt that he thought too much. Thinking too much could often lead to hesitation. And that was certainly something that nobody wanted. Hesitation led to missed opportunities. Perhaps he was merely making up for all the times he just reacted back in the war. No, he was like this even as a child. It was just the way he was, living in his own head sometimes. That was what he'd been doing all day.

Was that what Akemi-san meant? Did she mean that by thinking too much, he released himself from his home to go see his friends? Not his closest friends, but friends nonetheless? Maybe it was by thinking so much that he valued those that were close to him. The other Troopers. His friends at college. Even the Ma Sho, to a certain degree. Was that what Akemi-san was telling him?

Touma sighted along the shaft of his arrow, eyeing the target several meters away. The arrow held steady in his fingers, pointing towards the exact center. There was a soft breeze, left over from the thunderstorm the previous night. Touma and the arrow adjusted themselves accordingly. Though the rubber-tipped arrow he held wasn't as perfectly balanced as the golden arrows of his armor, and the heavy Japanese bow wasn't as accurate as his normal bow, Touma could feel them both as they aimed together at the target. The breeze wasn't very strong, and the adjustment wasn't all that much.

The arrow flew.

Yet another side effect of his armor. His love of flying made the bow much more preferable. Swords, staffs, kusari-gama, naginatas, kunai. Of all possible weapons, only arrows were meant for him. No other weapon could fly like an arrow. No other weapon could soar through the winds towards its target. Everything else required hand-to-hand combat. Arrows were meant for the sharp eyed; those who could eye an enemy from a distance without worry of being spotted. Arrows were meant to soar.

Touma was brought out of his reverie by applause. Lots of applause. He whirled around to see one of Yamaki-sensei's classes had been watching him take his most recent shot. He blushed brightly and put a hand through his hair humbly. He hadn't meant to disturb class.

"Suminasen, sensei. I didn't mean to disturb your class." I apologize, teacher.

"No apologies needed, Touma-san," Yamaki-sensei replied.

"Tou-chan! Tou-chan!" Shiho ran up and into her father's arms. "Isn't Touma-nii-chan great? Sugoi! Nobody can do that! He nailed it!"Daddy! Daddy! … Wonderful!

"Yes, Shiho-san. Touma-san did a remarkable job. Enough to put these students to shame."

Touma bowed deeply. "Thank you for your words of kindness."

"I was bringing my students out here to practice, but you showed them how it's done. Well done, Touma-san."

Akemi-san finally spoke up. "All he needed was to think about what had brought him here, to this point. Once he understood that, all else fell behind as he became one with the arrow. The rest was easy."

Touma bowed again. He never really was one for the spotlight. He preferred behind the scene work. Somehow, being in front of people just didn't work for him. Probably because he was so used to being alone. That was why he wasn't used to an audience. Shuu was the exact opposite, though. He loved goofing around and making people laugh. Touma, however, just didn't do well in social situations.

"Well," Touma said, glancing at his watch. Was it six o'clock already? "I should probably be going now."

"Please come by again," Yamaki-sensei said.

"We would like to see your prowess sometime soon," Akemi-san added.

"Don't you dare forget about me!" Shiho shouted.

"Sayonara." Bowing again, Touma disappeared to go get changed. Good-bye.

Within a few minutes Touma bowed to the class again before leaving the dojo, once again in his street clothes. He paused for a moment, looking at his watch. He was starting to get hungry again and he was supposed to meet Megumi at the restaurant. He checked his wallet. He had just enough money for a good meal at the restaurant for both of them and a subway ticket home. Only just enough; he really should have checked his wallet before he left. Shaking his blue head, Touma reminded himself that he needed to restock his wallet soon. The subway kept draining it.

With financial thoughts in mind, he got onto his bike and headed into a different part of Osaka, looking for a good restaurant. Sure enough, he found one in the Dotonbori district. While not as extravagant as the Kanidoraku, which (tastelessly in his mind) had a thirty-foot crab shaped sign at the entrance, the small restaurant he entered tried to mimic the glory. Dotonbori-famous district in Osaka. Kanidoraku-famous restaurant in Dontonbori with huge crab at entrance and specializes in crab dishes.

Megumi was waiting at the entrance, looking as rushed as he was. She waved to him, pushed up her glasses and hugged him.

"What kept you?" she asked. "I've been waiting a whole five minutes!"

Touma chuckled. "I got an unusually late start today."

"So did I," she murmured in return. She smiled, brightening her pale face. Megumi was someone he had met the previous summer and had been going out with for a while now. She went to school in Chiba which was a short train ride from Tokyo. She had been extremely patient with Touma, since he had a habit of not really showing his emotions very well. It was his analytical nature, though sometimes Touma wondered if he had used up all his emotions in all the battles he'd fought; as irrational as the thought was. Besides, Megumi usually expressed enough emotion for the both of them.

Touma took his seat and looked briefly at the menu. "I'll have some tea, an ika and some miso soup , please." ika-squid and cuttlfish dish. We try to add culture here.

"Raw, cooked, or dried ika, sir?"

"Cooked, please."

The waiter turned to Megumi.

"I think I'll have the same. Except I'd like black tea."

"Will that be all?" the waitress asked.

"Yes," they both chorused.

"It'll be here right away."

"Arigatoo." Thank you.

Touma sat back, ran a hand through his hair and stared at Megumi in front of him.

"You seem off in your own world today," she stated.

"It's nothing really."

"Somehow, I doubt that."

"It's just that," Touma sighed. "As good as things have been going for me, I still kinda miss my mother. She still isn't home yet."

"Aw, poor Touma," Megumi reached over and ruffled his blue hair. "Cheer up. She can't stay in England or wherever."

"I know that," he replied.

"Then what's the matter?"

Touma didn't reply. As much as he'd admit to himself that he missed his mother, he tended to have trouble admitting his problems to people other than the Troopers. Even then, he admitted problems with the Troopers because he had a bond with them far closer than the one he shared with his new friends. Battles tend to do that. As close has he may become to Megumi or his friends Kenji and Toramaru, it would never be the same or on the same level as the Troopers. But he still had to try and be more open.

"Here you are, sir."

Touma shook his head, forcing himself out of his thoughts as he looked at the large plate in front of him.

"Sugoi! This looks wonderful!" He immediately broke apart his chopsticks and tasted a piece. "Oishi! Arigatoo!" Great! … Delicious! Thank you!

Megumi paused for a moment before doing the same. "Ah! This is delicious!"

"Hai! Will there be anything else?" Yes!

"No thank you," Touma answered, taking a quick sip of his tea. "This is wonderful. My compliments to the chef."

"Same here," Megumi agreed.

"Arigato gozaimasu." The waitress bowed very low and left. Thank you very much.

"So you gonna tell me what's on your mind now?"

Touma sighed. He was no match for Megumi's gentle persuasions.

"My mother hasn't been able to come home yet. I haven't seen her for almost three weeks and she just called a few days ago, saying that her departure was postponed again for another week. That'll make a month. This is a break from college, but I won't be able to see her at all. At least I got to see my dad before he had to go to a conference in Tokyo."

"Baka," Megumi muttered. "No wonder you're in your own world. You're missing your mother."

He couldn't help it; he blushed. Over the time Megumi had known him she had been getting better and better at being able to decipher what he said into what he was feeling.

"It's okay to miss your mother, you know."

"I do," Touma replied, swallowing his mouthful. "I just can't express things easily."

"I noticed."

"Ano, can we change subject?" Um,

Megumi reached over and ruffled his blue hair. A habit that was both fun and annoying at the same time. "Sure thing," she replied.

The rest of their meal together went as normal. Megumi was very energetic as usual, using wild gesticulation to get her point across. To counter her, Touma was usually soft-spoken yet somehow giving off just as much energy in his words as Megumi, which constantly amazed her. They had fun together, like they normally did.

They were both quite surprised when the waiter came over to say that Megumi had a phone call. He watched her go and then continued to eat at a marginally fast pace, not to messy, but not exactly neat either. He could almost hear Seiji saying that he was just like Shuu when it came to food. Touma couldn't help but chuckle to himself. That was true. Both he and Shuu loved to eat, though admittedly, he had more of a sweet tooth than his burly friend. But then, they were both adolescents. Of course they ate a lot. However, Touma was sort of surprised that it was still with him, despite being in college now. Still, in spite of the sweets he liked munching on, he was able to stay healthy.

So were all the others. No matter what they did, they always stayed in top form. Even now, without any magical armor, it was still important to all of them to stay on their guard. Responsibility was something that all of them took very seriously, and it wasn't something they could just give up on. They'd probably always be ready. Just in case they needed to save the world again. It was their responsibility. It was a part of who they were as a team.

Megumi came back looking rather sad and did not take her seat.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"My parents just called from their restaurant. Their car has completely stalled," she replied. "My little siblings are going to come home soon to an empty house and they're going to need me to look after them."

"In other words," Touma summed up, "you're off to baby-sit. Don't you have a younger brother who's in high school now? Can't he watch them?"

"He's off at a friend's house practicing for an upcoming tournament." Megumi sighed. "My parents felt that his tournament was more important than my date."

"A date can be picked up again," Touma replied. "Go on. Your baby brother and sister need you more than me right now."

"I feel bad leaving you like this," she replied. Suddenly, she reached over and ruffled his hair in a full blown noogie. He fought back in retaliation, tickling her and standing up so she didn't have such easy access to his blue locks. Their lips ended up touching briefly in a soft kiss and Touma felt his blush run right up to his hair. Megumi pulled away as well, also blushing.

"Well, I'll be off now. I'll call you later this week."

"H-hai. . ." Y-yeah. . .

Sitting back, Touma took another sip of his tea. His first kiss. If either Kenji or Toramaru knew that this was his first kiss, they would have laughed their heads off. Nearly everyone Touma knew talked of having girlfriends or boyfriends starting back in junior high. However when he was in junior high, he was far to worried about Arago. When high school came, it was Shikaisen, Mukara, and Suzunagi. So Touma had never really had time for a "relationship" and was very inexperienced. What was so nice about Megumi was that he was pretty sure she wasn't what he ultimately wanted to settle down with, but it was a good way to see how a romantic situation would normally develop. After all, it was very rare to marry your first girlfriend. Touma did like her. As more than a friend but less than a lover. If anything, he saw their relationship as ending in a more brotherly-sisterly sort of way. That was fine with him.

But he was still so confused about so many things about how romance unfolded and worked out. He really wanted someone to talk to about it. His father tended to be a little clueless on certain aspects of how people interacted, so Touma really wanted to speak with his mother. Unfortunately, she wouldn't be home for a while from the looks of things. So he missed her even more.

Maybe one of the Troopers. No, they were just as inexperienced as he was and had very different views on just about any subject they talked about. It was still amazing to him how such different people could still be close friends. Had he met any of the Troopers in school, he might have avoided them. But when put together under the right circumstances, he had something much closer than almost anyone had. Touma took another long sip of his tea.

When the waitress returned, Touma decided to indulge his sweet tooth a small bit and had some chocolate cake. He had to admit that he'd tasted better cakes, but that one was certainly good. He paid his bill, and stood by his bike in the cool night air. The sky was still clear, and he could see the moon way up in the sky. Unfortunately, the city lights were hampering his view of the stars, but that wasn't too big of a deal. He knew what they all looked like at any rate, but he still liked to see them.

Touma was feeling a little lonely since he couldn't talk to his mother and his apartment was still empty. So he still didn't want to go home just yet. Maybe his father was free. While his father may be a little clueless in some areas, he was still a good person to talk to. Chances are, he'd be at the university, which wasn't that far on bike from where Touma was. So, Touma zipped up his jacket and went off on his way. Though it was early evening, he noted that the streets seemed remarkably full.

Touma turned the corner, entering the university campus. It didn't take him very long to reach his father's office in the science building. However, he was disappointed to find that his father wasn't there. In fact, there was a note on the door that said "Away in conference. Be back tomorrow. -Genichirou." Oh yeah. Touma had forgotten about the conference.

Sighing, he decided to make the best of it. He left the science building and took a quick stroll to the library. The librarians, who knew him well, greeted him politely as he pulled out a book and sat down to read.

Reading had always been a good way to end the day for Touma. It didn't matter whether it was to top off a very good day, or just to lift him up from a bad one before he went to sleep. Books were just magnificent. Books could just take you away from everything that was going on around you and pull you into a world of the author's creation. And books didn't require fiction in order to pull you in. A well-written textbook could do just the same, provided you were interested in the subject matter. In that sense, he enjoyed science and history books. For history books, it was sort of like reading a fiction novel in the sense that you read about what happened to people and how countries interacted. Or if it was a biography, how a person lived their life and trying to figure out, based on that, what drove them.

Science books were different. Science books were about discovering something he never knew about before. Finding out that, decades before Newton even came up with Calculus, Kepler was on the verge of it. To read about some of the latest discoveries that may lead to a cure for cancer, or Alzheimer's disease. There was no parallel to what books could do.

And then there were detective novels. A man trying to solve a crime on such a scant amount of evidence, or facing some criminal mastermind. Things like Sherlock Holmes, or more modern Japanese detective novels. Someday, Touma wanted to get his hands on some old radio-dramas from the 1930s and 1940s. Those that he'd heard weren't that bad, but a book could give so much more detail, so much more insight. Books were just marvelous.

His father also understood this. He also bore a love of books, though admittedly, not as much as Touma. His father had even written a few books, which Touma had plowed through as soon as they were published. His mother also had a minor passion for reading, though not as much as her spouse or son. Her preferences were more in articles than books. Still, his family liked reading, the same as him.

Touma had picked up a detective novel and was deep into the book when a voice startled him.

"Excuse me." He turned to see a young man, probably around his age, speaking to him. It was probably a college student who hadn't gone home for break, or maybe was working.

"It's eleven o'clock. The library is closing. We just had an announcement, but you haven't done anything."

"Sorry about that," Touma answered, getting up. "Got locked up in my own head again."

"I know a certain sensei like that."

Touma chuckled and replaced his book.

"Have a good evening."

"You too."

Stretching briefly, Touma left the library. Glancing at his watch, he noted that it was eleven o'clock. He really should head home.

Touma wished his mother was home. His first kiss floated back up in his mind. He had thought he had everything figured out with Megumi. But the kiss sort of sent everything spinning for him. Logically, he knew that people just didn't end up with their first love, but he couldn't see what he and Megumi had changing in any way. Things just seemed to be going around in circles in Touma's very befuddled mind. As much as the silver screen showed that people could fall in love at first sight, that stuff didn't happen. Love was a slow progression, usually starting as friends that evolved into something beautiful. Touma didn't think he had something beautiful with Megumi. He had something pretty, certainly, but it wasn't exactly beautiful at that very moment. What he had with the Troopers was beautiful, but in a different way. It was sort of like saying Beethoven did as beautiful work as Leonardo de Vinci. Neither even worked in the same field.

It was a short bike ride to the subway, where he got his ticket. Touma wished his mother or father were there. Though neither could sort through his muddled feelings, no one could but himself, either of them could provide a good perspective on where to go from where he was. Toramaru might scoff at asking parents for help, but Touma understood that they were older and wiser than he was. People his age didn't really have the experience of being in love for a long period of time that could span into his golden years. No one his age had been in a relationship that actually lasted beyond a few years. Parents usually had. Parents were usually together for several years, raising a family and spending time with one another. Parents knew what it was like to be in love.

Though his parents may be divorced, Touma knew that they still loved each other, though not in the way they had when they were married. So they could provide advice. Particularly his mother. As a journalist, she had a knack for asking just the right questions to help Touma get through whatever was confusing or bothering him. She would have made a good scientist if she had the interest.

The subway slowed to a stop and Touma rolled his bike off the car and hefted it up the stairs. The streets were completely empty as he finally made his way back to his apartment building. Once up the elevator, he fumbled with his keys at the door, not noticing the light that was underneath it.

Finally swinging the door open, he was rather surprised that the lights were on. He had woken up, when, ten or eleven this morning? He hadn't needed the lights. He wouldn't have left them on.

"Okairimasu! Touma-kun!" came a sweet gentle voice. Welcome home!

Touma gaped at the woman in living room, chewing on the end of her glasses. Beyond her were clothes, the ones Touma still had to finish. Some were folded, the rest in neat piles to be folded, and just beyond the television were suitcases. This couldn't be! Wasn't she supposed to come home in another week?

"Okaa-san?" Mother?

"Well don't just stand there with your mouth on the floor!" she smiled at him. "Give me a hug."

He did so readily, squeezing extra hard. Kissing her briefly on the cheek, he pulled away.

"Mom! I wasn't expecting you home for another week! Is everything all right?" he asked, completely flustered.

"Fine. I've got all I need for the story, so I said 'To hell with it' and tried to get the first flight home. I missed you terribly and I wanted come home eventually. Was that bad?" she smiled brightly.

"No!" he protested. "I'm just so glad to see you. Here, let me help you finish the laundry. Then you can unpack and tell me about your trip." He smiled. What a perfect surprise right when he needed her. Of course, this blasted any chance he had of getting any sleep tonight, but he didn't mind.

He picked up some clothes and started to fold everything. It was so nice to have his mother home. As a consideration to her, he would listen to her adventures in England first before he told her how he had been or about the confusing circumstances with Megumi that had happened. He put the last of the clothes away in his room. Sitting on his futon-hadn't he put it away this morning? Did his mother set it up for him?-he smiled. This had proven to be one heck of a day. But all that mattered right then was that his mother was finally home.

"Touma-kun?" His mother sounded a touch worried, probably because he was spacing out to think, like he always did.

"Yes, Mom?"

"It's late. Should we just talk in the morning and let you get to bed?" He glanced at the clock. Only eleven thirty? The day had seemed so much longer.

"No, mom. I woke up late this morning. I don't mind talking."

"Good." Touma's mother sat down by him. "So, my star-eyed old-man. How have you been while I've been gone?"

He turned to her. She hadn't called him by that nickname in years. She had called him that because he had always acted much older than he was. Part of his growing up, he supposed.

"Oh fine," he answered quietly, smiling at her. She started to chew on the end of her glasses again. "I was just out saving the world again."

"Oh really?" she asked, her voice rising. "And which world did you venture into this time?" Touma watched her smile brightly, laughter in her eyes.

"Why my own of course."