..::: Kachi wo Sagashite ( Searching for a Victory ) :::.. Chapter 23

[Roy Karrde]

Kachi wo Sagashite ( Searching for a Victory )

Chapter 1
Desire for Freedom

Downtown Tokyo glistened with summer heat. People walked along with water bottles to cool their bodies; cars honked and moved at a slow pace that kept their air conditioners on high; newsstands, equipped with electronic fans, had the radio turned up for the sidewalk public. To top it off, the summer-time sport of baseball was roaring at full strength throughout all of Japan.

For the Tokyo Tigers, one would think this would be a time of celebration: their new stadium was the crown jewel of the baseball world, more advanced and beautiful than any of the American stadiums. Almost any observer would see this and expect a stadium full of roaring admirers. However, it was anything but. They were last in the intercontinental league, behind teams such as the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers. The stands were filled with fans of other teams or old enthusiasts, coming only to jeer at their team’s suffering.

For the players, being sent to the team felt like a death sentence. Many would beg their way out of the team, paying money to get out of their own contract, so they could find a team that could possibly win.

For Touko Watari, it was a struggle just to suit up each morning. No amount of attention could keep the depressed feeling away from seeing his locker. When he had come aboard as a promising player fresh out of high school, his eyes were full of dreams. The coach had promised him many things, including making him the star of the team. For months, he went through the talk shows; he did the autograph signings; he even dyed his hair a deep blue to match the team’s color. As a young adult, it was almost too much to handle, and it swelled his ego. But when the team came out cold and when the losses began to pile up, all of the talk shows and all of the autograph signings suddenly disappeared.

“Maybe if I swing the bat like this, I can finally get a home run.” His teammate pondered out loud. “Hey, Touko, what do you think of this?”

Touko growled, slamming the locker shut and walking into the bathroom. “How about you lean into the ball? That way we could finally get a man on base!” He yelled back, instantly regretting the words coming out of his mouth as he unzipped his pants and began to relieve himself. Behind him, he could hear the teammates begin to mutter about his recent outburst: every eye in the locker room was trained on him right now. Yet, he didn’t mind. If pissing on the team was a way to get traded, then he would create as big of a problem as possible.

“Sounds like you are giving the team one of those famous pep talks,” Coach walked in, his voice dripping with sarcasm, as Touko finished up and moved to the sink. His face looked a million and one years old, and an old gray beard dipped past the Tiger’s logo on his shirt; he always walked with a slump that made him look twenty years older than he was.

Touko instantly shrugged that thought off, dipping his head low so that he wouldn’t have to make eye contact with the coach. “How about we forfeit today’s game? I mean, do you really think we stand a chance against the Kyoto Cobras?” He asked, waving a hand to the stands above them, where the cheers for the Kyoto team could be heard all the way down to the locker room. The acoustics were originally meant for the home team to get roused up by hearing their own cheers, but now it just served as a let down.

Coach just shook his head, stepping to the doorway and resting his hand there. “You will be on deck during the first inning, so start warming up,” his voice, deep and full of annoyance, brooked no argument. “Your contract also stipulates that you have to be at ten fan events during the year, so you’re doing an open tryout after the game.” He added almost as an afterthought, stepping out of the room.

Touko spun around in shock, water running out of the sink and splashing onto his cleats. “It’s already thirty six degrees out there; I’ll die from heat stroke!” He moaned, the rest of his teammates snickering as he walked past each of them and picked up his bat. “Not a word from any of you,” Touko growled, stepping onto the field as the team followed.

“Let’s just get through another loss.” He whispered to them as the crowd began to jeer and boo.

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Baseball is a game of many things. It’s a game of strength; it’s a game of reaction; it’s a game of waiting; but most of all, it is a game of endurance—endurance of pain, exhaustion, and heat. At that moment, as Touko stepped up to the batter’s box, the heat was already beginning to take its toll on him. Already sweat dripped out of his helmet, ran down the bridge of his nose, and fell onto his lip. The JumboTron flashed his picture, and the added heat of just that seemed to bear down upon him.

Fans began to move, some shifting in their seats, while others began to leave. It was the top of the seventh, and the team was already down by twelve. “Please, God, let lightning strike me down...” Touko mumbled, swinging the bat a few times to test it. He shook his head, trying to shake the sweat from his eyes, as the pitcher reared back and sent the ball sailing past him for an easy strike. Hitting the ball would have meant running, which would have meant even more exhaustion in the heat, and since most of the fans had already left, what was the point…?

The second pitch sailed past. Another ball that could be easily hit. Another strike.

He glanced over at the coach, who was glaring daggers back. “This is what you get for making me do that stupid open tryout,” Touko mumbled, tapping the dirt off of his cleats and pulling the bat back for the last ball. “C’mon. Strike me out.”

The pitcher pulled back and threw the ball at a speed that seemed almost incredibly slow.

Touko swung this time, aiming low to purposely miss the ball. “And I’m out.” He walked back to the dugout.

--------

Across town sat Tokyo General Hospital. In the forty-story hospital, there lay thousands of sick people, from broken bones, to women about to give childbirth. No one would ever look at the hospital for the Tokyo Tiger’s biggest fan. No one would suspect that that fan would lie in the children’s ward, receiving chemotherapy for a type of lung cancer and fighting a losing battle. That fan was named Naiya Koyama, an energetic young girl who had been diagnosed with adenocarcinoma when she was eight. Before she had been admitted to the hospital, she had been the best little league pitcher at Heisei Elementary School. Now she lay in bed, IV stuck in her arm, and her body reduced to just skin and bones.

“Touko, you idiot!” Naiya screamed, jerking her arms in the air as she watched her favorite player strike out. The IV shook in her arm, sending waves of pain, only matched by the horrible fluid of the chemotherapy.

“Calm down, Miss Koyama!” The nurse cried, turning off the television and placing her arms on each side of Naiya, to try to keep her from moving too much. “You will yank the IV out and we will have to start all over again.”

Naiya flicked her eyes over to the nurse, glaring back before turning and looking at the blank screen of the television. “But he purposely missed! How could he do that?” She asked in shock.

The nurse glanced around the room, looking at the different stuffed animals and other Tokyo tigers merchandise that dotted the room, including photographs of one player in particular: Touko Watari. “He could just have been having a off-day.”

Naiya was already livid: she didn’t need any excuses. “He’s freaking Touko Watari! He doesn’t have off-days.” She then reached for the remote, wrestling it out of the nurse’s hands and turning on the television just to see the game go to break before the next inning.

The nurse drew in a breath to calm herself before injecting another shot into the IV and stepping in front of the television. “You can watch the end of the game. But have another outburst, and I will sedate you.” She threatened, her voice going to one of those places that only old ladies and mothers seemed to reach.

Naiya twisted around in her bed, trying to see past the nurse as the Tokyo Tiger’s logo flashed upon the screen. “Fine, move, move.” She waved the nurse off with her free hand as the manager of the team came on the screen, a live feed showing outside of Tokyo Stadium.

“This is Hiro Yoshimura, and I am outside of beautiful Tokyo Stadium, where fans are already lining up for the first ever open tryout for the Tokyo Tiger’s baseball team. Any fan, young or old, over the age of eighteen is free to come and tryout for the team.” He motioned to the ever-growing line that seemed to stretch past him and down the side of the stadium.

(Naiya noticed how uncomfortable he had to be, the man was already overweight and wearing a suit in front of a crowd that were wearing short sleeves. Not to mention that sweat was beginning to dot his forehead, and drip down his cheek the longer he stayed out.)

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! Come and see if you have the talent to be a part of the Tokyo Tigers!”

For many people, they would laugh: “talent” and “Tokyo Tigers” seemed to have become mutually exclusive terms. Yet, for Naiya—for one twelve-year-old girl who dreamed of baseball—it filled her with hope of something more beyond this hospital room.

“This is Li, checking in for the weekly status report. Chemotherapy is proceeding as it should,” a voice whispered from Naiya’s side. When she turned, there was nothing there: only the window, looking out from the thirtieth floor. “Nothing else to report.” The voice added, a feline touch in the voice now… almost like those talking cats on cartoons.

“Who’s there?” Naiya asked, muting the television and waiting to hear the voice again.

“Expect my next report in seven days, Li signing off.” The voice said, and a small tiger with white fur, and ice blue stripes wavered into view. Its wings fluttered in the air, and a tiny cell phone in its hands—no, its paws—disappeared in a small puff of smoke. “Great. She turned off the television.”

“Are you a ghost?” Naiya asked, reaching out with the hand that had the IV stuck in and poking the small beast.

The tiger, no bigger than a kitten, did a flip in the air in shock before fluttering down to face Naiya. “You can see me?” The beast asked, looking surprised, placing a paw on his chest. “You can see me?” He asked again his voice rising higher, now with a hint of alarm. Naiya nodded in response, peering forward at the beast. “Oh shit! Something’s wrong; something’s wrong!”

“What’s wrong?” Naiya asked.

The beast, stopping its midair pacing, turned to look her in the eye. “Humans are not supposed to see Shinigami!” The beast explained with great distress.

“Shinigami?” Naiya asked, sounding out the unfamiliar word.

The beast sighed, shaking his head. “My name is Li. I am a Shinigami—an angel of death. Your name is Naiya Koyama, and, in three months…” Li took in a long, deep breath.

“In three months, you will die.”

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter 2
The Desire that holds back Death

A moment of silence, a forever of silence, hung between the two. Each blinked at the other, waiting for the news to settle in. “Wait, don’t freak out on me!” Li did a double take in the air—as if he just realized this was a possibility—and placed a paw over his eyes in fear of the water works that would most definitely come from telling a young girl about her own mortality.

Yet, those tears never did come. Instead, Naiya just sat there for a few long moments more. Her eyes simply gazed off into the distance, before finally tracking up to the television. With a jolt that surprised Li, Naiya rose up from her bed and yanked the IV out with such force that made him want to wince.

“If I am going to die, then why should I go through all this pain?” Naiya asked, getting out of the bed, and making her way to the closet to find some of her old clothes.

Li flew forward, pressing his body against the closet doors. “You shouldn’t interrupt the treatment! If you do, it will make your last weeks very painful.”

Naiya shook her head and shooed the cub aside, opening the closet door and rummaging through the old clothes to try and find something that could fit her. Li, meanwhile, did his best to show her some respect, turning his back and summoning the Book of Shinigami. “What causes a human to see a Shinigami…” he wondered out loud, flipping through its pages.

“You look that up; I’m going to see the game.” Naiya shut the closet door. Her old child hood clothes dwarfed her: all the treatment from the chemotherapy and other vaccines had stunted her growth, and malnourishment kept her from gaining any weight.

“Here! In the rarest chances, a human can see a Shinigami if their desire for something is so strong that it will interfere with the retrieval of their soul.” Li read, floating past Naiya to block the doorway.

Naiya shrugged in response, opening the door so quickly that it slammed Li against the wall. “Okay, Mr. Shinigami, I’m going to the game.”

Li did a quick materialization through the wall, sending the book away and following her. “So what is it that you desire?” He mused, using a paw to stroke his muzzle as Naiya walked down a maze of hallways.

“I want the Tigers to win.” Naiya replied, her response full of enthusiasm.

Li ruffled his fur, giving a quick shake of his head. “It has to be stronger than that.”

“I really, really want the Tigers to win.” She responded, entering an empty elevator and pressing the button for the lobby. Li floated over and pressed his paw against the stop button, halting the elevator. “Okay, fine. I really don’t know what I desire or whatever.”

Li paused for a moment, trying to recall her room. “What about that boy in your room, the one you talk about…Takuto?”

“Touko.” She responded.

In the flash of a eye, Li had disappeared, replaced by Touko, in all of his ravishing handsomeness, Naiya had to take a step back as she saw him, and her breath caught in her throat. “Hello Naiya, it’s nice to meet you. How about you go back up stairs?” He asked, his voice as beautiful and soft as ever.

“I-I, um…” She blinked, her pale face flushed with color.

A moment later Touko disappeared, replaced by the flying kitten again. “You can’t see me now right?” He asked, panting from exhaustion. Naiya shook her head in response, gaining back her senses and pressed the down button again. “Okay, you don’t want a boy, and it has to be better than a simple boy… what is it?”

Naiya shrugged in response, exiting the elevator and fishing through her pockets for the allowance she had never gotten to spend. Outside of the hospital sat many cabs that were waiting to ferry the exiting patience back home. “Tokyo Stadium.” Naiya said, as she entered one of the many cabs and handed the driver all the money she had in her hands.

Li was quick to follow, materializing right through the door and fluttering around her. “You don’t understand! I need to fix this and fix it now! If word about Shinigami were to leak out, then I could get demoted again!”

Naiya gave him a passing glance before turning to look back out the window. “How do I know you are even real?” She replied, placing her nose against the window to watch the passing buildings.

“How am I real? I did the poof thing! And turned into Touko! Of course I am real!” He jumped up and down.

“Are you okay back there, miss?” The driver asked, glancing back in a mixture of curiosity and concern.

Naiya had tuned both of them out. At that moment, beyond the towering skyscrapers and twisted highways lay Tokyo Stadium, radiant in the mid afternoon sun. The marble columns and large jumbo televisions that dotted the exterior of the building made it look like a cross of a roman colosseum and a futuristic sporting citadel. At night lasers were supposed to beam from the building, lighting up the Tokyo sky for miles around.

“It’s beautiful.” Naiya gasped in awe, as the cab traveling toward the stadium with ease, while traffic was stalled going away. “It seems even larger than on television.”

“Enjoy it while it lasts. If they keep losing, they may move most of it to Kyoto.” The cab driver shook his head in dismay, pulling up to the front of the stadium as a short line of devoted fans waited around.

Naiya instantly leapt from the cab, Li following along as she ran up to the gate separating the outside world from the bleachers. She gave a light shake on the gate and then turned, slumping against it. “Can you see me now?” Li asked, fluttering in front of him.

Her eyes traveled down to her feet. “Yes, I can see you.” She sighed, her hands fishing through her pockets for cab fair to get back to the hospital. “How am I going to get back now?”

The metal gate behind them slowly slid open, scraping along the ground in a very noisy matter as it opened. A young man, no older than eighteen, stepped out with a clipboard and began to list off a number of names for the upcoming tryouts. Naiya slipped off the side and watched as the first set of people walked past the gate and into the stadium.

“I want to try out.” She whispered, as if the realization had just dawned on her.

“No way! You probably couldn’t pick up a bat, and, besides, you’re too young!” Li shook his head, crossing his furry paws across his chest. His eyes eventually fell upon Naiya’s eyes, seeing the determination in them. He knew that was what was driving her: the determination to make the team was causing her to see him. It was the determination to play the sport she loved one last time.

“I am going to get in so much trouble for this…”

Naiya looked up as Li floated above her, his white tail radiating with a warmth and energy of it’s own. The tail swinging down and striking her in the forehead. Instantly a warmth and tingling ran through Naiya’s frail body, light radiating from every pore that seemed to glow brighter and stronger by the second before finally fading away. Leaving a beautiful looking eighteen year old, long black locks falling down past her shoulders, onto a shirt that had changed to one of the Tiger uniforms found in gift shops everywhere across Tokyo. Naiya held out a hand--her once frail hand—to see it changed into a healthy looking one with a slight tan. She turned to the window and was taken aback at her reflection. The young woman looking back at her had no signs of sickness.

“I… I have hair…” She whispered in wonder, bringing a strand of hair across her face.

“Yes, yes, you have hair. Now, they are almost done with tryouts so hurry!” Li peeked around the corner before coming back and shoving Naiya in the direction of tryouts.

Naiya struggled every step of the way. “What? No! What if I’m not ready? What—I don’t think I can do this, I... I…”

She suddenly found herself in front of the man at the gate. “I want to try out for the team.”

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With hair still glistening from the shower he had just taken, Touko knew he looked almost heavenly to the fan girls that had snuck in for tryouts. Already they had begun; in left field, a pitching machine had been set up for batters; in right field, balls were being tossed into the air to see who could catch. For Touko, he was tasked with the pitchers. His eyes went to the pitching mound to see four or five prospects standing around, ranging from just out of high school to mid-thirties.

“You will have three pitches. I want to see your best on each one. If you impress me, I will tell the coach and you will be informed by the end of practice,” he announced, stepping behind home plate and placing the catcher’s helmet on top of his head.

A video camera had been set up on the sidelines to follow the practice and for further review afterwards. Touko gave a nod to the cameraman, and put on the catcher’s mitt. “Koyama Naiya?” He called out, checking off the first name on the sheet.

A young girl—no older than him—stepped up to the plate, her black hair blowing in the wind gave her a nearly beautiful appearance. Touko quickly shook the thought away. He could have any girl in Tokyo! Beautiful women surrounded him each night, and she was no different.

“Let’s see what you got.” He called out.

The girl began to shake, turning and mumbling to some thing invisible off to her side. “Any time today,” he added.

The girl turned back and nodded, pulling back and letting lose her first pitch. The ball sailed a short way before dropping to the ground right before home plate. It was under-thrown and sloppy, something a grade school kid would throw. Touko was already beginning to lose interest. She obviously wasn’t cut out for the team, so why did she even come?

“This time, try to at least make it over home plate!” He called out in disgust.

The girl’s face flushed in embarrassment, she nodded and with another shaky arm tossed the ball again. This time it went past home plate, but was so wide left that no one standing near home plate would be able to hit it or even catch it.

“Last time,” Touko growled, this was taking up his time, and he wanted to head on home.

The girl turned to what looked like her imaginary friend again, spending several moments consulting someone or something that no one could see. Finally she turned back, taking in several deep breaths and pulled back. When she released, the ball flew so fast that Touko couldn’t even track it. The only thing he knew was that it was released from her hand at one moment, and then something large and painful hit his mitt that nearly sent him falling backwards.

“How the hell?” He mumbled, dropping the mitt and ball and flexing his hand.

The girl looked on in shock as Touko quickly put his glove back on, using his free hand to mark her name off the list. “It had to be a fluke.” He turned to the scouting coach in the dug out and shook his head.

“Next.” He called out, the next pitcher stepping up to the mound.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter 3
A Mother’s love for her Daughter

For parents, there is no higher duty than to work toward the survival of their child. To make ends meet, parents will work two jobs, even three, sacrificing everything for their child. When the money is needed, when it provides for the survival of a child in the hospital, for the parent, nothing else matters. No one could find a mother more devoted toward the survival of her child than Sakura Koyama. One would only have to look at her face, to see the exhaustion and worry lines across her skin and the black hair that already had the marks of gray at the age of thirty-five, to know that each and every day was a struggle.

Each night her limbs would ache from exhaustion, the smell of grease clung on her clothes, as she would walk out of the restaurant, her triple shifts ending long past the sun had gone down, with her next beginning before the sun rose the next morning.

“Sakura.” Her boss called out, standing at the door as she made her way out to the call. Her boss was a short, portly man, some one that looked as if he ate half the food in the restaurant, his receding hairline only furthered the appearance of someone that over worked and under paid his employees.

“Yes, Mr. Yamamoto.” Sakura sighed, fishing the keys out from her purse.

The small man made his way down the steps of the restaurant, walking up to her and lowering his head so that he wouldn’t have to make eye contact. “Listen, I know you have a daughter in the hospital, but I am going to have to cut back your hours.”

Sakura’s temper rose, the first reaction that came to her urged for her to lash out at him. How dare he cut back on her hours, she was scraping just enough money for her daughter’s treatment, and she couldn’t afford the gas to travel to another job.

“May I ask why?” She bit her tongue to keep from saying something.

The man took in a deep breath, twisting his left foot into the gravel. “The summer travel season is winding down, so we are cutting back on everyone’s hours.” He explained.

Sakura began to ball her fists in anger, it was a flat out lie and he knew it. They were hiring new employees, cheaper employees, so the ones that had gotten wages were getting stiffed. “If you need a recommendation for your CV, I promise to give you a good one.” The man offered as it began to dawn on her. This wasn’t much of a cut back on hours, and more of a firing.

“I am sure a recommendation will settle your guilty conscious for firing someone with a sick child.” She spat, opening her car door and stepping in, slamming it so hard the car jerked. Rage and anger just continued to boil up inside of her, her foot hitting the accelerator as she screeched out of the parking lot and onto the freeway.

“Fat son of a...” Sakura bit her lip in anger, glancing at the picture of her daughter, taped to the bottom of the rear view mirror. It was when Naiya was only eight, and still full of energy and life, her body hadn’t yet gone through the ravages of cancer. Some nights that picture was the only thing that kept her from falling asleep in the car, or quitting her job.

“I’ll make sure you can get what you need.” Her anger began to calm as she found her cell phone and dialed the number she had written down on a piece of paper during her break, the doctors were talking about upping Naiya’s chemo, and she needed a distraction.

The number rung once, and then twice, finally a female voice picked up. “Tokyo Tiger’s General Office.”

Sakura shifted the phone onto her shoulder so that she could drive. “Can I get the number for Touko Watari’s manager?”

The woman on the other end of the phone drew in a long breath. “Ma’am do you know what time it is?” She asked, her voice full of annoyance.

Sakura dug her nails into the steering wheel. “Yes I do, I work a three shift job for my daughter who is sick with cancer, and I was trying to find out if Touko would want to visit a very sick girl in the hospital who adores him.” She snapped her phone shut in frustration, tossing it onto the passenger seat, as much as she didn’t want to deal with anyone right now, it was for Naiya, who adored Touko.

Moments later the phone began to ring, the number of the Tokyo Tiger’s office appearing on the Caller ID. “What?” She snapped at the phone.

“Ma’am, I’m sorry, could I have your information?” The woman on the other end asked, her voice clearly shaken, losing all the arrogance in her tone that she had just moments before.

“Sure.” Sakura replied, trying to keep her anger under control while driving into the hospital parking lot. As she walked inside she gave the woman her daughter’s name, the hospital and room number before ending the phone call.

“Don’t let my daughter down” She warned under her breath, taking the elevator up to the children’s ward.

The elevator opened to the floor, the nurse on watch instantly stood up as she saw her. Sakura mentally kick herself for forgetting that today was when Naiya was going to get another chemo treatment. “Ma’am I’m going to need you to sign off for another treatment for Naiya, for tomorrow.” She explained, thrusting a sheet in front of Sakura’s face.

“Wasn’t it today?” Sakura replied, confused.

“Yes, but Naiya.” The nurse began, only to have Sakura cut her off with a glare.

“Please, tell me later, I just want to see my daughter.” Sakura shook her head, starting down the hallway toward her daughter’s room.

The nurse walked out into the hallway, her voice echoing down the empty hall. “There is also a receipt for having to drive your daughter back to the hospital.”

Sakura rested her hand against the door to Naiya’s room. For a moment she wondered how the hospital could have missed her daughter escaping from the hospital, or why her daughter escaped. But for now she banished those thoughts away, clearing them from her mind as she opened the door to the room.

“Naiya, are you already asleep?” Sakura whispered, stepping into the small room, the only illumination of the room being a small lamp that her daughter had her back to. Sakura stepped over softly, taking the sheet and gently placing it around her daughter.

“Mom?” Naiya yawned, twisting around in bed.

Sakura’s heart sunk, it had become her own private torture seeing her daughter in such a state each and every day. “I wish I could have been here for the treatment today.” Sakura stroked Naiya’s cheek gently.

“Is Li here?” She asked, twisting away from the lamplight.

Sakura looked around in confusion, she hadn’t heard of a child named Li among any of the other hospital children here. “Hun, who’s Li?” Sakura asked, nudging her daughter’s side.

“My Shinigami friend, he disappeared.” She whispered, her voice becoming faint.

“Oh…” Sakura replied, turning the lamp off and gently stepping out of the room, shaking her head. “Is there a child here named Li?” Sakura stepped over to the nurse station, retrieving a pen to sign the necessary papers.

“Not that I know of.” The nurse flipped through the staff files as well as the patient files while Sakura signed off the necessary documents for the chemo treatment, as well as the ride back to the hospital that Sakura had taken from the ballpark.

“I figured as much.” Sakura walked over to one of the chairs set out in the hallway. It had been her bed ever since they had sold the house to help pay for the bills. As she drifted off to sleep, the only thing that she could think about was how she was going to pay the bills with out a job.

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The moment that Touko stepped into the musty film room, a wave of regret and swept against him, regret that he didn’t stay home and sleep in. Instead, here he was, at the team film room the following morning where the coaches wanted to review a choice that he had decided against. “If you guys are going to call me in, then there better be coffee.” He growled, staggering over to the nearest chair and sinking into the seat.

“Good morning sunshine.” Coach laughed from somewhere in the darkened room, Touko wished that the coach could see the scowl across his face as the film began.

“Is it even dawn outside?” Touko asked, shifting around uncomfortably in his seat.

“It’s nearly noon.” Coach sped the tape up to that girl’s showing, the one that had been able to throw a fastball that even he wasn’t able to follow.

“You have got to be kidding me.” Touko laughed, rising from his chair. “She had no form, her first two shots were childish to say the least.”

Coach paused the video on her throw, rewinding it on slow motion. “She also has a fast ball that ranks up there with the pitchers in the American leagues.”

“Our pitcher is perfectly fine.” Touko shot back, his temper beginning to rise.

“Our pitcher gave up twenty two runs in last night’s game!” Coach flipped on the lights, turning off the film.

Touko shook his head in disgust; didn’t the old man trust him? “Why did you call me in when you already made up your decision?” He asked, his hand resting on the doorknob. “The girl isn’t what we need, that is my opinion, and it isn’t going to change.”

“Well I was hoping to convince you otherwise.” Coach sighed, the door opening and Touko’s assistant walking in and handing him a note. “Since you marked her off the list, all we have is a name, no address, nothing, so I am going to walk out of this room, have a press conference, and try and find this Naiya Koyama, it would help if we had our star player there.” He added, the tone of his voice making it sound more like an order than a request.

“What did you say?” Touko looked up, holding a slip of paper in his hand.

“I’m holding a press…” He began only to be waved off by Touko. “Naiya Koyama?” He asked.

Touko looked down at the piece of paper in his hand. “My manager has set me up with a Naiya Koyama at the Tokyo General today.” He looked up, and for just a mere second, Touko wondered if it was the same person.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 1: Interesting premise, Shinigamis and baseball. From what I can tell, Touko and Naiya both seem to be big dreamers. Despite the attitude Touko has , I don't think he's really all that bad, just wanted a chance to prove himself to the rest of the world. Good cliffhanger to leave it that Naiya's going to die with three months.

Chapter 2: Considering Naiya's reaction to her transformation, she must seemed to be very very sickly. Touko seems to still have his bad attitude about it, but I guess its mainly because he wants to be traded so bad. But his interest in Naiya seems to be perked a bit considering how her last pitch was. Wonder what'll happen...

Chapter 3: Wow, that's real motherly love right there. Triple shifts and still puts up with the stereotypical fat-ass bastard of a boss. But yeah, it sucks they have to go through so much just for Naiya. Touko seems to be the same selfish bastard, but I guess my hunch on his interest with Naiya was partially right. Wonder how their meeting will go...

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Four
Who is Naiya Koyama?

Sakura was awakened by screams of excitement coming from her daughters room, in one quick bound she leapt from her chair and opened the door, rushing in. “What is it?” She gasped, her hair sticking up every which way.

“Look, look?” Naiya giggled with glee, sitting up right in bed.

The television was centered on the typical Tokyo Tigers pressroom, Coach Sato stood in front of the podium, for a moment Sakura was angered that her daughter had woken her for a silly press conference, until Naiya raised the audio. “So if you are watching this, please contact the Tokyo Tiger office.”

Coach Sato nodded to the cameras and left the room, video of a young woman pitching inside of an empty Tokyo Stadium replaced the podium on the television screen. “This is video of Naiya Koyama at yesterday’s…” The reporter explained.

“See? They want me to be their new pitcher!” Naiya laughed in her bed, nearly kicking the sheets off of her.

Sakura could only help but giggle with her daughter. “So you snuck off to try outs yesterday?” She asked, holding back a laugh.

Naiya’s laugh came to a sudden and abrupt stop, her mouth opened but she couldn’t bring herself to say the words, to tell her mom about Li. “Don’t say a word.” Li warned, suddenly appearing on her shoulder.

“And don’t look at me.” He hissed when Naiya looked in his direction in shock.

“Mom I need to go to the bathroom.” Naiya lied, moving around in the bed to fake discomfort while glancing in Li’s direction every few seconds to make sure he was truly there.

“Do you need any help?” Sakura asked, walking to her daughter’s bedside.

Naiya quickly rose, taking her IV pole as she walked towards the bathroom. “I think I know how to pee.” She shot her mom a look of annoyance as Sakura slowly backed out of the room and locked the door. Reality hitting her that she did still have a teenage daughter in that frail form.

“Where were you?” Naiya exclaimed, grabbing Li by the paws and spinning around in the room with him.

Li gave a small shrug the moment that the room stopped spinning for him. “You lost your desire, you lost your reason for living.” He explained.

“So now I can see you because they want me on the team?” Naiya asked, glancing up at the television as the footage of her ran again for the third time.

Li gave her a small nod in response to her question. “And now you can make me older again and I can sign up for the team!” She jumped around happily for a moment before collapsing to her knees in a coughing fit.

“It isn’t that simple.” Li sighed; floating down and placing a comforting paw on her shoulder. “You have the mark of the Shinigami on you now, it’s what allows you to change, if other Shinigami see that they will try to kill you, and I will be in a lot of trouble.”

Naiya slowly crawled into bed, holding her chest. “So I will just watch out for flying pets.” She coughed, wincing in pain as tiny drops of blood dribbled out.

“It’s not that simple.” Li poured a glass of water, nudging it toward Naiya’s outstretched hand. “Most Shinigami can appear perfectly human, more of them walk among humans than fly.”

“That’s kind of scary.” Naiya whimpered, wiping the blood from her lips.

Li watched her drink the glass and nodded. “If I only used my power once it would go away, but since that seems to be out of the question.” He glanced at the television. “We’re going to need to find a way to hide the mark when you’re outside.”

“So when do we leave for the ball park?” She asked, rising from the bed and sitting the glass to the side.

“Not right now, your mother is right outside.” He glanced back at the door, a sharp knock coming from it as Sakura opened it to check in on her daughter. “My magic can temporarily age and cure your body, it can’t teleport you away.”

Sakura slowly walked in, a bit of a restrained excitement in her step. “Naiya someone is here to see you.” She grinned from ear to ear, walking over to her daughter and wiping the blood away with a napkin. “Has your coughing gotten worse? Should I call in a nurse?”

“I’m fine mom.” Naiya brushed her mother’s hand away as the flashes of cameras illuminated the hallway outside. “What’s happening outside?”

“I don’t know.” Sakura answered with a coy smile.

“Mom, just tell me.” Naiya growled, balling her fists in frustration, frustration that quickly melted away as ‘he’ stepped through the doorway. “Mi-Mi-Mister Touko.” She gasped, her hands instantly unclenching.

Touko straightened his jersey and stepped into the room, glancing around at the posters of him that hung from every wall. “I heard our new pitcher might be here?” He laughed until his eyes fell onto Naiya’s frail form, the laughing stopping while the press snapped away.

“If you saw this morning’s news you would get that joke.” He gulped, feeling the eyes of all the press looking at his back as he walked in and sat down next to Naiya’s bedside.

“I saw…” Naiya gulped in shock.

“Maybe I should let you two talk.” Sakura rose, shaking Touko’s hand before ushering the press members out of the room and shutting the door.

“I hate that.” Touko sighed, slumping into the chair.

“Hate what?” Naiya replied curiously.

Touko glanced up at the door, taking in a long sigh. “The press, where ever I go they snap pictures, and if not them it’s the paparazzi that constantly stalk me. Sometimes I wish I never became a baseball player.”

He took a quick look around the room, realizing that he was still in the room with all the Tokyo Tigers merchandise. “Maybe if we had a few more fans like you, things would be easier.” He patted her shoulder as Naiya grinned in response. A long silence passed between them, Touko looking around the room over and over again to avoid eye contact.

“So what do you think of this Naiya pitcher?” She finally spoke up, breaking the silence.

Touko ran his fingers through his hair, figuring to just speak his mind. “I think she has talent.” He said as Naiya’s heart soared with happiness. “But she also throws like a child most of the time, she doesn’t deserve to be on a baseball team.”

Naiya’s heart instantly sunk, her eyes filled with pain and tears. “But the coach said…” She mumbled.

“The coach says a lot of things.” He growled as Sakura entered the room. “But, if things work out she may be the best thing to happen to this team.” Instantly Touko straightened up, spouting out the words at the sight of Sakura.

“You really believe that?” Naiya asked, her eyes suddenly becoming full of enthusiasm.

Touko’s first instinct was to say no, but then again he could see the headlines tomorrow, a picture of Naiya’s crying face on the front page. The hospital room was quickly becoming too cramped for him, and the idea of walking out into that hallway alone, after only being inside the room for only a few minutes would do just as much damage.

“How about I take you on a tour of the ball park?” Touko dodged Naiya’s question while rising to his feet, turning to Sakura. “Your mom can come too if she wants?” He asked, turning to Sakura.

“Mom has to go to…” Naiya began.

“We would love a guided tour.” Sakura cut her daughter off, not wanting to bring up ‘work’ until she could explain to her daughter later that she had to look for a new job now. “But when we get back, you have to take your chemo.”

Naiya groaned as Touko rose to his feet. “Then it’s settled.” He put on his best smile and opened the door. “I’m going to take Naiya and her mother on a tour around Tokyo Stadium.” He announced as the press took pictures of him.

Touko relished the feeling, to have the press go crazy over him, and not to be taking pictures of him just after a major loss. It was a feeling nearly forgotten since their losing streak started at the beginning of the season. “Touko what do you think of the new announcement?” One brave reporter yelled over the others.

“I can’t wait to meet her, I think she could get us out of this slump.” Touko lied right through his teeth, all while grinning and leading Naiya and Sakura to the elevator. “I just hope she comes forward soon.” He added, the press grabbing a last few shots as the elevator closed.

‘And when she does, I will do everything to prove I was right that she doesn’t deserve to be on this team.’ Touko thought to himself as the doors opened to the lobby of the hospital, unaware that he was leading the very girl that he hated, right to the stadium.


Thank you for the nice comments man.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Five
Signing on the Dotted Line

During the days that games were in progress, Tokyo Stadium would be filled with life, with thousands of people rushing about and chatting, buying things and cooking things. Yet on the days that games were not scheduled until later on, or the team was on the road the stadium felt like a tomb. The gates would creak, and lights flicker, and the hint of stale food would waft through the air.

For Naiya though, this place wasn’t a tomb during the hours it wasn’t being used, for her it felt like a sleeping tiger, a cat that was just waiting, biding it’s time until the game started. At that moment the tiger would spring to life with excitement and action.

“It’s even bigger than on television.” Naiya gasped, rushing up and down the isles between the bleachers, stopping only for a moment or two to catch her breath or to cough. “Look, that’s where you hit your first home run.” She pointed to left field, jumping up and down in excitement.

“I didn’t even know that.” Touko rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

“So how can we ditch the old people?” Li hovered near Naiya’s shoulder, jabbing a finger toward Sakura and Touko. “I can’t exactly transform you right in front of them.”

Naiya returned the question with a grin as she rushed past him and up to Touko and Sakura. “Can we see the locker rooms? What about the manager’s office? Can we see the press box?” She gulped in several gasps of air, her face full of life, but her skin turning a pale white.

“Maybe we should start heading back…” Sakura began, listening closely to Naiya’s breath to see if she was having a harder time breathing from the chemo treatments.

“Locker room.” Naiya folded her arms defiantly.

Touko rubbed his brow, trying to drive the stress away, as well as the thought of the game tonight. The thought of another loss was beginning to weigh heavily upon him. The last few weeks he hadn’t cared if the team had won or not, but now as the losses began to pile up. “There is a game tonight, but no one should be in the locker room.” He began to lead the way down toward the team’s locker room; the glee of the young girl was something that intrigued him. After everything that had happened this season, he wondered how anyone would like this team.

“You need to sneak away.” Li hissed in anger.

“I know.” Naiya whispered back as they walked down the ramp to the locker room.

Sakura twisted her head to the side to glance back at her daughter. “You know what?” She asked.

Naiya glanced around nervously, trying to figure out a passable lie that could allow her to get away. “I remembered that a friend of mine in the children’s ward wanted me to bring them back a gift, and one of the shops we passed just opened!” Naiya lied through her teeth with a smile.

“Is this Li?” Sakura jabbed her daughter’s side with a mischievous grin, one of those grins that only mothers can give to embarrass their child. Naiya’s face grew red with shock and embarrassment at the mention of Li’s name. “Don’t go over one thousand yen.” She warned her daughter as she took off.

Naiya raced around the corner, skidding to a stop once she was out of sight from Touko and Sakura. “Okay Li.” She held her chest in pain as Li fluttered down and touched her forehead. Moments later the pain had disappeared and the transformation had finished.

She carefully ran her fingers through her hair, shivering at the touch of the golden hair on her fingertips. “I don’t think I will ever get used to that.” Naiya laughed, taking a few shaky steps before finally getting her footing and walking along with Li.

“Now where is the manager’s office…?” She pressed a finger to her lip as the two walked along the various food stands.

“They did make this place kind of big.” Li flew in front of her as a boy about Naiya’s age walked through him.

“You’re looking for Hiro Yoshimura’s office?” The boy asked, his deep voice, brown eyes and dark brown hair caused Naiya’s heart’s to skip a couple of beats as Li fumed behind him. “I know the way.”

“When they built the stadium they decided to place his office at the highest point.” The mysterious boy explained as the three road the elevator up to the top floor. “Oh how could I forget my manners, I’m Sakurai Ta….” Before he could get the rest of the words out Naiya squealed in excitement.

“Sakurai Takahiro, the third baseman for the Tokyo Tigers!” Naiya shouted in shock and enjoyment as Sakurai blushed.

“You can just call me Taka, or Sakurai.” He replied as the doors opened to what looked like the entrance to a typical office, the only distinguishing feature of the entire room was a large Tokyo Tigers logo behind the secretary’s desk.

“I’m Naiya Koyama, the new pitcher hopefully” She bowed to Sakurai as she left the elevator, leaving a stunned Sakurai to take the ride back down alone.

The secretary continued to watch the small handheld television at her desk as she gestured to a seat next to a large imposing office door with Hiro Yoshimura etched into a gold plate on the door. “He’s in a meeting right now, I’ll let you in when he’s done.” She spoke up with a voice that seemed to ooze disinterest.

Naiya sat down in the uncomfortable seat, her gaze slowly traveling up to the clock as she wondered how long she could stay here before Touko and her mom went out looking for her. Behind the door she could hear two people talking, one she recognized as Hiro from the commercial, the other had a smooth talking, almost sleazy voice.

“We settled that little problem you had with the strikers.” The sleazy voice spoke as if he were rumbling off a list of things that Naiya had caught the tail end of.

“I know, I know, but...” Hiro’s voice spoke up, sounding frantic.

“We were promised that your team would win and lose when we told you so that we could control Tokyo’s largest sport, but all we have been getting from you is losses.” The sleazy voice stated, the entire conversation beginning to spark Naiya’s interest as she leaned closer to the door.

“The Yakuza expects you to hold up your end of the contract, five wins in a row, starting tonight” The man slammed his finger down on something that sounded like the desk.

“Five wins? We are having trouble just getting one.” Hiro gasped in shock.

“Five wins, or Touko could find himself in a steroids scandal.” The man threatened, his voice coming closer causing Naiya to jerk back as the door opened and a man with slicked back hair and a red business suit walked out, his eyes hidden beneath sun glasses.

“Hotaru, hold all calls and visitors for the rest of the day.” Hiro barked from his office as the sleazy suit man got into the elevator, flashing Naiya a grin before disappearing from sight.

“Sir, there is a Naiya Koyama here to see you.” Hotaru, the woman at the secretary’s desk replied.

“What are you waiting for then? Send her in.” Hiro shouted, rising from his desk as Naiya entered the room, his pale face suddenly brightened at the sight of her. “The team coach says you are some kind of super pitcher.” He grinned from ear to ear, holding the picture of Naiya up to compare the picture to the real thing.

“You look like her...” He mused for a second, rubbing his chin.

“Of course she looks like her! It is her!” Li fluttered his wings angrily, fluttering around Hiro.

“I am her.” Naiya trembled a bit in shock.

Hiro slowly lowered the picture back down, and rummaged through the desk, finally pulling out several documents. “I’m sorry but there have been a lot of fakes that have tried to come up today, you at least look like her, and sound like her, anyway the team is in a bit of a bind so I do expect you to sign the typical contract here.” He pointed to one line.

Naiya grasped a pen and looked down at the contract, her eyes spinning from all the words. Eventually she gave up even trying to read it and just signed her name in big childish letters, such as those that a third grader would write.

Hiro chuckled at the sight and flipped the pages. “And here.” He pointed to another line, which Naiya signed. “And here.” He pointed to the line on the last page before yanking it away the moment that she signed it.

“Alrighty, I’ll have one of the players escort you down to the locker room so that you can suit up for tonight’s game, Hotaru, who’s here?” His voice went from soft and comforting to a quick and angry bark at the last lines.

Naiya’s head began to spin even faster, suit up? Tonight’s game? Her mom and Touko were still waiting for her downstairs, and now she was being told that she would debut tonight. “Touko is here.” Hotaru remarked as Naiya’s blood froze in fear at the thought of seeing him now. “But he is on a tour, Taka is free though.”

Hiro slapped the desk so hard that Naiya jumped at the sudden outburst. “Perfect, send him up.” He grinned happily.

Minutes later Naiya was walking along the same food stands that she had passed on her way to the manager office. Sakurai following at a brisk pace next to her and some times in front of her. “There is already a locker set up for you, Coach ordered it this morning, the uniform should arrive before the game starts.”

“How did you know my size?” Naiya asked, still in a bit of shock at the whole situation.

“He pretty much guessed, but we have ordered it in a few different sizes.” Sakurai explained.

Naiya nodded as they rounded the corner to the ramp down to the locker room. Touko was looking around in annoyance and her mom tapped her foot in fear and impatience. “Where is she…?” Sakura whispered as Naiya passed her.

For just a moment Sakura turned, her eyes watching Naiya as the girl walked down the ramp. “That’s the new pitcher.” Touko growled in annoyance as Sakura blinked in shock. Somewhere deep down, she felt as if she had known the girl.

“That was close.” Li sighed, wiping sweat from his brow as the three entered the locker room.

“Since this is pretty much an all boys locker room, try and get here a few hours before the game so that you can get changed and out of here before the rest of the team.” Sakurai explained, lining up several different sizes of pants and undershirts for Naiya.

“My own locker.” Naiya whispered, running her hand over the nameplate on the top of the wooden locker.

Sakurai followed her gaze with a small grin. “I know how it feels, like a dream come true.” He gave Naiya’s shoulder a small pat before turning. “I’m going to go on out to the field, if you need anything just walk down the hallway and you will find me.”

He walked toward the doorway and stopped, their eyes meeting. “Don’t try to worry about your first game, you will do fine if you just keep throwing those fast balls.”

Suddenly all that fear began to bubble up again. She had memorized all the hand signals from the games she watched, but what if they add in some new ones? “I don’t like him.” Li crossed his arms in anger, floating onto Naiya’s shoulder.

“He’s a nice guy.” Naiya blushed, flicking Li off of her shoulder.

“Just get ready to change back so that we can stop scaring your mom.” Li sighed, activating the transformation before Naiya could even protest.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 5: Ooh, so the Japanese crime scene has come into play here. Interesting, wonder what deal the manager has struck with him beforehand. And I see that their might be a future love triangle in bloom between Naiya, Touko and Sakurai. I think Touko doesn't seem like to "adult Naiya" as much due to all the publicity she's getting (aka "she's cramping my style" kinda thing). Oh well, wonder how Naiya's going to do in her first big game!

-Sean

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Six
Enter Naiya Koyama, Star Pitcher

Every breath for Sakura seemed like a year, every heart beat a week, every minute an eternity. Naiya had been gone far too long, and now people were beginning to file into the park. Images of Naiya being hurt somewhere; images of her being grabbed and horrible things that followed began to fill her head.

“I never should have let her go.” Sakura checked her watch as Touko tapped his foot next to her.

“There are… three shops near by that could be open right now.” Touko mumbled, lost in thought, as to where the little girl could have ran off to. Although his thoughts continued to wander off to the new pitcher, the new blood that would bring in all the spot light, “Give her a few more minutes.” He sighed

The two stood there in silence, Touko constantly glancing over his shoulder with his arms crossed, always looking to see if the new pitcher was coming up. “You love her a lot don’t you?” He finally spoke up, trying to cut the silence.

“What kind of question is that?” Sakura asked, shooting a glare back at him.

“I just mean, all the treatments must cost a lot of money, the way Naiya talks, it’s as if you are always working.” He explained.

“I need to talk to Naiya about not mentioning that.” She grumbled in reply, shifting her head back and forth to see if Naiya had come from another direction. “To tell the truth, I lost my job yesterday, and the price of Naiya’s treatments keep going up.”

Touko looked away from the mother, guilt beginning to eat at him. Not just guilt that he wished that he could do something for her, but also envy in that he wished he had a mother with as much devotion as Sakura. “How about you and Naiya stay in one of the team’s sky boxes for tonight’s game?” He blurted out with out even thinking.

Sakura glanced at him in shock, blushing a bit at his generosity, “I couldn’t.” She began only to be cut off as Naiya rushed out of the ramp from behind Touko.

“Mom, you have to see this place, it’s so cool.” Naiya gasped in shock, stopping to lean against the wall to catch her breath.

“Where have you been?” Sakura rushed forward, scooping her daughter up in her arms in, emotions ranging from anger to relief rushed through her system.

Naiya groaned in the embarrassing hug, her eyes focused on Touko until Sakura finally released her from the embrace. “I was only gone for a few minutes, and I got to see the locker room, Sakurai showed me a back way in.”

“Sakurai.” Touko rolled his eyes in disgust, not really caring for the sweet talking young man. When he found that a moment of silence had passed he decided to speak up again. “Anyway, I was just saying that I want you and your mom to watch the game from a skybox.”

“We couldn’t.” “That would be awesome!” Sakura and Naiya shouted at once. The two glanced at each other, with Sakura finally budging with a roll of her eyes. “You owe me.” She growled in frustration, slightly embarrassed of having to give in to her daughter, but it was her special day.

Naiya threw her arms up into the air in celebration, jumping around as Li floated around her. “This is great, now we just have to find you a way to sneak out.” He glanced around as they arrived in one of the suites.

“Can’t you just change yourself into me or something?” Naiya whispered, sitting down in one of the beautiful lounge chairs as Touko left the room to get ready for the game.

Li paused, finally shaking his head in frustration. “Other Shinigami can, I’m just not that powerful yet.” He sighed, his tail swaying side to side.

It only took Naiya a second to come up with another cunning lie; she placed an arm behind her back in the direction of Li and opened her hand. “Oh, Mom, I forgot to give Touko the lucky pendent I bought him!” Naiya lied through her teeth; Li glanced down at her open hand and with a nod of his head made a small pendent appear in her hand.

“I am sure he will get by.” Sakura closed her eyes as she leaned back in one of the chairs, enjoying the peacefulness.

“But it is a LUCKY Pendent.” Naiya insisted.

Sakura rubbed her temples at the rising tone in her daughter’s voice. She knew that if she said no now, that she would not hear the end of it. “Hurry and try to catch him.” She waved her hand, shooing her away.

Naiya bounded out of the room as fast as her little legs could take her, making sure she was well down the hallway and out of sight before Li triggered the transformation. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up.” Li swayed from side to side, his fur turning pale in color as Naiya rushed past him and down the ramp to the team locker room.

“Where have you been?” Coach Sato roared, his face in several shades of shock and panic.

“I had to go to the bathroom.” Naiya replied meekly, walking past him and into the locker room. The team had already taken the field for practice and in moments the pitcher was supposed to take the field for the first pitch.

“What about your mom?” Li whispered as Naiya held up the different uniforms laid out for her.

“She usually sleeps through games.” Naiya whispered back.

“What was that?” Coach Sato shouted from the door of the locker room, keeping his back turned to give her some privacy.

“I umm…” Naiya quickly scrambled for a lie. “I said I was so anxious for this that I couldn’t sleep!” She replied cheerfully, changing into the uniform and running her hands over the smooth cotton cloth of the uniform.

“Number forty three.” She whispered, spinning around in the mirror before tucking her long hair through the baseball cap. “No pressure.”

She took in a long gulp as “boo's” rumbled overhead for Touko as he took the field. “You’re up.” Coach Sato yelled, as Naiya began to do some arm stretches. Naiya turned and looked at him in shock, fear beginning to bubble up in her chest. “NOW!” He shouted, taking her by the hand, dragging her into the dug out and giving her a soft shove onto the field.

“Now, your starting pitcher for the Tokyo Tigers: Naiya Koyama.” The announcer roared as Naiya’s breath caught in her throat, the lights of the stadium lit the field, the crowd roared with approval as her blood drained from her face.

“Step onto the pitcher’s mound.” Coach Sato whispered from the dug out as Touko looked up from his catcher’s position and waved her over harshly with his catcher’s met so that she would get moving.

Naiya just stood there in shock, her limbs shaking from the overwhelming moment of being in the spot light. “Its okay.” Sakurai whispered, stepping over from the third base position and taking her by the hand, leading her gently up to the pitcher’s mound. “It can get a bit overwhelming, just concentrate on Touko’s fingers and you will be find.” He added, giving her a gentle smile before running back to his spot.

Naiya gulped, and turned to home plate, looking past the Kyoto Kobra’s swinger, and at Touko’s catcher’s mitt and his fingers which displayed a number two. “Two that means fast ball.” She mumbled; trying to clear the haze in her head to remember all the numbers and pitches she used to study during the games.

Her fingers trembled as she gripped the first ball, the stadium began to fall quiet, and only a voice or two could be heard. She concentrated on the mitt, pulled her arm back and threw the first ball which soured through the air and nearly struck the batter as it passed inches away from his face.

A chorus of boo’s began as she dropped to her knees; sweat trickling down her brow as she tried to catch her breath. “It’s too much.” She whispered as Li floated over to her shoulder.

“This is what you want, isn’t it? This is your debut.” He asked as Naiya nodded softly, hugging her knees as Coach Sato got out of the dug out and began to walk over toward her. “Then show them what you did at try out!” Li exclaimed.

“But it’s so hard.” Naiya whispered.

“It’s only in your head, you have the talent.” Li whispered as Coach Sato rushed up to the pitcher’s mound.

“Do you want me to take you out of the game?” Coach asked as Touko ran up to meet them.

Naiya glanced at Li, nodding in agreement as his words rang in her mind. ‘It was only in her head, she did have the talent’. Naiya took in one long deep breath, her eyes trying to avoid Touko’s now piercing and judgmental eyes, when in a game it seemed that he was a totally different man than the sweet one she saw just a hour or so earlier. “I can do it.” Naiya rose, her legs barely able to hold her up.

Coach Sato and Touko looked at each other for a moment before Touko finally dropped the ball into Naiya’s hand. “Don’t screw up.” He mumbled, walking back to home plate and took his position.

“Don’t screw up? What kind of pep talk is that?” Li yelled at the top of his lungs.

“It’s only in my head.” Naiya whispered as Touko gave her the same sign for a fastball. “I can do it.” She added, digging in her foot before twisting around, pulling her arm back. And in one fluid motion spun around and released the ball.

The ball struck Touko’s glove so fast that she could have sworn that a small bit of smoke had risen from the glove. The batter had swung and completely missed. “Strike!” The umpire called as the view screen flashed the speed ‘168’ Kilometers Per Hour.

The rush came through the stadium like a wave, at first it was stunned silence, and then from every seat came cheers. “I did it.” Naiya’s eyes sparkled in excitement as fans rose to their feet to cheer.

“Now just do it again.” Li nudged her gently.

This time the pitch came easier, her motions fluid and the ball released from her fingers as if it were coated in butter. And by the time she threw the third pitch for the strike out she had gotten the motion down.

By the end of the first half of the inning, the crowd was on their feet cheering, Naiya’s smiling face, captured after her first pitch, flashed upon the Jumbo Tron. The roar that came from the sight of the picture as Naiya walked off the field, made her wonder if it could be heard all across Tokyo.

“That was amazing.” Sakurai patted her back as she walked into the dug out.

“Thanks.” Naiya beamed, smiling from ear to ear as she turned back to the stands. “I hope you were watching me mom.” She whispered to herself.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 6: So, we finally get to see Naiya's first game pitching. She showed the typical reaction for a first-timer, which made it seem more realistic. But its good to see that Li was there to calm her down (though from the way he was acting earlier, it seems he might not be there for much longer).

I wonder how Touko will be able to take all the attention that Naiya's starting to get. Hope it doesn't turn out to be too ugly.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Seven
The long ride back home, Parental secrets emerge…

With her sweat running down her face and dripping onto the concrete floor of the locker room entrance, Naiya peered out left and then right. The game was going on above her; the cheers seemed to echo through the locker room as the final inning began to draw to a close. In just a few minutes reporters would swarm the area, and she would be stuck inside of the locker room for hours answering questions.

“So far so good.” She whispered, stepping up the ramp to the main level, her uniform was already hung up, and she had changed into her old wardrobe, all in the hopes that she wouldn’t be spotted.

“Trying to sneak out early?” Manager Hiro asked, walking up behind her.

Naiya bit back a scream as she turned to face her. “I have family in the crowd, I wanted to see them before they left.” She lied, her face still white in terror of being snuck up upon.

“I don’t care for reporters either.” He laughed, as if he hadn’t heard a single word she had said. “Well I think you finally proved your worth so here it is. One Million Yen signing bonus.” He handed the check over to Naiya’s trembling hands, her eyes going wide in shock.

“Try not to make a habit of sneaking out, even with a relief pitcher in.” He laughed, waving to her as he walked back down to the locker room to prepare for the press.

“There is a bathroom just a few meters to the right when you walk out.” Li phased through the wall, Naiya nearly jumping in shock as Li appeared.

“Don’t do that.” Naiya hissed in anger, peeking her head up to the main level to find it nearly devoid of life. The fans were still in their seats watching the game, and most of the vendors had packed up.

Taking in one long deep breath, Naiya dashed out, making it half way to the bathroom door when some one called out for her. “Where do you think your going?” Touko yelled out, his body half way up to the main level as he walked up the ramp.

Naiya scrambled as fast as she could, nearly tripping over her feet as she doubled her speed and made it into the bathroom. “Hurry Li.” She gasped for air, dashing into the first open stall. Li nodded, touching her head as the now familiar shrinking feeling rushed over her body, her hair receded, and her clothes shrunk and changed into the outfit she wore when they left the hospital.

“Oh no, you don’t get away that easily, you have to answer all of those stupid questions for hours like I do.” Touko growled, walking through the rest room and looking under each stall for her.

“What do I do?” She asked Li, as his footsteps got closer.

“Think your something special for winning one game? That you can get around having the press poke at you?” Touko asked, reaching Naiya’s stall and flinging the door open, only to find the little girl looking up at him in shock as she sat on the toilet seat.

“I’m so sorry.” He gasped in shock, his face transforming and softening, going from anger, to shock. To Naiya it looked like there were two of him, the angry one that was around when she was older, and the sweet nice one that seemed to be around when she was her normal age.

“Get out!” Naiya screamed even though she was sitting on the seat with her pants on. Touko though was too shocked to notice and rushed out of the bathroom as fast as possible. Stopping only for a minute as he reached the locker room to wonder where their pitcher had run off to.

Moments later the two were walking toward the suite, Naiya constantly glancing down to see if Touko had turned around and followed them. Li’s fur had turned almost a ghostly shade of color; both of his eyes were completely closed, with only his ears and nose twitching every second or two.

“Mom?” Naiya whispered, walking into the suite to find her mother asleep in the chair, the last out coming up to win the Tiger’s first game of the season. “Mom the game’s almost over.” She nudged her mother awake.

“It is?” Sakura yawned, checking her watch before stretching.

“Did you see the new pitcher? She won the game for them!” Naiya beamed with happiness as her mother rose from the seat and began to walk out of the suite.

“I’m sorry, I fell asleep before the first throw.” She yawned.

“Pitch.” Naiya corrected her mother, her heart sinking to her feet as she trailed along behind her.

The rest of the walk to the car remained quite quiet. Sakura would yawn every few moments and rub her eyes as she tried to wake up, and Naiya would constantly look down at her feet, shuffling them and trying to not make eye contact with her mother. When they left the hospital, Sakura had insisted that they take two cars so that they wouldn’t have to impose upon Touko to take them home.

“Did you have fun at the game?” Sakura finally spoke up, turning the ignition and pulling out of the parking space. Naiya drew in a breath, held it for a moment and then exhaled as loud and as slowly as possible. Her eyes fixated on the cars and lights that flashed past them.

“Mom.” Naiya paused; gathering her thoughts while Li raised his head slowly and yawned. “Do you think I can be a professional baseball player?”

Sakura tried not to laugh, even using a hand to cover her mouth as she drove, and silently prayed that her daughter wouldn’t see the smile on her face. “We can talk when you get through with your chemo treatments and the cancer is gone.” She finally said, knowing any incentive to get her daughter to take her medicine was a good thing.

“I was thinking that I could try and make a team with the rest of the hospital kids, and then when I get out of the hospital I could join a middle school team.” Naiya explained her eyes still focused on the window.

Sakura’s smile began to dim, she knew her daughter loved baseball, but her body just wasn’t physically capable to perform the sport. “There are a lot of other things to do at school you might like, things that are not so physically demanding.”

“But I like Baseball.” Naiya threw her hands up in the air in anger. “It’s my dream, isn’t there a dream you wanted when you were my age?”

Sakura took in several long breaths to steady herself and desperately wished to end the conversation. The night had started out so well, but had taken such a horrible turn. “I wanted to be a ballerina, but,” She took in a deep breath. “But, there is a point in your life when you have to choose between what you want to do, and what you have to do.”

“But this is what I have to do, Dad likes baseball, and if I become a star baseball play...” Naiya froze, realizing that she had said the forbidden word as her mother slammed on the brakes.

“Is that why you like baseball so much? Because your father likes it?” Sakura’s whole body trembled with anger as she gripped the steering wheel to try and calm herself. “Listen, he left us, he left both of us, don’t try and...” She bit back tears trying not to finish the sentence. After a moment of silence she began to drive again.

“He left both of us.” She coughed, looking down to see the gas gage move dangerously close to empty. “Damn it.” She slammed the steering wheel, tears rushing down her cheeks as Naiya looked down at her lap, trying to bite back tears as well.

The car slowly moved onto the off ramp, driving silently over to the gas station. “I didn’t mean to yell at you.” Sakura whispered, climbing out of the car and walking to the station attendant to drop her credit card off while she pumped.

Naiya continued to fidget in her seat; the check in her pocket from Hiro began to feel as if it were a brick. “You can’t tell her.” Li responded to the question that hadn’t been spoken. But the question was still there, as if it was sitting in the car.

“With this much money, mom could stop working so many jobs.” Naiya pulled the check out, looking at the amount. “And I could tell her about you, and she wouldn’t have to worry about me getting sick while playing.”

“You mean tell her that I am a shinigami?” He asked.

Naiya froze, the blood draining out of her face as her eyes traveled down to the check. That was the one thing she had forgotten in all the events of the past few days. He was there to take her life, the chemo would fail and she would die. It was the one thing she wished had been a dream.

“What do you mean rejected?” Sakura screamed at the gas station attendant, who stood in front of her, holding the credit card in his hand. “Something must be wrong with your computers.”

“I’m sorry ma’am, do you have another card or something else.” He asked.

Sakura opened the car door, matching eyes with Naiya for a moment before looking away as she took her purse out and flipped through it. “I don’t. I don’t have any other cards.” She flipped through her purse again before closing it and taking the card back from the man.

“I’m sorry ma’am.” The man walked off as she leaned against the car.

“Mom?” Naiya asked as Sakura got into the car and silently drove it into a parking spot.

“The hospital is only a short walk from here.” Sakura whispered, trembling for a moment as she gathered the strength to get out of the car. “Do you think you can walk that far?” She asked as Naiya nodded silently.

“Good girl.” She patted her daughter’s leg and got out of the car, locking the car and checking each door before walking around to meet her.

Naiya shuffled down the side walk quietly, her hands stuck in her pockets, touching the check with her fingers. The want, the need to tell her secret was even more overpowering now. “Money isn’t a big deal, it was just a mistake with the credit card.” Sakura explained.

Naiya nodded, gripping the check tightly in her fingers. “Don’t…” Li whispered, shaking his head. “She can’t know.”

Tears trickled down Naiya’s cheeks as she nodded in agreement. She can’t know.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Eight
Those lonely summer days

The newspapers were full with accolades for the Tokyo Tigers, the TV reporters could not get enough of the coverage, and even international reporters were starting to talk about the three game winning streak they were on. Yet for the days that there were not games, Naiya found herself lying in her hospital bed, her mind drifting. The television in front of her flickered with a soap opera, while Naiya watched the birds fly past the window.

“Do you think Mom will find a job?” She asked, stroking a sleeping Li in her lap. The little Shinigami wore himself out these past days by using his power on Naiya; a long nap was what he needed to recharge his weary body. The question, of course, had been asked to no one, but it was the single thought on her mind since Li had followed her mother the day after their gas money had ran out.

Her mother had told her to not think of money matters, but she couldn’t help but think of them, especially during her chemo treatments. The treatments would leave her too tired to get up, but not sleepy enough to fall asleep.

“Little Miss Koyama.” The nurse walked past through the door way, a look of exhaustion and anger on her face, Naiya had just turned to look at her when a ball went flying into the back of her head. “Damn kids.” She barked, turning to face a young boy who ran off giggling.

“I swear some of you children.” She growled, walking over to Naiya and checking her chemo IV, before finally disconnecting it. “How do you feel?”

Naiya blinked a few times trying to refocus her eyes. “Sleepy.” She whispered.

“Well you know the drill, getting a couple of hours of sleep will help the side effect wear off.” The nurse explained for what felt like the thousandth time.

Naiya nodded, waiting till the nurse left the room to turn back to the television. “Easy for you to say.” She mumbled at the nurse, knowing full well the woman was far out of earshot.

Moments past and Naiya turned onto her side, nearly knocking Li off of her as she tried to will sleep to come. Another scream from the angry nurse rang through the hallway, followed by the sound of bare feet upon the tile. “Help me hide.” The boy that had hit her earlier gasped.

“Huh?” Naiya looked over her back as the boy rushed into the room, shutting and locking the door. “What are you doing?”

The boy didn’t answer, sweat dripped off his baldhead as he rushed to the other side of Naiya’s bed, hiding behind it as if it would hide him from what ever was chasing him.

“Where are you going now?” Another voice lit up the room, this one coming from a tall man standing in front of the door. He wore a black vest and slacks, something you don’t usually see in a hospital, topped off with a hat that had a pair of wolf ears just above the brim. “She is going to find you.” The man whispered his eyes focused on the bed with a steely gaze.

“How did you get in here?” Naiya asked confused as to how the man had gotten into the room with out opening the door.

“I have cancer, duh.” The boy rolled his eyes, peeking above the bed just as the nurse passed the doorway, only glancing in for a second before moving on. “Jeez, I play a few jokes on her, and she goes all mean.”

Naiya looked around in confusion as the man walked over to the window and leaned against it. His white wings fluttering gently as he crossed his arms. “Shiniga.” She whispered and then covered her mouth. Li had warned her about other Shinigami, how they couldn’t find out about her double life, or how Li had given her the mark of the Shinigami.

She instantly sunk back into the pillow, pulling the sheets up to her chin, all the while trying to avoid eye contact with the new Shinigami. “You think she would be nicer to someone that is dying.” The boy sneered, acting as if it were no big thing.

“She tends to be really mean sometimes.” Naiya agreed as the boy rose to his feet, sitting down on the side of the bed.

“I’m Kazuma, the resident prankster.” He grinned proudly, while Li flew out of the boy’s stomach, clearly looking annoyed and half awake.

“Who sat on me?” Li growled looking at the boy for only a second before shuddering and turning to look at the other Shinigami. “Hello Kuroe.” He instantly bowed in respect, as Kuroe gave a slight nod in return.

Naiya focused her eyes on Kazuma, trying her best to keep from looking at the Shinigami. “You’re not here to take away my assignment?” Li bunched up his fur in anger. Kuroe looked completely unfazed by Li’s anger as he walked over to Naiya and felt her forehead.

“Everyone has to find their footing with these easy missions, it must be so hard just standing around all day while she wilts away in her bed.” Kuroe laughed, bending down to inspect Naiya’s face as the girl tried to look away as well as keep her body from trembling. “She is a cutie.” He grinned, pinching her nose.

“What is this?” Kazuma scoffed, drawing Naiya’s attention as the boy held up one of her many photos of Touko.

Naiya scrambled out of her bed, snatching the picture away and placing it back down on the table. “He’s my favorite player, he’s the best player in the entire World League.” She beamed, watching after the picture as if it were her favorite toy.

“What ever.” Kazuma rolled his eyes in annoyance, walking to the edge of the door and glancing both ways. “That nurse watches over this hall like a hawk.” He peeked further out into the hallway before pulling his head back in.

“So how much longer does she have left?” Kuroe asked, drawing Naiya’s attention back to him. “Weeks?” He paused for a second as Li looked over at Naiya’s white face, unsure of what to say so that he wouldn’t hurt her. “Months?”

“It’s a long, long time off, in fact she is starting to improve, I may even be pulled off the case soon if she keeps improving!” Li responded, his voice upbeat, but with a hint of it being forced. He knew as well as everyone else that it was impossible to beat fate; once someone had been assigned to die, they died.

“That’s not what I heard.” Kuroe mused, stroking his chin. “The higher ups are actually paying special attention to this case. Rumor has it something big is coming down soon, they want to see how you deal with it.”

All the color seemed to drain from Li’s fur; his entire body began to tremble in shock. The higher ups meant that the Dominions were watching, the second hierarchy of angels who maintained watch over the Shinigami and other angels. When the Dominions took interest in a case, that usually would be the make it or break it case for Shinigami. “Something big?” He whispered, trying to take in the information.

Kuroe leaned forward, placing his finger on Li’s muzzle. “Do not screw this up, the higher ups have been known to visit if things go wrong.” Li could only glare back in anger, biting back at Kuroe’s finger. “Act like that and you will never be able to graduate into human form.”

“What is so important about a little girl dying from cancer?” Li growled in anger as Kuroe floated toward the doorway, stopping as he was halfway through his eyes matching Li’s and then turning to look at Naiya.

“Only one person knows, care to go ask him?” Kuroe asked as Li quickly shook his head in fear. “Thought so, either way it is just water cooler rumors right now, just wanted to give you the heads up.” He grinned, disappearing through the door.

The room plunged back into silence, but everything had changed since the last hour, now the room felt as if all the air had been sucked out. “Do you think they…” Naiya whispered, breaking the silence.

“They know, or at least the Dominions know.” He replied, cutting Naiya off as he fluttered into her lap.

“Are you in trouble?” She asked, stroking his tiny mane.

Li shook his head, gazing out the window. “Not until they tell the other Shinigami, if the other Shinigami learn about what I did, then you become hunted, and I get stuck in Purgatory for breaking one of the Shinigami laws.” Another moment of silence passed, Li’s eyes eventually inched up to Naiya’s face.

“This doesn’t change anything, you still have a game tomorrow, and you are going to help the Tokyo Tigers win the World Series.” He licked Naiya’s face, bringing a giggle and a few laughs out of her somber expression. “I knew this might happen, but we’re still not in trouble!”

The two began to settle down, Naiya watching cartoons on the television while Li’s eyes remained focused on the window. Somewhere, far above their heads, the Dominions, Archangels, and possibly God himself were looking down. The feeling was comforting while also something that sent a shiver down his spine.

-------

Touko’s house was never known to be truly quiet. It seemed that parties rotated through the house almost twenty-four/seven; the noise was known to be the bane of his neighbors, and the joy of his friends. So it was odd to find the house truly and utterly quiet on a day where no game was scheduled.

Touko though needed the silence, it was the only thing that would allow him to think and concentrate on the documents that were laid out in front of him on the kitchen table. The question that had haunted him for weeks had become an obsession. The new pitcher was an enigma for him, she would appear right before the game, and disappear just moments afterwards, only once or twice would she stay for a press conference. All of this only intrigued the press even more as they sought information about her.

Touko ran his hand through his dyed hair in frustration. “Who is she?” He grabbed the papers from Naiya’s drug test, she had cleared it, but there was no address that she had put down, no phone number. “So she wants to keep her past secret.”

He moved over to the list that he had gotten off the Internet, a list of all of the people in the world who shared the name: ‘Naiya Koyama’. He had come up with a list of four people, the young girl that he had met just days earlier. There was one located in Paris, another in the states, and two more in China. None of them though came close to being the same age as the pitcher he knew.

His mind though kept drifting back to the night of his first game with her, she had rushed off to the woman’s bathroom, only to find the young girl that shared the same name in there. He had waited outside for hours, waiting for her to come out, but she never did. For a moment he allowed his mind to wonder if the two were related, maybe the pitcher was the older sister.

Yet then again he had seen no sign of an older sister when he went to visit the little girl. Touko rested his head in his hands; the frustration seemed to mount by the day. The familiar email chime drew his attention back to the laptop he had sitting out. A simple click opened the mail to find a message sent by a friend he had made in the press.

“Payment for an embarrassing picture of the new pitcher?” Touko read the email out loud, “So the paparazzi had a new target.” He finished the question, re-reading the email before exiting out of it.

He silently wished them luck, maybe having cameras watch her every step would unlock some clues as to who Naiya was, and give the media’s Golden Child a bit of humility. Then again Touko felt a bit cheated, that they would most likely find out about whom Naiya was before even he could unlock her secrets.

“Damn it.” He roared, kicking the table over with his foot in anger, shattering the glass top. He needed to get his mind off of her; there was another game tomorrow, which he needed to focus on, instead of some secretive pitcher. Yet the more he tried not to think of her, the more he became obsessed with seeing her brought down in the eyes of the public.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 7: Soo...Naiya and Sakura's past is a very touchy subject for Sakura. Its too bad that Naiya can't tell her mom about the money she won and how she got it...it could probably solve most (if not all) their problems now. Well...we shall see what Naiya eventually does. I think this chapter was the best in terms of character development for Sakura and Naiya.

Chapter 8: Lol, you were telling me about this for some time. Kazuma seems like an ordinary character, but maybe something more lies underneath his cynical/mischievious nature. I have a bad feeling from looking at Kuroe's feeling (like something sinister about him). Is he going to be troubling Li and Naiya sometime in the future?

[Roy Karrde]

Well it's Friday! That means its time for the next chapter of Kachi!

Chapter Nine
Six wins and a Question.

“Just two weeks ago, this game was written off as a landslide victory, but then appeared Naiya Koyama, and the five game winning streak she has placed this team on has turned the tables.” The duo of announcers for the Tokyo Tigers was heard all over Japan, and even internationally as people tuned in their radio stations. “Now the golden girl of Japan has evened the odds as the Tokyo Tigers are set for the first upset game of the year against the number one seed Chicago Cubs. Everyone prepare for the first big game of the season, it’s baseball night in Japan, and you can only find the game right here.”

Naiya kicked her cleat against the soft earth, gazing around as the crowd began to flow into the stadium. She was used to seeing signs that cheered her name in Japanese, but something about seeing signs in English was a bit intimidating to her. “Any idea what they say?” She asked, grasping the ball in her hand and tossing it back to Sakurai.

“What what say?” He asked, rolling the ball over in his hand, glancing up at the crowd before tossing it back. Naiya leaned back, catching the ball before waving her hand at the crowd. “Oh those…to tell you the truth you do not want to know.”

Naiya paused for a moment, inspecting the ball in her hand before looking up at him. “Why is that?”

“Because most of them are pretty rude.” He laughed walking toward him with a smile that sent Naiya’s heart into her throat. “We should head to the locker room for Coach’s speech.”

Naiya’s eyes began to wonder to the American team as they took the field to warm up. Each of them looked as if they could crush a tank, each one had muscles upon muscles, and an unreadable face. Sakurai stopped in his tracks when he realized that Naiya had stopped following him. “Don’t worry about them.” He yelled back at her, only to see her attention hadn’t wavered.

Taking in a deep breath he walked back to her, debating what to do next before finally softly taking her hand, a move that jolted Naiya’s attention back to him. “Don’t worry about them.” He repeated. “Besides, I have a question I want to ask you after the game.” He winked, leading her by the hand to the locker room.

“What is it?” She asked as they walked down into the dug out.

Sakurai shook his head. “Not until you win the game.” He said, walking to the locker room, all the while holding her hand.

-------

During the innings of the game, a light mist began to fall on the field, that mist slowly turned into drizzle, just enough to give the field and it’s players a light soaking. Naiya adjusted the brim of her hat, droplets of water falling from it and down her face. Two men were on base, one on third and one on first. The Tigers were nursing a one run lead over the cubs, and she only had one out to go before the coach could safely put in the relief pitcher.

“C’mon rain.” Naiya whispered, her fingers trembled as she gripped the ball, if it would just rain then a rain delay would be called, and if it lasted long enough, the game would be called off with a Tiger’s win.

Touko gave the two-finger signal for a curve ball, something that would be nearly impossible with the slick ball. Naiya shook her head in response, and Touko repeated the signal, this time jerking his fingers angrily to emphasize it. Naiya slowly nodded and reared back, releasing the ball in a sloppy fashion that sent the ball spiraling far to the right for a ball.

Touko glared daggers through his catcher’s mask and signaled for a fastball, the one thing should could truly do well, and the ball that the Cubs had been hitting with ease through out the day.

“Throw the ball.” Li whispered, appearing at her side, the water droplets going right through his body. “You’re supposed to lose this game.”

“What?” She looked at him in shock, her eyes going wide in disbelief. The ball slipped from her hand, falling to the mud on the pitcher’s mound. “What do you mean I am supposed to lose?”

Li shrugged in response, gazing around the field. “When I went to see the Dominions, they told me that you had to lose this game today.” His eyes fell back on Naiya as she scooped the ball out of the mud. “By causing a three run home run.”

She looked back at him in anger, her eyes hardening as she gripped the ball. Li had been called up to see the Dominions just as Naiya had left for the game. “We’re on thin ice Naiya, just do it please.” He whispered.

“Why?” She asked in disbelief. “Why this game? Why now?”

Li ruffled his fur in annoyance, glancing up at the lightning that flashed off in the distance, signaling that time was growing short. “I don’t know, they would only tell me that you had to lose.”

Naiya glanced at him, and then over at Touko who stood up, raising his catcher’s mask. She shook her head, signaling that everything was okay. She grasped the ball, pulling her arm back, only to hesitate. Her eyes fell upon the crowd, upon the television cameras watching the game. She could feel thousands if not millions of eyes upon her, waiting for her next move. “No.” She whispered.

Once the word left her mouth a clap of thunder flashed over head, the lights in the stadium flickered for a mere moment before coming back on, a down pour of rain suddenly falling upon the field. Li’s tail sunk in depression as the umpire stood, waving his arms and calling for a rain delay.

Naiya sunk to her knees, mud splashing against her uniform, as the rain became a roar that seemed to drown out all other noise. “Naiya!” A voice called out in all of the rain, the voice became louder and louder until she was scooped up into two strong arms.

“Dad?” Naiya whispered, the familiar feeling of her father hugging her after her first big win rushed through her. Her vision cleared, and her father was not at the end of those two big arms, instead it was Sakurai’s smiling face, his entire body drenched from head to toe.

“You know what this means? If this rain continues then we win!” He shouted in glee over the roar of the rain. “You did it!”

“I did it?” Naiya asked repeating his words.

“Holding off the pitch till the last second, that was great!” He yelled, grabbing her hand and helping her to her feet. “I wanted to ask you, can I take you out on a date after we get cleaned up?”

Naiya couldn’t believe her ears, the words seemed to be drowned out from the rain, her entire mind filled with thoughts of the game, about Li’s warning, and what the future would hold. “I said…” Sakurai leaned forward so that his face was close to Naiya’s. “Will you go out on a date with me after the game?” Naiya’s cheeks instantly warmed into a blush, she gave him a soft nod as Sakurai walked her into the locker room to the cheers of the team.

-------

The cheers from the locker room seemed to shake the bathroom tile, water droplets would be shaken loose every few seconds as the shower cascaded down Naiya’s still clothed body. Her soaked hair draped down her face as she shook in fear. Li sat in front of her, his tail swaying from side to side, the water passing through his body without even pausing. “What is going to happen to me now?” Naiya finally spoke up, brushing a few strands of damp hair out of her eyes. “I mean I disobeyed a order from God, am I going to be smushed?”

“It wasn’t really God…” Li extended a claw, catching a drop of water on it and allowing it to slowly drip down his paw. “More like the Dominions saw that the future would be better for you if you had lost that game.”

“So… what happens now?” She asked, taking the towel Li had placed on the top of the stall and wrapping it around her shivering body. Even with the heat of the water, the cold chill of the rain could still be felt in her clothes and body.

Li rose, his wings fluttering in the air. “I’m going to consult the Dominions.”

Naiya looked at him in wide-eyed bewilderment. He gave her a warning that something bad was going to happen, and now he was leaving? She couldn’t believe it. “I’ll be back by tomorrow morning, the transformation wont wear off till you go to sleep, and you have money for a taxi ride home.”

He gave her, a gentle smile before disappearing through the ceiling, off to go to who knows where, and leaving her in silence. “Maybe I should never have done this.” She whispered silently to herself as she made her way to her locker, placing the curtain around her as she changed.

Having to skip her treatments, constantly lying to her mother, and of course Li having to fake the signatures on her charts so that she could sneak out. All of it began to feel wrong and all too much for her. “What have I gotten into?” She continued to wonder out loud, pulling her shirt on and opening the curtain.

Seeing Sakurai resting with one arm against a locker, his eyes focused directly on her, gave Naiya a bit of a jolt. “You sure are jumpy for some one who won probably our biggest game of the year.” He laughed innocently, his eyes narrowing in concern when he realized she wasn’t laughing along. “Naiya is something wrong?” He asked, moving forward and placing a comforting hand on her shoulder.

Naiya shook her head, stepping aside although not really far enough to escape his reach. For a moment she considered telling him everything, about Li, about being a cancer patient, about her impending death. How would he react when he realized he had asked a young girl out on a date?

“Naiya?” He asked, moving forward and placing both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him. “If you don’t want to go out on the date..”

Naiya shook her head as she leaned into the comforting touch. He responded by using a hand to gently rub her back, the entire thing was comforting to Naiya, for a moment she felt as if the touch could protect her from whatever fury the Dominion were going to bring down upon her.

“I’m your friend right? I mean you could tell me anything.” He side, continuing to rub her back as she nodded in response.

“Sakurai…I…” Naiya took in a long breath, the words waiting on the edge of her lips to say. All she needed was that little push to get the words out, to explain everything that had happened over the last two weeks.

The sound of a body hitting the lockers before falling to the floor kept those words from flowing, and drew both of their attention to the next row of lockers. “Sorry…sorry” Touko mumbled stepping into their line of sight, his expression going from embarrassment to mild shock at the sight of Sakurai embracing Naiya.

“Did I interrupt something?” He asked, his eyes shifting back and forth between them as he retrieved his ball cap from his locker.

“We were just...” Naiya quickly searched for an excuse, and quietly wished Li was there to help her out of the situation.

“Leaving.” Sakurai finished her sentence, taking Naiya by the hand and leading her out of the locker room. Any other time, holding hands with Sakurai would be something to rejoice in, but for Naiya, all she wanted to do was get as far away from the stadium as possible, and get her mind off of her impending fate.

[Wolfsong]

I'll try and read the latest chapter as soon as I can. I've liked what i have read so far. Sorry it took so long for em to reply.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Ten
Night on the Town, Naiya’s first date

Music seemed to thump all around Naiya, the sounds vibrated off the walls; the table, even the glasses shook on the table where she and Sakurai had sat down. The band on stage was wailing some type of lyrics in a language that she couldn’t seem to grasp. Sakurai, of course, had to get the closest table to the stage. A soft smile on his face as he sat opposite of her, the flashing strobe lights illuminating their bodies in a myriad of different and headache inducing colors. Naiya, meanwhile, was completely uncomfortable in the place and continued to move around her seat in an uneasy motion.

“Are you having fun?” He asked, his voice completely inaudible over the noise of the band, causing Naiya to lean forward to try and hear him. “I said are you…” He sighed in frustration and rose from his chair, moving it over to Naiya’s side of the table.

“I said are you having fun?” He placed his mouth close to her ear so that Naiya could hear him, his breath raising the hairs on the back of her neck

“I guess…” She responded, her eyes catching the reflection of what looked like a camera just a few tables over. “What was…”? She shook her head in frustration as the camera disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. She turn back to Sakurai, trying to not let her mind wonder on why a camera would be aimed in their direction. “The songs are really loud.”

Sakurai gave her a sympathetic shrug before motioning one of the waiters over. “I know something that will help with the noise.” He explained to Naiya before telling the waiter something that she couldn’t make out. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting it to be this loud or this packed tonight.”

Naiya took in a deep breath, trying her best to shut out the noise and put on a happy face as she leaned into Sakurai’s side, snuggling against it. “It’s okay.” She smiled, taking in his scent to try and clear the disgusting smell that seemed to fill the room.

“I’m glad you said yes.” He rubbed his arm against hers, taking two weird looking drinks from the returning waiter and placing one in front of Naiya while gulping down the other. “Try this…” He finished the drink in one gulp before looking at her.

“What is it?” She asked, picking the drink up and sniffing it, finding the scent the same as the smell of the room. She glanced up at Sakurai, finding herself under the scrutiny of his eyes before finally sipping the drink. “Nasty!” She exclaimed, nearly spilling the drink as she stuck out her tongue.

The taste, while not the most disgusting thing she had ever tasted, still ranked up there in some of the meds she used to have to take for her cancer. She could feel the eyes of Sakurai fall upon her; maybe it was something from her cancer that caused her to taste the drink in such a wrong fashion. She had seen several adults walking around with similar drinks all over the place, and Sakurai also seemed to enjoy the taste as he gulped it down.

“I have to fit in.” She mumbled, her hand running down the side of the glass before finally gulping the drink down while trying her best to not concentrate on the taste. Although the moment she let her concentration waver, the horrible and disgusting taste was there in her mouth. “Gag.” She licked her tongue against her teeth several times in an attempt to scrape the taste off.

“I’m sorry, I should have given you something lighter to start off with.” Sakurai apologized, handing her a pink colored drink which had a much more fruity taste, although the same horrible taste seemed to lurk in it, nearly hidden under the surface.

Naiya slowly began to lean back in her chair, sipping the drink while enjoying the music, the sound seemed to decrease, although the heat in the room felt almost sweltering as it did on the baseball field during a mid day game. “Did some one turn up the heat?” She asked, rubbing her arms against her sides to try and keep from sweating.

By the end of the song Naiya had already finished her second drink, a third one in between her fingers. “These are good, what are they?” She asked.

“I don’t know.” Sakurai laughed, bringing a fit of giggles out of Naiya as she leaned back further in her chair, nearly causing it to tip over. This caused an even bigger fit of giggles from the two of them. “Do you need a highchair?”

Naiya’s giggles broke out into a fit of laughter, her eyes welling up in tears. “I’m twelve year’s old, not a baby.” She exclaimed, Sakurai laughing even louder at the comment as Naiya’s mind began to clear from the fog.

“Well you are one beautiful twelve year old then.” Sakurai stroked her cheek, leaning in to kiss Naiya on the lips, only for her to recoil and fall out of her seat. Sakurai began to laugh again, rising to help her up only to fall also, nearly seven empty glasses falling to the floor with him.

Naiya slowly rose, swaying as she got onto her feet as a bright flash came from her left, her mind was still in a haze, but she could make out the flash of several cameras that lit up the room. “I, I have to go.” She mumbled, fear rising in her chest as she stumbled through the crowd, the camera flashes seeming to grow brighter and brighter as she walked.

“Get-get away.” She swung her arms wildly, pushing herself through the crowd while on the verge of tears. “Stay away.” She screamed, stumbling out of the crowd and into the damp night air.

For her the entire world seemed blurry, distorted in every which way, yet the flashes and camera shutters seemed to follow her, and she knew she had to get away. “Do you need a ride Miss?” A voice came from what looked like a yellow car; a car that Naiya prayed was a taxi.

“Please…” She stumbled forward, nearly falling into the street, only to be caught by the man and helped into the back seat of the car. “I need to get out of here.” She mumbled lying down on the leather seats of the back seat of the cab.

“Where to?” The driver asked, pulling out into traffic, the flashes of cameras illuminating the back window of the car as they drove off.

“Mom...” Naiya mumbled, rolling herself up into a ball, hugging her legs for protection. She desperately wanted to be back in her hospital room, back in her mother’s safe embrace. Although she also knew that she was still an adult, and that Li was nowhere near to change her back.

“Where?” The driver asked again.

“Touko Watari house.” She mumbled the first place that she could think of, the only place that she could go to as an adult.

---------

Touko stood on the railing of the second story balcony, his feet clinging to the edge as he stretched his arms. He took in a deep breath of the cool night air, drowning out all of the noise below him as he stood up there, enjoying one last moment of utter peace. “Everyone watch this!” He yelled, having practiced this grand moment for days. He closed his eyes, and with one fluid motion, leapt from the balcony and dived straight into the swimming pool, unleashing a splash that hit almost all the partygoers.

“Now that is how you dive into a swimming pool.” He spit water out of his mouth, wrapping his arms around two bikini-clad women while shaking soaked hair out of his face. All around him the party hummed with a life of it’s own, most of the players as well as friends were there, enjoying their big win.

“Touko!” One of the players slurred, holding one of the cheap beer cups that he would buy in bulk for these parties. “You are going to be the first major league player to die jumping into a swimming pool.”

The crowd erupted in laughter; Touko leaned back and let the waves of emotion and water wash over him. “This is the life.” He grinned turning to the beautiful bikini clad woman to his left. He moved in to kiss her, closing his eyes only to be met by the images of Sakurai and Naiya hugging in the locker room.

“Ugh.” He recoiled back at the image, both girls giving him disgusting looks before swimming off. “I seriously need something to get those images out of my head.” He mumbled, swimming to the edge of the pool and rising out of it.

He hadn’t taken two steps out of the pool before someone called out for him, yelling for him to bring more chips. There were days where he loved the parties as a way to escape from life, and then there were days when his mind refused to allow him to escape at these parties. So far his mind remained firmly planted in reality, with images from that moment in the locker room haunting him.

“The perfect fairy tale couple.” He spoke in a mocking tone, knowing that the headlines in the next few days would be filled with pictures of their first date. He had hoped and prayed that Naiya’s twenty minutes of fame would be winding down, yet it seemed to only grow stronger by the day.

“Touko, chips!” Someone yelled out from the back yard as the headlights of a car lit up the front windows of the house.

“In a minute.” He shouted back, walking to the doorway to see who had shown up late. Only to be met by a middle age cab driver. “Are you lost?” He cocked an eye at the man while grabbing a bathrobe he had placed on the coat rack, and quickly putting it on.

The portly and unshaved cabby drew in a long breath as Touko tapped his foot in annoyance. “This girl told me to take her to your house.” He jabbed a finger back at the cab. “You also need to pay her cab fee.”

Half listening Touko pushed past him, curious to see who it was since all of the people that were invited to the party had long since shown up. “You realize how long it took me to find this place?” The cabbie continued to whine and complain as Touko opened the cab door to reveal Naiya’s shaking and sweating figure, the girl having curled up into a ball on the cab seat.

“What happened?” He looked at the cabbie and then realized whom he was talking to. “Never mind.” He gathered her up in his arms and walked her inside, leaving the cabby outside to yell about his fee.

Moving around the house was not easy to say the least, with Naiya’s limp body it was nearly impossible to try and get her upstairs fast enough and hide her so that no one would ask any questions. “Out” Touko barked once he had reached his room, kicking open the door to find two women exploring his clothing.

“Now.” He added, his eyes narrowing to a glare as the girls scurry past them. Using the back of his foot he kicked the door shut and preceded to gently lay Naiya on the bed. “What did you get yourself into?” He sighed, hearing a loud pounding on the door.

“Touko, who do you have in there?” One of his fellow teammates called out, the handle turning as Touko rushed to it and leaned his body against the door. “Hey, let me in.”

“It’s just me in here.” Touko yelled back, Naiya moaning loudly much to his own annoyance.

“Who is it?” The teammate forced the door open enough to stick his head in.

Touko grabbed the man by the forehead and shoved him back. “None of your business.” He growled, shutting the door and locking it before anyone else could force their way in. Yet for Touko it seemed he only had a moment to catch his breath before the next disaster happened. This time coming from Naiya who was bathed in a soft golden light.

“What the...” He gasped, leaning against the wall for support as he watched in stunned shock, while Naiya morphed in his eyes, losing her hair and height as well as her figure, until she became that small little girl he had visited in the hospital just a few weeks before. “…Hell?” He mumbled, his mouth hanging open as the frail girl rose up, yawning and looked around; wearing nothing more than a hospital robe now.

“Where am. . .?” She spoke, half finishing the sentence before locking eyes at a stunned Touko. A moment or two past without either of them saying a word, the silence was finally broken with Naiya diving under the covers, wrapping herself up in them as she crawled deeper into the covers.

“No you don’t.” Touko rushed forward, grabbing her foot and dragging her small body out. Naiya glanced up at him, looking away only for a moment to decide on what to do next.

“Well, I guess I have a lot of explaining to do.” She gave him a weak smile, rubbing the back of her baldhead.

No Chapter next week becuase of my sister's birthday. Enjoy the Cliffhanger!

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 10: Wow! Never saw that coming. Great cliffhanger Roy. I kinda thought that maybe Sakurai was trying to take advantage of Naiya in the nightclub. It seems that Touko does have a soft side to him (despite all his grumblings about Naiya's sudden fame). Hmm...I wonder how's he going to take this new sudden shock

[Wolfsong]

First off, I'm half asleep as i type this so forvige any typos please. Ok, didn't expect that and I am curious about what happens next.

[Roy Karrde]

Thank you for all the nice words everyone.

Chapter Eleven
The morning after, the story is everywhere.

During the night, Touko had more then enough time to mull over everything that had been laid out by Naiya’s story. Things such as the ability to see angels, angels who seemed to control and determine when we die. Just the day before he would have laughed it off, considered it a fairy tale from the overactive imagination of a sick child. Then he saw the transformation, he had watched slack jawed as their star pitcher turned into a child that most likely could not throw a ball ten feet.

It did though make a certain kind of sense to him. As he picked up the house and cleaned the dishes left over from the party, all the pieces seemed to fall into place, that night in the bathroom after the first game, all of the disappearing and running off. And never being able to see the two Naiya’s at the same place at the same time.

Then came the entire issue of Shinigami, other wise known as the Angels of Death. Naiya claimed that she could see them, even speak to one, who in turn transformed her into an adult woman with all the skill and power as a major league pitcher. What frightened him though, is the thought that these Shinigami could be anywhere, waiting, watching, ready to pounce and kill you.

“Hey, if there are any Shinigami in here, show yourself.” He called out, the house echoing his voice as he placed the dishes aside. “I’m not kidding, show yourself.” His voice continued to echo inside of the mansion; a feeling of being watched sent a shiver up his spine.

“The dishes can wait.” He glanced around the kitchen, slowly backing away and leaving the lights on. For the first time since he moved in, the mansion seemed to be too small and closed in. Fear began to grip his throat, his entire body shaking as he rushed upstairs, nearly stumbling over each step as he ran to his room.

He couldn’t seem to reach the room fast enough, each step, each hallway, seemed to stretch on forever. All the while he felt as if he was being watched, that there was some kind of creature or monster stalking the hallways of the house. By the time he reached his room, his heart felt as if it would leap out of his chest, and his face was covered in sweat.

His first instinct was to rush to Naiya’s side and shake her awake. To scream at her to leave his room and sleep on the couch down stairs, and on the way out to ask her to check the house for Shinigami. If she were still in her adult form, he would have done just that. Yet she wasn’t, she was a little cancer stricken girl who was curled up in his bed. “Damn it.” He grumbled, the fear leaving his heart as he slumped against the door.

Touko wouldn’t dare step out that doorway, he didn’t want to risk the chance that there were Shinigami that were waiting for him. Deep down inside he knew that fear was childish and stupid; the house was no different yesterday than it was today. Yet he still couldn’t leave that room during that night. Possibly because just like when he was with Naiya when he was showing her around the ballpark, he felt some sort of peace. Peace that he had not felt in a long time.

-------

The morning brought little solace; Naiya was still there as a constant reminder that the previous night was real, and the nagging thought of being followed by Shinigami remained in Touko’s mind. All of this though seemed to pale in comparison as to what awaited him on the front porch when he woke up. “Pitching star, seen at trendy night club” the headline read as Touko retrieved the morning paper.

The previous night’s date with Sakurai had not gone unnoticed, with pictures of her downing a glass of whiskey being prominent on the front page. For a moment, a rising feeling of glee swelled inside of Touko’s chest. For weeks he had been wishing for something bad to happen to Naiya, something that would end her reign of being the media’s darling. Finally his prayers had been answered; finally she would be brought back down to earth.

Then he walked inside, and saw the little girl sitting at the table; suddenly all of reality came crashing back down upon him. Naiya wasn’t some evil person who was out to take the spot light from him, to make him look bad and look like the team’s savior. She was just a dying little girl that wanted to play baseball.

“How many different kinds of stupid are you?” He sighed, slapping down the newspaper on the glass table as he moved around to fix himself some coffee. “This may fly with American teams, but we have rules on this team, if you see a camera, you do not do anything embarrassing.”

Touko took the cup of coffee and sat across from her at the table, looking at Naiya’s pale face. “I’m sounding too much like Coach Sato when he gave me this speech.” Some color came back into her face as she looked up at him. “It was one of our first few games, and I was caught smoking, I have no idea how the pictures were not leaked to the press.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” She finally spoke up, finally finding the will to speak. “Am I fired?”

Touko shook his head, running a hand through his long hair as he thought about the long-term consequences this would cause. “Probably a suspension for a few games by the team, and a fine.” He finished his cup and instantly wanted another one. “Don’t worry about the fine, you probably have more than enough money for...” His voice trailed off as he leaned over the table.

“What do you do with your money?” He asked.

Naiya glanced to her feet, her toes clenching and unclenching. “I hide them under my mattress in the hospital.” She grinned, feeling like an idiot because she hadn’t found a better hiding place.

“This is why I can only stand children in small doses.” He rose from his chair, walking over to the counter and grabbing the keys to his car while Naiya watched him with her innocent eyes. “We’re taking you back to the hospital, and then I am going to talk to the coach, and then go set you up a bank account.”

“Why can’t I do that with you?” Naiya rose, anger coloring her face in a deep shade of red.

Touko responded by grabbing one of his bathrobes and tossed it to Naiya to go over the hospital robe. “Because Lick, or Lie, or what ever his name is, isn’t here to do, well what ever he does to make you older.”

“Li.” She corrected him as they both entered the car.

“Yeah, Li.” Touko mumbled as if he were only barely paying attention to her as he backed out of the driveway and began their trek to the hospital.

Naiya smiled with a grin that seemed to stretch even further than her face allowed as she cupped her hands with an invisible creature. “No, no, Li! He’s back!” Naiya exclaimed, causing Touko to nearly swerve the car into oncoming traffic.

Li bristled his fur in anger, a hiss escaping his muzzle as he glared daggers at Touko. “Out of all of the people you could have told your secret to, you told it to him?” He asked, emphasizing the last part with a hiss of anger.

“Li, be nice.” Naiya shot back, running her hands down the fur of Li’s back to try and quiet him down.

“What? What did he say?” Touko asked, his voice slowly growing as anger welled up inside of him.

Naiya glanced over at Touko, and then back down at Li as she tried to decide on how to phrase what Li had said. “Tell him that he is a knuckle dragging, spray painted idiot, that has caused patches of my fur to fall out over stress.” Li screamed in anger, standing on his back legs while his little wings fluttered in anger.

She paused a second to decide how to take his words and twist them into something positive. “He says he likes his haircut.” She grinned.

Touko instinctively ran a hand through his hair while pulling into the parking lot of the hospital. “Yeah, well if I catch him anywhere around my house I will call a exorcist.”

Li let out a roar of anger and rushed toward Touko with his claws out stretched. It took all the strength Naiya could muster to grab him by the fur on the back of his neck and pull him back while she exited the car. “I wouldn’t go near that place even if it was a order from God himself.” He roared, his entire body shaking as he struggled to get away.

“Do you need a note, or want me to come in?” Touko asked, rolling down the window while feeling shocked that those words had just came out of his mouth.

Naiya clutched Li to the point that the small Shinigami had to struggle to for air. “No, no I can handle it, mom has been so busy I doubt she noticed.”

A moment past between the two as Li clawed at Naiya’s arms to have her release her grip on his chest. “Well, I’ll drop by later, or tomorrow, to pick up the checks, and give you news about whatever they decide for punishment, as for Sakurai…”

Naiya instantly let go of Li, causing him to drop to the pavement and gasp in long deep breaths. “No, please, he didn’t know about the photographer, or that I’m actually twelve.” She quickly pleaded, placing her hands on the door.

Touko paused, placing his hands on the steering wheel as he wondered if he should tell Naiya about the email that he got, and most likely Sakurai received also. “I’m sure...” He matched eyes with Naiya for a second before looking away. “I’m sure you are right and that he had nothing to do with it.”

Naiya grinned and rushed off inside, Li limping along after her, his wings barely keeping him afloat. Touko struck the steering wheel as hard as he could in anger. The next few weeks would keep Naiya away from Sakurai due to whatever suspension that the management brought down on her. That would give him long enough to plan his revenge for Sakurai, and make him pay for what he did to Naiya.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 11: Hmm...so Sakurai really meant to get Naiya into trouble. What a heartless bastard. I wonder how Touko's going to enact revenge against him. Short chapter, but I guess this is mainly to show Touko's reaction to what just recently took place.

[Roy Karrde]

Happy Birthday to Perfect Chaos, this Chapter is dedicated to him!

Extended Chapter Twelve!
Time to play ball! The Hospital’s First Wiffle Ball Game!

It had become a hospital tradition that benefits the sickliest of children, more than any medicine. It took place in the middle of the day, and in one of the largest rooms provided by the hospital. Food and balloons decorated the room, and streamers fell from the ceiling, all to allow the children to get out of their rooms, and meet other children, and parents of those children. For a brief time the pain would disappear from their faces, and they could enjoy cake and other festivities before returning to treatment.

For Naiya and the rest of the children of single parents, the day was more of a pain than anything close to an enjoyment. “But why can’t you come?” Naiya moaned in frustration, clutching the phone with enough anger to break it. “You always miss Parents Day.”

Sakura took in a long deep breath from the other end of the line, steadying herself as she waited outside of the insurance office in hopes of getting a loan to fix the car and to pay for Naiya’s medical bills. “I know, I know, but I need to find a job, I promise to come next year.”

Naiya slumped back into the bed, sighing in defeat; she wanted to scream into the phone that there wouldn’t be a ‘next year’. But that would only lead to more pain, and even more questions. “Is money that bad mom?” She finally asked, having danced around the question for days.

“It’s just a rainy day, Hun, I’ve been saving up for days like this.” Sakura lied, Naiya was beginning to get the feeling that money was quickly running out, and all she could do was watch from the sidelines. “I really have to go, the broker is coming back.”

Naiya could barely form the words ‘I love you mom’ before she heard the click of the disconnection of the line. “Are you ready to go?” The male nurse asked, disconnecting the IV from Naiya’s arm and taking the phone from her hands.

She gave him a soft nod and rose from the bed, standing on very shaky legs for a moment before finally gaining her balance and taking a few steps. “Now you said there is going to be good food here, right? Better than what they serve you usually?” Li asked curiously, stretching his claws before fluttering onto Naiya’s shoulder.

“Cakes, cookies, fruit, chips.” Naiya began to list off as they walked down the hallway, nurses busy running from one room to the next to help the children out of their rooms and down the hallway to where the party was being held.

Li licked his lips in anticipation, smiling from ear to ear before fluttering off of Naiya’s shoulder as something caught his eye. “Kuroe! I didn’t think you stayed with Kazuma.” He fluttered into the room as Naiya raced to catch up with him.

“I tend to take my cases pretty seriously.” Kuroe shrugged as Naiya rushed into the room, already in a coughing fit as Kazuma and Kuroe both looked at her in shock. “I see the Dominion have allowed you to keep your job.” He added, just a week or so ago, Kazuma had gotten himself in trouble and hid in Naiya’s room. That was when she met the young boy who also had a Shinigami that was watching over him, and where she learned that the higher up Angels were paying careful attention to her.

“What do you want?” Kazuma growled, using his leg to deliver a kick to the nurse’s jaw. “I’m not going, so leave me alone.” He yelled, turning his attention back to the nurse.

The nurse delivered a hard slap to his leg before pushing past Naiya and leaving the room. “I hate that stupid party.” He sighed, pulling out several sheets of paper and preparing small spitballs.

“My parents never come either.” Naiya mumbled, glancing around the room and noticing how barren it was. No signs of a personal touch, or any signs of life sat in the room, almost as if he had just moved in.

A long silence passed between the two, only interrupted by Li tugging on Naiya’s arm. “Food, food.” He pleaded.

“She can’t see you so give it up.” Kuroe rolled his eyes, like a big brother chastising his younger sibling.

Being near Kuroe seemed to be a constant test for Naiya, if she gave away any hint that she could actually see Li, and that he was helping her live a double life, then they would both be in tons of trouble. So instead of moving toward the door such as what Li desperately wanted, she moved to the window and glanced around at the outside surroundings.

“Do you know how many kid’s usually sit around without parents at these parties?” She mused, her eyes focused on a field of freshly cut grass.

Kazuma rose curiously and walked to the window. “I don’t know, ten, maybe twelve, why?” He asked, looking back from her, than to the grassy field. “What? Do you expect us to...” He let his sentence drift off as he matched eyes with Naiya’s smiling face.

“I want to sneak away and have a baseball game!” She grinned much to Kazuma’s shock.

“Okay, lets say we can sneak out with some of the others, how do you plan to get the equipment?” He asked, returning to his bed and continued to finish his collection of spitballs.

“Just get everyone out there, I’ll take care of everything else!” Naiya rushed out the door, her feet carrying her down the hallway as fast as possible, taking her in the opposite direction as the parent’s party.

----------

“How did I get roped into this?” Touko shook his head in shock, unloading the soft wiffle balls and bats from the back of his sports car. The past few hours seemed to be a blur for him, he had been sitting at home, nursing his own private hang over when he had received the phone call from Naiya. Some how afterwards he had agreed to go out and buy several sets of wiffle balls and wiffle bats and driving them up to the baseball field.

Naiya took two of the bats and began to hand them out to the kids that were able to sneak out. “Because you are a nice guy?” She asked, returning back to the car as Li pouted on her shoulder.

“Yeah, that has to be it.” Touko snorted, rolling his eyes before returning to the driver’s seat. “Oh and why did I have to get this?” He added, holding up a cupcake, much to Li’s delight.

Before Naiya could even reply, the cupcake was snatched from Touko’s hand, several bite marks appearing on the icing of the cupcake as it disappeared in front of Touko’s eyes, bit by bit. “I bought a cupcake for your Shinigami?” He blinked in disbelief as Li finished off the snack.

Naiya gave him a soft nod in return as Touko turned on the car. “Alright I set up your bank account, and you were banned for four games.” He quickly explained, revving the engine before turning to match eyes with several of the children that were lined up for the game. Each of them was as cancer stricken as Naiya, one of which was in a wheelchair, and all of them were looking at him with hopeful eyes.

“Four games.” Naiya mumbled in shock, the full impact of the suspension beginning to fall on her shoulders.

“Do you have any adult supervision?” Touko asked her, breaking his gaze from the children and shifting his focus back to Naiya as he turned off the car. “I mean in case something happens?”

“Hey, old guy, stop talking, so we can start.” Kazuma yelled out.

Touko couldn’t believe what he was hearing; it took all his willpower to keep him from yelling back at the small child. Yet the willpower wasn’t strong enough to prevent him from leaping out of the car and walking onto the field. “I’m a pro-league ball player.” He retorted, hoping that would be enough to shock the group.

“Yeah for the worst team in the league.” Kazuma laughed, picking up a bat and taking several practice swings.

Anger began to bubble up inside of Touko’s chest as he shoved a finger into Kazuma’s face. “At least I don’t have...” He bit his tongue before he could add in ‘have cancer’. Kazuma glanced up at him, a smirk on his face as if he knew the words that Touko was holding down.

Sensing the tension, Naiya stepped between the two and began to count off the number of people on the field. “There are twelve total, so that should make the teams even!” She grinned, pushing Touko back quickly as she tried to form two lines for each team.

“Hey! You get the old guy!” Kazuma quickly pointed out in anger.

“Yeah!” Some of the kids on the other team began to shout in shock as Kazuma crossed his arms with a smirk on his face.

Naiya’s and Touko’s eyes matched for a moment before he stepped forward and walked across to the other team, placing his hands on the back of the child on the wheel chair. “I’ll be the catcher for both teams, and help this guy out.” He said confidently, his eyes going from one team to the next. “Now do you want to stand around and argue? Or play?” He asked.

“Play!” Most of the children yelled in delight, rushing off to the respective positions on the field that they wanted, it only took a few minutes to make sure that everyone was at the right spot, and had the right equipment, and then the game could begin.

“Remember Naiya, throw it soft and underhand.” Touko called out as Naiya stood on the pitcher’s mound, the soft wind rushing up against her baldhead. It was a startling difference from what she usually felt on the pitching mound during the major league games. Here there were no fans to boo or cheer, there was no hair to rub against her neck to distract her, and there was no pressure to strike the player out.

“I know, I know.” She finally snapped out of her own thoughts and pulled her arm back, letting the ball soar softly through the air, and into the awaiting swing of the batter. “There you go!” She cheered, watching the ball soar over her head, and the others go scrambling after it.

“Stay at first, stay at first.” Touko yelled at the young child, his arms swinging wildly as the other kids threw the ball at second base. “There, stay, stay.” He continued to yell as the confused kid looked at second base and then back at Touko who nodded in approval.

“Batter up!” Touko called out, his voice full of energy and excitement. The next child was the one that Touko had personally said he would help. The child in the wheel chair whose eyes were full of doubt as to if he could even play.

Touko quickly gave him one of the soft bats before moving behind the kid and taking the handles of his wheelchair. ‘Give him a easy one’. He mouthed to Naiya as she pulled back and tossed out one of the slowest pitches she had ever thrown.

The soft crack of the bat against the ball rang out over the field as the wiffle ball was sent flying into the air. Touko quickly turned the chair, racing down the base line and yelling for the other child to run to the next base as fast as he can. The young child in the wheel chair squealed with glee as they rounded third base and headed home.

“Tag him out.” One of the kids yelled at Naiya, tossing her the ball and motioning for her to run to home plate since their catcher was currently helping the other team score. Naiya turned and ran, making sure she was at least a good step behind Touko, allowing him to make it to home plate, and raising the score to two to zero.

--------

By the seventh inning stretch the game was tied, even though the only ones keeping score were Touko and Kazuma, and that was only because they constantly seemed to mention it in taunts to each other. For the rest of the two teams, neither of the kids cared, the fresh air seemed more than relaxing, and the smiles on all of their faces were proof that each one of them was having a good time.

“So how did you come up with a wiffle game?” Touko asked, sipping on one of the juice boxes that they had managed to swipe from the party during the end of one of the innings.

Naiya shrugged and took a long sip from the juice box, avoiding the glances of both Li and Touko before finally buckling under the pressure. “I used to be in a Wiffle Ball league before I got sick.” She explained, turning to the two with a grin. “I was the best seven year old wiffle ball pitcher in Japan.” She grinned, not caring if they never ranked pitchers that young. In her mind she was the best in Japan.

“Best in all Japan?” Touko asked, raising an eyebrow as Naiya nodded confidently. He could only laugh and place a hand on Naiya’s head. “You’re something special.” He smiled, not even realizing what he said until the words had left his mouth.

“Really?” Naiya’s face brightened in shock.

“So what is up with that brat?” Touko quickly coughed, feeling as if his stomach had leaped up into his throat as he sought desperately to try and change the conversation around to something, anything else.

Naiya glanced over her shoulder at Kazuma who was sitting alone, sipping on his box drink, as his eyes remained transfixed on the ground. “Oh, Kazuma, he is always causing trouble in the hospital.” She explained, her voice lowering and her eyes sinking to her own box drink. “But I don’t think he has any friends, or his parents come to visit him.”

Kazuma glanced up, a look of hatred in his eyes as he dropped his box drink. “I’m dying but I still have my hearing.” He growled, standing up in anger and walking over to Naiya, shoving her with both hands.

“I’m up to bat next, show me your best.” He taunted, his eyes narrowing. “If you really are Japan’s best wiffle ball pitcher than it should be easy to strike me out.” The words ‘best’ sounded more like an insult, or a curse, than anything else.

“How about I shove my fist up your…” Touko growled, rising to his feet, his fist clinched after seeing Naiya getting shoved.

“Stop it!” Naiya shouted, rising to her feet and again finding herself trying to keep both sides from having a fight. “All right, if you want me to strike you out, I will strike you out.” She grabbed the wiffle ball and walked onto the pitcher’s mound.

“No one has to get up, he isn’t going to hit a single ball.” She called out as Touko grabbed his glove and got into position behind Kazuma.

“Bring it on!” Kazuma shouted back, slapping the tip of the bat in the dirt before taking a few practice swings.

The first ball went whipping past, the air cracking as it passed Kazuma, whose swing was nowhere close to the ball. “Lucky pitch.” He yelled out at Naiya as he took another few practice swings and prepared for the next one.

As Naiya warmed up for her second pitch, Li laid on his side in the grass, rubbing his bloated stomach as he kept one eye focused on Naiya, and the other eye completely closed. The warm sun, and soft breeze, as well as the full stomach were slowly sending him drifting off to sleep.

“What a perfect day.” Li yawned, paying no attention to the scrabbles on the field, he turned to lie on his back and shut both of his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sun only for a moment before a cold chill rushed down his spine. “Huh?” He opened his eyes in shock, only to be met with the sight of Kuroe standing close by, his eyes focused on Kazuma.

“Whatcha doing?” Li sat up curiously as Kuroe removed his sword, aiming it in the general direction of Naiya. “WHAT? She’s mine!” He screamed out in shock, fluttering into Kuroe’s face in anger.

“Get out of the way.” Kuroe slapped Li aside with the back of his hand as Naiya threw back her arm for the pitch. The moment the ball left her hand, blue lightning leapt from the sword and raced through the air, much to Li’s horror.

As the lightning closed in on Naiya, it curved at the last second; following the ball while Kazuma leaned in for the swing. Only to lean in too far, the ball striking him on the side of the head and sending him flying to the ground, blood flinging from his mouth.

“Kazuma!” Naiya screamed in shock, running to his still body in a matter of seconds, blue electricity racing through Kazuma’s body, the electricity invisible to all except Naiya and the Shinigami. “Kazuma, Kazuma say something.” Naiya screamed, her voice coming out between coughs as tears filled her eyes.

“Another job complete.” Kuroe walked over to the body, placing his hand over it and pulling out a blue orb, the electricity disappearing the moment the orb has left Kazuma’s body.

“Help, someone help.” Touko screamed, placing his hand over the bloody wound on Kazuma’s face, trying his best to slow the bleeding.

“Kazuma, Kazuma, wake up, please wake up, I didn’t mean to.” Naiya screamed, tears running down her face as she held Kazuma’s lifeless hand. “I didn’t mean to.” She continued to bawl as Li placed his hand on Naiya’s shoulder, knowing that it was too late for Kazuma.

[Bulbasaur4]

The fic seems to be coming along nicely. I'll admit it took me a while to read since I know that Touko was based off of Taiki a bit, but I kept reminding myself that they were in fact different characters. ^_^;

Every chapter you write gets better than the last, so continue your improvement! And nice angst in teh last chapter... ahhh angst! XD Oh, and is Kuroe based off of mystic's charry that he played? If so, great job at portraying the arse! XD

[Perfect Chaos]

Gee, thanks for dedicating a chapter to me where where my char gets killed off

But other than that, it was a good chapter overall. I see you're developing a sort of love between Touko and Naiya in the lightest sense possible (considering its an older guy and a small girl).

Kuroe seems like he might stir up trouble later in. I guess we'll have to wait and see. Here's to the next chapter.

-Sean

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Thirteen
The long road to heaven

If Shinigami could swear, Li would have some very choice words to express about the humidity in the air as he soared through the Tokyo skyline. It had only been three days since the event that caused Kazuma’s death. Three long, hard, days in which Naiya would not move out of her room, and remained buried under her covers. Three long days, which eventually spurred Li off into taking action and doing what he swore he would never do. Voluntarily visiting the home of the man that he hated the most, Touko Watari.

“Well, this place wasn’t hard to find, I just had to follow the evil scent.” Li mumbled to himself as he dived toward the house, passing through the roof and the inner walls with ease before finally finding Touko sitting at his laptop in the living room. “Does this guy have nothing to do, but stalk twelve year olds?” He wondered, fluttering down to the keyboard.

Being a Shinigami, Li was able to go through the human world completely unseen, with the obvious exception being Naiya. Still, even though he was invisible he could move through the human world with ease, not having to worry about barriers such as doors or walls. Shinigami could move objects as well interact with the world with enough concentration.

“Now comes the hard part.” He grunted, wrapping his paws around a pencil and concentrating, during the first few attempts the paws passed right through the pencil when he tried to lift it, finally on the forth time he was able to lift it and move it toward the keyboard.

“What the?” Touko gasped in shock, jumping from the couch and sending the laptop tumbling to the floor.

‘Calm down, idiot.’ Li pounded into the keyboard, slowly gaining more and more maneuverability with the pencil.

“Idiot?” Touko’s shock and fear began to turn into anger as he balled his fist, taking a swing at the pencil. “I should have known, Naiya’s little Shinigami. Luke or Lick or what ever.”

‘LI!’ Li pounded into the keyboard, the pencil nearly snapping under the pressure.

Touko moved his hand toward the cell phone, flipping it open and hovering his finger over the call button. “Get out of my house, or I’ll call a exorcist or something.” He threatened, of course it was an empty threat, he knew that calling a spiritual nut would only risk having the entire story plastered over the newspapers.

Both took in a deep breath, each glaring at the other as Li clutched the pencil, his little claws digging into it. ‘Naiya is sad.’ Li typed into the word program, bringing a shrug from Touko.

“She should be, she killed her friend.” He bit his tongue the moment the words left his mouth; lately he had begun to regret the things he said more and more often.

Li took in another long calming breath, the pencil wavering in his paws as he fought the temptation to jump at Touko with his claws outstretched. ‘She is scared of dying.’ Li wrote on the laptop.

Touko placed both hands on his knees, leaning forward till his nose was touching the pencil while narrowing his eyes into a glare. “Then whose fault is that?” He growled.

The pencil fell limp causing Touko to jerk back in shock, his hands flailing wildly to fend off a invisible attack that could come from any direction. Li growled in response and flew toward the door, his fur sticking up in all directions as he passed through the door, using his leg to kick over a vase on the way out.

-----------

The flight back to the hospital was even more irritating than the flight to Touko’s house. Moisture from the humidity caused water to cling to his fur, matting it down to his body, and dampening his wings. All of which only compounded his anger from Touko. “Why does he have to act like a child?” Li mumbled to himself in anger, his eyes scanning the houses below before making a soft landing on a window ledge, his tongue hanging out as he panted.

“I’ll slash his tires or rip apart his shirt or something.” He mumbled, moving through the window and into the cool air-conditioned room of the house. “So this is what a children’s room looks like.” Li gazed around at the pastel color room, with colorful toys lining the shelves.

Bounding off the window sill he flew around the room, admiring the dusty toys before finally landing on the bed. “A whole lot more comfy than Naiya’s bed.” He admired, jumping up and down upon it. “A whole lot more bright too.” He added as the door gently opened, a woman around the age of Naiya’s mother walking in.

“Do all human women have children at that age?” He asked himself as he followed the woman around, watching her curiously as she took a damp towel and wiped off the surfaces and toys, humming to herself as she did.

The woman arrived at a picture of a young blonde haired child and began to wipe the dust off, taking special care to gently clean the picture above all other objects in the room. “Huh?” Li glanced over the woman’s shoulder to look at the picture, only to recoil back in pain, his head pounding in pain.

“Ow, ow, ow.” He groaned in pain, flashes of being in a place full of tall people ran through his head, a sensation of fear and being lost ran through his body with a shudder. The entire moment only lasted seconds, but left Li in a cold sweat as his body drifted out of the window.

“What is happening to me?” Li asked himself as he turned to find Kuroe hovering just a few feet from him, his arms crossed.

“It’s dangerous to come here.” Kuroe’s eyes narrowed into a glare.

“I just went inside to cool off for a second.” Li panted, completely out of breath and still shaking from the entire event.

Kuroe gave him a short nod and peered through the window before turning back to Li. “Do you know what happens to a Shinigami that recovers his memories?” Kuroe asked, only receiving a blank look from Li. “They lose any chance of becoming a angel, they become a wandering spirit, forced to endure unending pain.”

Li’s heart began to pound in his chest as he backed away from Kuroe in shock. “Do you just follow me around?” He asked, realizing where he had been, and that he probably had given away Naiya’s secret by visiting Touko’s house.

“Oh Li, my little Shinigami.” Kuroe laughed, running a finger through Li’s damp fur. “I guessed Naiya’s secret when I first met her.”

Kuroe’s eyes narrowed into a glare as a car with Touko inside rushed past behind him. “Let’s just say, I own you.” He chuckled, flicking Li’s nose with enough force to send him flying back inside of the house.

-----------

By the time Touko reached the floor that Naiya’s room was on, he had to constantly remind himself as to why he had come. It was because she was a player on the team, and that he was just there to offer any assistance. Then again he knew that was a lie, that if it were any other player he would still be back at home. And if Naiya were the same eighteen-year-old girl that made it onto the team just a few weeks before, he would have relished the thought that she was sick. Yet she wasn’t the same girl he met just a month before, and thus brought him to wonder why he decided to go see her.

“What are you doing here?” Sakura asked, raising her head to match his eyes while remaining seated outside of Naiya’s room.

Touko was at a lost of words for a moment as he fumbled around to explain both to her and himself as to why he had come. “I heard she was sick so I came to check in on her.” He finally explained.

Sakura closed her eyes for a moment before rising to her feet, her arms crossed in frustration. “Do you realize how weird it seems, to have a adult man go see a twelve year old little girl?” She asked, her voice full of anger.

“Oh trust me, you have no idea how weird it is.” Touko mumbled under his breath. “I promise to only see her for a moment.” He tried to calm the mother, when she didn’t respond he gently slipped past her and into Naiya’s room.

The radical change to the room since the last time he was there shocked Touko for a moment, startling him even more than he already was. Gone were the baseball memorabilia as well as any and all pictures of him. The room was barren with only a few sparse pictures of Naiya and Sakura.

”Going to try out a new sport?” He wondered out loud, walking through the room before finally pulling up a seat to Naiya’s bed. “You feel guilty about Kazuma...” He guessed, looking at the small calendar that lay in Naiya’s lap.

Naiya remained frozen for a moment, her eyes remaining fixed to the ceiling with the covers pulled up around her neck. “I was so angry at him.” She mumbled; her voice cracked as if she had been saying it over and over.

Touko sighed, taking Naiya’s frail hand and rubbing it for comfort. “Sometimes, it is just some people’s time.” He fumbled around trying to find the right words. “You are a idol to so many, do you think Kazuma would want you to give up like this?”

Naiya rolled onto her side, her back facing Touko as the calendar rolled off of her stomach and off the bed. “What if I hit a player, what if I kill some one else?”

Touko kneeled down and picked up the calendar, studying it for a moment before putting it aside. “You won’t.” He finally spoke up, his voice firm and full of resolve. “Because Li and I will always be there during the games, to make sure you are calm and thinking straight.” He patted her shoulder, rubbing it gently with a small smile on his face.

“It isn’t just that.” She rolled over, her eyes brimming with tears. “I only have ten weeks left to live.”

Touko looked at her in shock, wondering how she got that number, and then noticed the calendar that had been sitting in her lap. “You don’t know that, fate could have changed when you met Li, or when we met.” He tried to comfort her, although this subject was far from his understanding.

“I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die like Kazuma.” Naiya begun to sob, tears running down her face until Naiya reached over and enveloped her into a deep hug, a move which shocked both, even though neither mentioned it.

“You won’t die.” Touko whispered into her ear, gently rubbing her back for comfort until her sobs begun to die down. “I wont let them kill you.”

Naiya nodded, burying her head into his shoulder for a long moment until he let go of her. “One moment.” Touko sighed in frustration, pulling a buzzing cell phone from his pocket.

“What is it?” He asked flipping open the cell phone after checking the number. “What?” He asked after a moment, his voice shocked by whoever was speaking on the other end of the line.

“Do I have a comment on the rumor that Naiya and I are being traded?” He asked in disbelief, repeating the words into the cell phone. “No, no I don’t.” He quickly responded, slamming the cell phone shut, his body shaking in shock.

“We’re being traded.” He turned to Naiya, the words sounding alien as they left his mouth. “The reporter said we’re being traded to an American team.” He added, sliding back down into his seat next to her bed. The two sitting there in silence as they both tried to take in the news.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 13: I see you developed the relationship between Touko and Naiya a little more from before. It seems Touko's warming up more and more to Naiya (althought i have to admit, its slightly unnerving as Sakura mentioned). It seems Kuroe's role is expanding to be one of the major antagonists of the series.

Ooh, another plot twist. Touko and Naiya are going to America! I wonder if this might have to do with the Yakuza that came in before and threatened the manager. Well, we'll have to wait and see

[Bulbasaur4]

Of course they're going to America... it's a "wo sagashite" fic! XD

Anyway, nice chapter. Nice to see Touko being a little less of an ass, although I can't help but extremely dislike him. Li was the best in this fic imo. Interesting to find out what his past really is...

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Fourteen
Naiya’s First Loss?

“TRADED? Touko’s fist slammed down upon Coach Sato’s desk, causing it to groan and creek under pressure. It had only been a day since the rumor was leaked, and it was everywhere, from newspapers to television news. All they could talk about was how the two stars of Tokyo were heading to New York.

“After all I...” He caught himself, his eyes glancing to Naiya who sat next to him, looking shocked and scared at Touko’s outburst. “After all we have done, you trade us away?”

While Naiya was clearly shocked by this outburst, as it was the first time she had ever seen Touko act like this, Coach Sato had seen it several times and came prepared. Instead of yelling and screaming back at Touko, he sat back in his chair, his arms crossed like a parent waiting for their child to finish their tantrum. “Are you done?” He finally asked, once Touko had finished yelling.

“Maybe…” Touko replied defiantly, mocking Coach Sato’s posture.

“Well first, I thought you wanted to be traded?” Coach Sato asked, rising from his desk and running his fingers down the team jersey he was wearing, smoothing the wrinkles out of it.

“What?” Naiya recoiled in shock, her attention switched to Touko who hung his head low with a hand on his forehead. “You want to be traded?”

“Maybe…” Touko replied again, this time his voice low, like a deep growl.

Coach Sato cut the silence between the two as he stepped away from the desk, the sound of his shoes hitting the concrete floor vibrating through out the room with each step. “Anyway, you two are some of the hottest properties in the baseball world right now, and New York is offering several players, and draft picks that could set this team for the next few years.”

Naiya slowly raised a shaky hand, like a child that was being held in the Principal’s office. “But...” Her voice wavered until Coach Sato turned his attention to her. “I can’t speak English.” She whimpered; her eyes lowered in embarrassment.

“If this deal happens, I’ll buy you some English classes.” Coach Sato moved to the door, opening it to the locker room as players were already filing out for the game. “And right now the deal is a big if, so for now focus on the game.”

He motioned the two to the door, each of them rising from their seat with Touko grumbling as he passed the coach. It wasn’t until Naiya was passing him when Coach Sato placed his hand on her shoulder. “If I ever catch you drinking in a night club again, I will throw you off this team.” He warned; his voice filled with the type of disappointment of a father scolding his daughter.

“I won’t, I promise.” Naiya trembled in fear.

Coach Sato patted her gently on the shoulder with a smile, moving out of the way to allow her to rush past, and to catch up with Touko and the rest of the team. “Get scolded by Daddy?” Touko laughed as she ran up, his voice having returned to the condescending tone that he usually carried whenever she was older.

Naiya shook her head, her pulse rising as the player in front of her was announced from the loud speaker. Her four game suspension had run its course, and her first game facing a live audience since the event at the bar was about to happen.

“For the pitcher of the Tokyo Tigers, Naiya Koyama” The announcer screamed as Naiya ran out onto the field. Instead of being met by a chorus of cheers as in the previous games, this time the only thing that came from the crowd was boos and hisses.

“Pathetic drunk.” One of the fans closest to Naiya yelled, spitting in her direction.

“What did you say?” Sakurai asked, stepping between Naiya and the fan, his eyes narrowed into a glare. “How about you come down here and say it?”

The fan matched the glare for a moment before finally backing away and returning to his seat. “Are you okay?” Sakurai turned his attention back to Naiya, using his hand to wipe the spit off her shoulder.

She gave him a short nod, still petrified by the chorus of boo’s that continued to travel around the stadium. “I’m so sorry, this is all my fault.” Sakurai shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment to take in the surroundings. “Will you, could you, still be my friend?” He asked, slowly opening one eye to look her in the face.

Touko desperately wished he could hear what Sakurai was saying to Naiya, and if he could he would probably be screaming at her at that moment. Yet he couldn’t, and instead could only watch from behind his catcher’s mask, the noise of the crowd drowning out any sound.

“Don’t do anything stupid.” He mumbled to himself, while Naiya stepped up to the mound, the umpire signaling the start of the game. “Please do not get back with that man.”

--------

The soft patter of tear drops upon the concrete floor of the locker room sounded only like a faint whisper compared to the boo’s of the crowd in the bleachers above them. Naiya remained curled up into a small ball, holding her legs while rocking back and forth on the bench in the locker room. “Giving away seven points isn’t that bad.” Sakurai tried to put a comforting twist on what was considered Naiya’s worst game up to this point.

“No matter what I do, all I see is his face.” She sobbed, leaning into Sakurai’s comforting hug.

“Who’s?” Sakurai asked, confused as to whom she was seeing, a flash ran across the in stadium television, it was already the bottom of the ninth with the Korean Cubs with a nice healthy lead.

“Kazuma, Kazuma’s face, all I can see is his face, and I get so scared that I will hurt him.” Her lips trembling as her tear stained eyes traveled up to look at Sakurai.

Sakurai fought back the urge to pressure her further, to ask who was this Kazuma, and why he scared her so much. Was Kazuma the name of the photographer that had paid him? Was she being haunted by that one picture on their date? Or was he someone else, maybe another boy? “It’s okay.” He whispered, stroking her cheek with his hand, brushing aside strands of hair.

Naiya nodded, pressing her head into Sakurai’s chest for a comforting embrace. The embrace only lasted a second before the clank of a metal bat against the locker room floor drew both of their attention to Touko standing in the doorway. “What do you think you are doing?” He asked, fuming with anger.

Instantly Sakurai let go of Naiya, positioning himself ever so slightly so that he was behind her, as if she were a shield to protect him from Touko. “I was comforting my friend.” He shot back, placing a hand on Naiya’s shoulder.

“I see, so where was this comfort after you set her up on your date?” Touko cocked his head ever so slightly, his fist clinched as he stalked around to Sakurai’s side.

“I had nothing to do with that!” Sakurai bolted up, angered at the accusation, only to realize a second too late that he had moved outside of his human shield as Touko grabbed him by the shirt collar and slammed him against the locker.

“Touko stop it, stop it.” Naiya screamed, grabbing Touko’s arm and pulling as hard as she could.

“Kill him! Kill him!” Li cheered on, enjoying seeing his two most hated men get into a fight with each other, although after all he had gleened about what Sakurai had done, Li had no problem cheering for Touko, just this once.

Sakurai could only struggle inside of Touko’s grip, “I swear, I had nothing to do with that reporter being there.” He pleaded, needing just a moment as Touko turned his attention toward Naiya to try and get her from pulling on his arm. It was at that moment, that one moment, when Touko let up his grip and focus just enough for him to swing free, landing a punch straight to Touko’s jaw.

It took only a heart beat for Touko to swing around, delivering a counter punch to the side of Sakurai’s head, creating a gash down Sakurai’s cheek as his head swung back and hit the locker, before his body was sent crumpling to the ground.

“Stop it, stop it.” Naiya screamed over and over again, pounding her feet into the ground like a helpless child, doing her best to try and control a situation that was far outside of her control.

“What do you think you are doing?” Coach Sato roared, rushing into the locker room after hearing Naiya’s cries. “Fighting?” He asked in disbelief, his eyes traveling from Touko’s bloody lip to Sakurai’s bleeding cheek.

“Coach he...” Sakurai stood up, using the locker to keep his body up.

“I don’t care, the media is going to be in here any minute and they cannot see my three star players like this.” Coach Sato’s body shuttered in anger as he took in several deep breathes in an attempt to calm him. “You and you, get to the infirmary.” He commanded in a voice that told both Sakurai and Touko to not to argue.

“And try to avoid getting into a fist fight on national television on the way over there.” He shook his head in disgust, turning to Naiya. “Clean yourself up please.” He sighed, the tension slowly draining from his body.

Naiya nodded in obedience, her eyes glancing at Touko, meeting his eyes for a moment before turning away in anger. “Hit him again, hit him again!” Li cheered, following Naiya into the showers.

“Li...” She whispered; turning on the warm water and letting it rush over her face, not even bothering to take off her uniform. “Please, just shut up.” She added, slumping against the wall allowing the water to just cascade over her body and wash all the pain away.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Fifteen
The life and death of a Shinigami

Li fluttered along, his head darting each way as he and Naiya walked along the stands in the stadium. Naiya’s hair was still wet and clinging to her shirt, yet she didn’t care. All she wanted to do was get away from the locker room, get away from both Touko and Sakurai. “Are you sure this is okay?” Li whispered, fluttering down to Naiya’s shoulder as a few of the leaving fans gave her some passing glares. “I mean tonight’s game wasn’t your best…”

“I just want everyone to know I am glad they came.” She mumbled under her breath, her eyes focused on the people that walked past her, returning their glares with a smile. “Thank you for coming, I promise to do better.” She shook as many hands as she could as she passed through the crowd, repeating the phrase.

“It’s the least I can do for the team...” She added.

Li shook his head in annoyance, fluttering into the air and over the heads of everyone else. “You can be such a child sometimes.” He laughed, his eyes scanning the crowd for threats.

Each man, or woman could be a threat for Naiya, it just took one to get too drunk and decide to take the Tiger’s loss out on her. “Naiya it’s time we…” His voice trailed off as he spotted a woman off in the distance, her hair the same color and style as the one he saw in the picture just days before. “Mom?” Li gasped, racing forward.

“Mom, Mom wait.” He screamed, forgetting that the woman would be unable to hear him.

“Li?” Naiya glanced up from the child’s autograph book she was signing. “Thank you for coming.” She quickly gave back the pen, rushing through the crowd, pausing every few seconds to shake hands. Yet every stop put Li further and further away.

“Mom wait!” Li called again, reaching the woman as she slowed and then turned, revealing a face that was completely and utterly different than the woman that he had seen before. “Oh…” He sank to the ground, his heart dipping to his feet as Naiya rushed up and scooped him into her arms.

The crowd had already thinned to a trickle, those that were left were the vendors that were cleaning up shop, and the janitors that went around and picking up pieces of trash. “What happened?” She asked, running her fingers gently through Li’s fur.

“I thought I saw my mom..” Li sulked, curling up as tight as he possibly could. “It wasn’t her, don’t bother looking.” He added, not even having to look up to know that Naiya was scanning the surroundings.

“I shouldn’t even be looking anyway, it’s too dangerous for Shinigami to remember their past.” Li continued to mumble as Naiya made her way to the nearest pay phone.

“Crap, crap, crap, mom’s probably back at the hospital by now.” She dialed the hospital number, balancing the phone on her shoulder. “Why is it dangerous for Shinigami to remember?”

Li took in a long and deep breath, his whole body giving off the appearance that the subject wasn’t one that he wanted to talk about. “Because being a Shinigami is a punishment, for dying with regret in your heart, and not wanting to live life to the fullest. Part of the punishment is that you lose all your memories as a human, you get them back when you become a full angel, but if you try and get them back before then…” His voice trailed off as Naiya waited for them to connect her to the phone in her hospital room.

“You become a ghost, doomed to walk the earth for eternity.”

“That’s so horrible.” Naiya recoiled in shock, “Why would anyone do tha…hi mom.” She quickly recovered as Sakura picked up the phone.

For a moment Naiya wondered if the phone had been put back down since the only sound that came through was the soft ambient sound of the hospital. “Naiya, where are you?” Sakura finally answered, her voice strained and full of exhaustion. “You missed today’s chemo treatment, do you know how much these treatments cost?”

Naiya froze in shock, the phone nearly dropping from her hand as fear and regret rushed through her body. “You won’t get better if you keep skipping these treatments.” Her voice rose to a pitch that only came whenever Naiya had done something very, very wrong. “Do you want to die?” She continued, her voice breaking with tears.

“You are my life Naiya, if I were to lose you.” She began to sob, all of the pent up fear and pain suddenly coming out in a moment of pure exhaustion. “I will do anything, anything, to make sure you get these treatments, but you have to actually be there for them.”

The phone clicked twice, signaling that the time she paid for had ended. By then though, Naiya didn’t care, she had let the phone slip from her hand as what felt like the weight of the world pressed upon her shoulders. This hadn’t been the first time her mom had screamed and cried at her, yet before she could always run off to her room, or bury her head into the covers.

“I’m a bad girl…” Naiya mumbled, sliding down the side of the wall and burying her face into her knees, the night seemed to stretch on forever, no matter how much she wanted it to end, it just continued. “I’m so horrible.”

Before the treatments had always seemed like a chore, something to sneak out on or skip, she never really thought that missing out on them could completely seal her fate. “Tell her.” Li finally spoke up, looking at Naiya and realizing how much damage that her secret had caused.

“What?” She looked at him in shock, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“Tell her, tell her about me, about everything, Sakurai knows, so why can’t…” His voice trailed off as he realized that telling Sakura would only cause more damage. Right now Sakura had hope her daughter would survive, if she knew that Naiya was fated to die, it would crush her.

“Thanks Li.” Naiya smiled, rubbing Li’s head and letting herself draw strength from the bond of love and friendship that they shared. “But…” A memory flashed through her mind, one from when she first met Li and how adamant he was to find out what her desire was. Li’s words rang through her mind, how if you die with regret you become a Shinigami.

“Li? Am I going to become a Shinigami?” She asked.

The sound of footsteps echoing down the hall drew both of their attention before Li could answer. “What is the Tiger’s star pitcher doing out here, talking to herself?” The man asked, walking up to her and glancing down, his eyes hidden behind sun glasses that reminded Naiya of the Yakuza man that she had seen in the owner’s office just weeks before.

“I take it you know who I work for?” He asked when Naiya didn’t respond, slowly bending down so that he was eye level with her. “Don’t worry, I wont hurt you.” His voice dropped into a softer tone.

“Get out of here, I don’t like him.” Li hissed, his fur sticking up in several different directions.

The man’s head turned in Li’s direction for a moment, almost as if he could hear him before focusing back on Naiya. “You know the Yakuza has the records of everyone in Tokyo, yet we could not find an address or number for you. In fact the only one close to being you is a young girl in a hospital.”

“She’s my sister.” Naiya finally spoke up, finding enough strength to form a few words, although her voice still shaky. “I use her name for an…for an…”

“Alias.” Li spoke up.

“Alias, I used her name for an alias, I figured it would be easier to be left alone.” She sighed, glancing to Li as a sign of thanks before turning her attention back to the man, who seemed familiar in more ways than one.

The man stood up slowly, gaining more of an imposing posture even though he really didn’t need it. “I take it that Sakura must be your mom then, it’s so sad that she can’t find a job, and with all the debt your sister is raking up.” He shook his head, a small yet very twisted grin appearing on his face. “What if we could offer her a job somewhere?”

“Really?” Naiya gathered her feet up from underneath her and stood up, a look of happiness and relief on her face. “You could really do that? Get her a job?”

All the stress, all the pain, it would all be over with, and best of all, Naiya felt as if doing this she could atone for the guilt she felt about missing the treatments. “The Yakuza can do what ever it wants.” The man shrugged, his voice returning to the tone that seemed so full of ooze and sleaziness. “For the right price...”

“Right…price?” Naiya let the words trickle out of her mouth as the enthusiasm began to wane.

“It’s nothing really, just you will be asked to do certain things at certain times, it is worth giving your mom a job, and helping your deathly ill sister out.” The man let his glasses droop, his ice blue eyes seemed to pierce straight into Naiya’s soul. “Right?”

“No, no, no, absolutely not.” Li shook his head, fluttering between the two.

“You will just ask me to do certain things?” Naiya repeated his words, completely ignoring Li.

“Simple things really.” The man’s tone became one of reassurance. “Do we have a deal?” He slowly held out his hand, it only took Naiya a moment of thought before she reached out and shook it.

“You have just made some very powerful people, very, very happy.” The man grinned, patting Naiya’s shoulder much to Li’s anger, before finally turning and leaving.

Naiya closed her eyes for a second, releasing a long sigh to calm her nerves. “What do you think you are doing? Those people kill people!” Li screamed in anger, shaking his paws at Naiya.

“So do you.” Naiya shot back, opening one eye to look at him. “I don’t care anyway, mom wants a job, and now she has one.”

The comment left Li stunned; Naiya had just accused him as being no better than the Yukaza. Maybe she was naive, that she had no idea what she was saying. Yet it did give Li pause for a moment, Shinigami took lives, were they any better than the humans that took lives? “Besides.” Naiya turned to him with a grin, her face beaming with warmth and energy. “If I ever get in trouble, you are always by my side Li.”

Li hopped onto her shoulder, returning the grin. “Of course, that is what best friends are for.” He replied happily, he continued to grin and began to talk to Naiya about the game, and the teams coming up. Yet inside all he could think about Naiya’s question, ‘am I going to become a Shingami?’ she had asked him.

His heart sank as only one answer came up: Unless you can find what you truly desire, then, yes, you will become a Shinigami.

[classy_cat18]

You've been making progress with this fic, Ryan. The only problem that I have right now with it is your punctuation. When your characters are shouting, yelling, screaming, or shrieking, it's better to emphasize this with exclamation points. And when they're asking something, use question marks. It helps readers get a better hold on the story and builds up tension. And use them whenever it's necessary, not just when you remember.

Other than that, make sure you put what you learned in English throughout grade school to good use. It's not that hard! XP

[Perfect Chaos]

Sorry for taking so long to reply man

Chapter 14: Well its expected for Naiya to still be traumatized after Kazuma's death. Can't really blame her for not being her dominating self after that. I see that you've started to escalate the tension between Touko and Sakurai. I wonder what shall occur between the triangle you're developing.

Chapter 15: Ooo, so the Yakuza are finally back after like 10+ chapters (don't know the actual number ). It seems that Naiya is desperate for anything in order to help her mom out. And it seems that she also wishes to become a Shinigami herself. I wonder what you plan on doing with Li in the future also.

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Sixteen
The big decision, to stay or to go!

The heat of the studio lights seemed even more intense as the commercial break loomed, the air in the studio seemed to be drenched in moisture with a lingering hint of sweat that seemed to only heighten Touko’s desire to leave as soon as possible. “How much longer?” He asked, turning to the hostess of the show while shifting his weight uncomfortably in the seat. Sweat stains littered his shirt; luckily his suit covered it, yet the feeling was still uncomfortable to him.

“Just this last segment.” She patted his leg, her blonde hair sparkling in the studio lights, giving her a almost angelic look, a soft smile splashed across her face. “You’re doing fine.”

Touko gave her a soft nod, trying to reassure himself that everything would be fine. “I promise, these last few questions will be easy ones, pitching you soft balls as the metaphor goes.” She chuckled and then cocked her head slightly to the side. “After the interview would you like to get a drink or something?” She asked.

The cameraman pointed a finger, signaling they were back as the cameras angled at them. Touko instantly tightened up, his muscles quickly going rigid as the air seemed to be sucked out of the studio. “Good Morning Tokyo, We’re back with Touko who has been chosen to represent the Tigers at the all star game this weekend in New York.”

Touko turned to the cameras, flashing a polite smile and nod, as Aoki leaned out of her seat, poising to strike. “Now I am sure everyone is excited about the roller coaster ride the first half of the season has been, first you are down in the dumps, and now the team is making a run for the Asia division lead?”

“Well I...” He opened his mouth to answer, only to have Aoki flash a hand, and give him a smile that seemed more chilling than anything else.

“But, the question on everyone’s minds is are you dating anyone?” The question left Aoki’s lips so fast that Touko was left reeling, trying to figure out what had just happened, and how the interview had suddenly gone from baseball to his non-existent love life.

A soft chuckle rumbled around the studio as he looked around in shock, trying to figure out what to say, or how to answer the question and get the subject back to baseball. “Not at the moment.” The time between when the question was asked, and when he finally formed an answer seemed like an eternity.

“Not even Naiya?” Aoki pressed, looking like a Tiger moving in for the kill.

Touko took in a long deep breath, rising from his seat while trying to control his anger. “This interview is over.” He unhooked the mike from his suit, moving past the camera that swiveled to follow him.

“You cannot deny that you two do seem to have some chemistry together.” Aoki shouted, rising from her seat to follow Touko as he found the studio door, opening it and slamming it shut.

“Stupid, Stupid, Stupid.” He cursed himself, moving out of the alleyway and merging into the standard flow of pedestrian traffic.

It had been nearly a week since the fight in the locker room; only a single game had been played since then, with everyone getting a break for all-star week. During that time not a single word has passed between him and Naiya, she would turn away when ever he was within her line of sight, and when ever he tried to speak with her, he got a cold shoulder in response. The only sign of contact he even had from her was in the form of a invitation to her birthday party at the hospital, which had been mailed a day before the fight.

“So why do I feel so freaking guilty?” He grumbled, finding himself passing a toyshop. With the all-star game falling on the same day as Naiya’s birthday, he would be half way across the world during the event. “It isn’t like we were close friends.” He sighed, taking a few steps away from the shop before turning and entering.

If there was one thing Touko truly hated, was the sound of young children. He could stand Naiya because she seemed to act several years beyond her age. Others just seemed to grate on her nerves, and having several children confined in a small room seemed like hell on Earth.

“I have a twelve year old…” He caught himself before saying friend. “Niece, and I really have no idea what to buy for her birthday.” He shook his head, giving a goofy grin as he approached one of the store employees.

The pimple-faced teenager glanced over her shoulder, gesturing to an isle full of screaming pre teen girls. “Have you checked the doll isle?” She offered.

Touko gave a glance to the isle, shuttering slightly. “I would rather not.” He replied, slowly moving off and giving the isle a wide birth as he moved toward the back of the store, and to the familiar isles of boy toys that he used to run down as a child.

The flood of memories was a welcome relief; it brought him back to a time where his only worry was about the girls at his middle school. Where his mother and father did not fight all the time and ended up divorcing each other. Where his little brother was still alive and everything seemed right in the world.

Touko couldn’t help but smile at the memories as he remembered chasing his brother up and down the isles of the toy store. Deep down Touko knew he would give up all the fame, all the money, just to return to that time. “Okay enough nostalgia.” He shook his head, trying to clear away the memories and return to the task at hand.

He had turned to leave when a small toy caught the corner of his eye. It was one of those sports action figures that no one seemed to buy, this one being one of Naiya in a full pitching motion. “I don’t remember them taking measurements for us.” He wondered out loud, picking up the toy and noticing the small figure’s chest. “Oh…” He mumbled, seeing how the toy was grossly out of proportions in one area.

---------

With the present secured safely in his luggage, Touko leaned back in the lounge chair at Tokyo International, waiting for the plane to unload, and for his journey to the all-star game to begin. He hadn’t been able to mail off the action figure between packing and his trip to the airport, so he would just drop it in the mail during his lay over in Los Angeles.

He should be thrilled, in just over a day he would be in New York, wheeling and dealing with some of his new teammates and getting a personal tour around the city that never slept. And then just a few days after that he would be in front of the entire world to showcase his skills. “So why do I feel so guilty?” He screamed out loud, drawing a few bewildered glances and possibly even a camera phone capture.

Just over a month ago, Touko was begging to get traded, even sabotaging his game in the hopes that Coach Sato would get fed up and recommend that he be traded. All he wanted to do was get away from this town, and make a new start on a new team, a team that could actually win. Then ‘she’ came, and everything turned around, as much as he hated to admit it, they started winning, their luck begun to change, and she brought out a side inside him that he had buried since his brother died.

Before Naiya came along, he would never have visited a hospital room of a fellow player, yet just a week or so ago before he was in Naiya’s room, hugging her sobbing body, and telling her that she wasn’t going to die. Of course it was ridiculous to say that, there was no way to fight fate, or the shinigami that he couldn’t even see.

“She will have a fine birthday, even with out me.” He brought his hand up to his face, finding a single tear running down his cheek. “What the…” He brushed it away, glancing away from any onlookers in embarrassment, and focusing his attention to the departing passengers, only to watch a young girl get off the plane, she was no older than Naiya and so full of life and happiness.

As hard as he tried, he couldn’t imagine those emotions on Naiya’s face during her birthday party, a party full of hospital staff who only saw her as another patient. Of course she has friends on the team, but he was the only one that knew her secret. So what was he to do? Give up a chance to play in one of the biggest games in his life? Give up to play in a game that he used to dream of playing in?

For what, someone that was a friend? What was Naiya? She was a little girl who was trying to play dress up, she was some one that brought out the best of him, and she was some one that he cared about.

The first five rows of seats were called over the intercom as Touko rose, reaching out for his ticket with a trembling hand. His eyes glanced over at the plane; it would be so easy to get on, to walk to his future. “Damn it.” He cursed in frustration, ripping the ticket in two and dropping it in the trash.

He grasped his luggage and quickly strode away from the plane, away from a future full of winning and false happiness, and toward one that was full of uncertainty, but one happy little girl.

Next week is the finale of sorts, since I will be taking a few weeks off to plan the second half of the story. Things will come to ahead when it is decided who is finally traded, Li discovers more about his past, feelings are revealed, and Touko makes a decision that will effect the rest of the story!

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 16: Oooh, big issue in the plot. Touko gave up everything just for the sake of Naiya. IMO, I honestly would've gotten on the plane, but I guess that's just me being an ass but what can you do. As I imagined, Naiya has had a very profound effect on Touko's life. Let's see if he can return the favor for her.

-Sean

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Seventeen
Naiya’s Birthday! Feelings Revealed

The brightly decorated room held an air of suspense, like a bubble just about ready to pop. Balloons decorated the ceiling with colorful tablecloths decorating each table in the room. Even a small cake sat in the back of the room, with Naiya’s name and the number thirteen decorating it. At the other side of the room stood Sakura, standing on tiptoes as she attempted to finish hanging the banner for her daughter’s birthday. “Almost there…” She groaned, stretching her body to its limit to push the tact into the wall.

“Mom!” Naiya cried out, swinging the door open and throwing Sakura off balance, tumbling to the floor with the banner draped over her face. “Are you in here?” She called out, glancing around the room.

“What?” Sakura rose, ripping the banner from her face and brushing a few strands of her messy hair out of her eyes. “Didn’t I tell you to not come in here till I came for you?”

Naiya glanced around for a moment, realizing that she had broke one of the several birthday rules her mother had laid down for this party. “I was wondering if anyone had shown up yet.” She quickly asked, backpedaling to the original question that she had come in for.

Really there was only one person she cared about seeing, and even though she and Touko had been at odds, she was hoping beyond hope that he would show up for her birthday, allowing them to patch things up… When Sakura shook her head no, Naiya decided to press on. “I also want to ask you about something else.” She quickly pulled out a chair and sat down, showing she had no intention to leave.

“Hmm?” Sakura asked, turning back to the task of finishing the banner.

“I wanted to ask, well, if a girl likes a boy, but isn’t sure if the boy likes her back, how can she, well, ask him on a date?” Her voice trailed off as Sakura tripped over her legs again in shock, falling to the floor with the banner fluttering down upon her.

“This girl wouldn’t be my daughter would she?” Sakura picked the banner off the ground, rolling it up and placing it down upon a table. “Now who is the boy? That Li boy?” She pressed, a sly motherly grin upon her face.

Hearing his name, Li paused at the door, placing an ear and paw against it. “I just… don’t change the subject!” Naiya quickly recovered, her face clearly flushed in embarrassment. “How does this… girl find out if the guy likes her?”

“She’s talking about Touko.” Li sighed in frustration, moving away from the door in disgust. He had always guessed that she had feelings for Touko, yet before this moment he had always found a way to try and trick himself. Telling himself that they were just friends, and that Touko’s self-righteous attitude would eventually drive Naiya away.

“What does she see in him anyway?” He grumbled, phasing through the wall and flying out into the pouring rain. For the past few weeks there was one place that he could go to where he needed to think, one sanctuary where he could clear his head.

“Home.” He shook his fur in enjoyment, phasing through the wall and into his room, basking in the comfort of a place that felt so familiar, yet so alien at the same time.

It wasn’t long until Li’s eyes began to glaze over, allowing the feelings of the room to seep in and unlock memories that he had been told never to touch.

“Honda? Honda are you awake?” Li’s mother called out, pushing the door open ever so slightly and peering into the room. “Did you wake up from your nap?” She asked, her raven hair cascading down her shoulders as she glanced around the room.

“I wasn’t too sleepy today.” A cheerful boy replied from the desk, his messy blonde hair nearly covering his eyes as he sat at the desk in his pajamas. His blue eyes so full of life and energy, the same eyes that Naiya had. “I thought up a new character for my cartoon.”

The mother crossed the room, peering over her son’s shoulder with a slight smile. “His name is Li.” Honda exclaimed proudly, picking up a yellow crayon and coloring in the picture of the winged lion cub. “He’s the hero of the story.”

His mother beamed proudly, patting her son on the shoulder. “One day you will be a amazing animator.”

Honda nodded proudly, putting the picture off to the side and grasping another sheet of paper. “Who are you drawing now?” She asked as her son switched out crayons.

“Well I want to make sure Li has at least one friend.” Honda laughed, quickly going to work on the next drawing as the sound of voices outside of the room drew Li out of the daydream and back into reality

“Mom, I told you, I have to head out.” The voice called out, becoming more and more familiar by the moment, although Li still couldn’t place a name or face with the voice.

“It’s cold outside, you could at least wear a jacket.” The now familiar voice of his mother called back as Touko burst into the room, his head moving to the right and then to the left as if he were looking for something.

Li immediately rose, the fur arching up on his back. “Touko.” He growled, bearing his teeth as Touko walked past him.

“It’s July mom, it isn’t cold outside.” Touko replied, lifting the bed up and pulling a small suitcase out.

The frail woman entered the room, her hair uncombed, her clothes looking ragged, and all the youth having left her eyes. “Stop messing up your brother’s room, he should be home any minute.” She screamed, slapping Touko’s shoulder until he picked the suitcase up off the floor.

“Mom, Honda is dead, he died along time ago.” Touko snapped back, reaching into the suitcase and pulling out two small gift wrapped packages. All the while, Li stumbled backwards on the bed, nearly tumbling between the wall and bed.

He couldn’t take it, there was no way that this man, the man he hated with every fiber of his being. The man that was taking away his best friend, his only friend, was his brother. He couldn’t, he wouldn’t accept it.

-------------

Touko walked to the door, pocketing one of the presents while keeping the action figure in his hand. He hated to leave his mom like that, facing her with the harsh reality that her son had died years ago. Yet she was a mess, and had been one for so long, if he hadn’t been forced to hide out at her house to avoid the cameras he would have gladly stayed at his own.

“This better had been worth it.” He ran a hand through his hair, taking several deep breaths to prepare himself for the onslaught of children before finally entering the room with a fake smile plastered across his lips.

The hell that he had walked into, made the toy store look likes a simple walk in the park. His ears were immediately assaulted by the sound of screaming and yelling, of children running past him with glee, and of colors that seemed too numerous to count. “Touko!” Naiya’s voice broke through all the noise, bits of cake falling off her smiling face as she rushed across the room.

“You came! I knew you would come, I knew it!” Her voice shaking a bit as she rambled off words in a sugar induced state.
Touko’s fake smile quickly morphed into a real one as he fought back the urge to hug her. “Can we put that fight behind us?” He offered, patting her shoulder slightly before handing off the action figure present.

Naiya gave him a short nod, hugging him around his waist. A moment or two past with out anyone in the room really noticing. Touko and Naiya were both at a loss of what to say, each one unsure as to when they should speak up. “So, I see a lot of your friends are here.” He glanced around the room, looking at the mixture of doctors and patients that filled the room.

Naiya glanced off to the side, her smile quickly turning into a frown. “Birthday parties are a lot like parent’s day, people come to have fun, not for the person.” She mumbled as Touko placed the action figure onto the table full of presents. “It would have been better if it was just you and mom.”

Touko’s eyes quickly widened in fear as he searched the room for Sakura, since Naiya’s mother had no idea about her daughter’s double life, it became harder and harder to create excuses to come and visit his friend. “Maybe it would be best if your mother didn’t see me here.” He backed toward the door, ducking into the hallway as Naiya followed.

“You skipped the all star game for me?” She finally spoke up, her eyes shifting down to her feet.

Touko shrugged, glancing back into the room. “Actually it was for the cake.” He grinned, Naiya letting out a giggle as the two found an empty hallway seat. For a moment he fought the urge to speak his mind, to tell her that this would be her last birthday and he wouldn’t miss it.

“I do have a present for you, something I wanted to give to you away from the prying eyes.” He finally said, bringing out the small heart shaped box, wrapped in paper.

Naiya’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, ripping the paper off of it and opening the velvet box. “It’s beautiful.” She marveled, touching the golden heart shaped locket. “It’s mine… to keep?” She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

Touko slowly slipped the locket out of the box, stringing it around Naiya’s frail neck. “Yes, of course you can keep it.” He laughed, glancing at her teary eyes. “Don’t get mushy on me okay? I got it on discount anyway.”

“Touko… I…” Naiya brushed away a few tears with a finger. “I have a question… I…I…” She stammered as Touko glanced at her.

“I want to know if you will be my boyfriend!” She screamed at the top of her lungs, her body shaking as she gripped her legs to keep herself steady.

There are only a few things in life that has ever taken Touko by surprise, this moment would have to rank in the top ten for him. “If you say no, its okay, in fact please forget all about it.” Her whole body was drained of color, her nails digging into her skin.

“Naiya…” Touko took in several deep breaths, rising slowly to try and clear his head. At this moment he would pay anything to go back to the airport and punch himself for not getting on that flight to New York. “You’re just a kid, I mean, we’re best friends but… that is as far as my feelings for you go.” He kept his back to her, unable to turn and look in her eyes.

“Naiya, it’s time to make a wish and blow out the candles.” Sakura called from inside the party room.

“I’m sorry…” Touko whispered as Naiya got up, running in the opposite direction of the party.

“Why…” Touko shook his head in anger, it was Naiya’s last birthday party, the last one she ever had, and he had found a way to ruin it for her. “Damn it all.” He yelled, rushing head first out the door and into the pouring rain outside.

No, this wouldn’t be her last birthday party. “Hey Shinigami, I know you are out there.” He screamed at the top of his lungs into the rain. “You are not going to take her life, you hear me?” He shook his fist into the air.

“You are not going to take her life, because I am going to stop you.”

Last chapter for a couple of weeks as I deal with Finals and planning the final half.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 17: ZOMGWTF, Li is Touko's brother!!!! Ohh the major shocker!!!1111 But yeah, the whole chapter was rather short and not much else to say about it because of it

Oh, and I saw Touko's rejection from 5 miles away

[Bulbasaur4]

I saw it 10 miles away.

Nice twist on the story with Touko and Li though.

Overall, this first half the story is a big start. On the critique side of things, I'd agree with classy's evaluation on punctuation. Also, I realize this fic is based off of Full Moon so it is bound to be a little corny. Just be careful about making things a little too corny or 'candid character response' orientated. The conversations seem a little too planned and unnatural and a few times I felt as if a few actions or things said by characters were forced and didn't come naturally from the character.

Other than that though, it's a good fic. Definately a younger shoujo-styled story, which I don't usually read so it's a little hard for me to not be biased. ^_^;; But I like where it's going and I'm interested to see what you have planned for Li.

Least favorite character: Naiya
Most favorite character: Li
I dunno... angry characters are fun!

[Dark-San]

The last time I read the whole story till sixteen, it was all in a rush. But now when I actually took time off and read it in details, I do arrived at a conclusion that it is pretty well done. It's quite good that we can actually reconsidered as a manga material. But then again, we would be risking it all to be sued for infringing copyright laws. Hehe...

Okay, I have reread the whole story till chapter five and do realized that there is lots of similarity between this storyline with the anime, Full Moon wo Sagashite, and also Japanese drama series, Taiyou no Uta. They all mean the same thing, a girl suffering from some disastrous illness, going to be at her deathbed. They had her fortunes changed by some Shimigami and able to live up to their dreams. Taiyou no Uta is a little different since a talent manager in place of the Shimigami. But then again, all had different endings.

Full Moon wo Sagashite has a happy ending, when Mitsuki finally met up with her Shimigami IRL. Taiyou no Uta had a sad ending when the female character was unable to live pass the age of 20 and die without her dreams being fulfil. I am not sure on how Roy is going to end this one, but I am a happy ending person. So I kind of expect this one to be. *hints hints*

But then keep up the good job and lets hope that the ending would rock.

[Roy Karrde]

ANNNNDDDDD After a month away for relaxation and planning. I come back with a new chapter which will begin the second half of the story!

Chapter Eighteen
Memories we wish to forget

For nearly every night that Naiya could remember, she could never see the stars in the sky. The pollution and the constant light from the skyscrapers from the cities would hide the stars, only allowing the faintest of light to be seen through the skylight in Naiya’s room. Then there were those nights, just after a storm, where the clouds would move and the stars would be shining like brilliant gems over her head. It was those nights that she treasured as a young child, where she felt as if she were sleeping in the clouds. But even the stars, as brilliant as they were on those nights, could not chase away the fear, the anger, and the raw hatred that she would fall asleep listening to all too often.

“Look at these bills Sakura, do you want to be living on the street?” Her father roared, slamming his fist down on the table, sending sheets of paper flying around the room. “Three hospital trips in one week.”

Naiya remained as quiet as she could, her small seven year old hands clutching the sheets as she clinched her eyes and tried to drown out the fight that vibrated through the walls from the next room. “She had one of her coughing spasms, what do you expect me to do, let my little girl lay there and cough?” Her mother fired back, her voice cracking as if she were fighting back tears of anger.

“If you want to take her to the emergency room, every time she gets a sprained ankle then get your own job, stop being a leach, and taking all of my hard earned money.” His voice trailed off a moment as the two paced back and forth, slamming doors in a manner that shook the entire house.

“She is your daughter too, or have you forgotten that, and if you want me to get a job, then I will and you will come home to a dirty house, with out any dinner sitting out on the table.” She shot back, storming down the hallway after him, passing Naiya’s door.

“Oh so I have forgotten about my daughter now, maybe it is because I spend so much time trying to make money for you. Maybe it is because I am unappreciated in this house for all I do, unappreciated by you, and unappreciated by the brat.”

It was on that night that she had prayed to the stars, prayed to God in heaven to take her away. To make things better between her mother and father, to stop the fighting that seemed to happen nearly every night.

“Please, please make the fighting stop.” She prayed her eyes filled with tears, her fingers gripping the sheets.

It had been years since that night, but the house hadn’t changed. The back door still had a broken latch, the hallways still had that funny smell, and even though the house had changed owners. Naiya still found it comforting to crawl up in a corner in her old room, clutching a teddy bear that belonged to another little girl.

She had lost everything in the past few days; it seemed just yesterday that everything was going right. She had her knight in shining armor in Touko; she had her best friend in Li. She was living out a dream in which she was the top star on the world stage with the Tokyo Tigers.

All of that was gone now; she lost Touko by admitting her love to him, a love that was not returned. Li was barely around anymore; he would disappear whenever he got the chance to, and not return until the early hours in the morning. As for her dream, of taking the Tokyo Tigers to the finals, to have her mother and father watch her in the stands, together, as they did when she played in the little leagues. A trade between teams took all of that from her.

All that was left was time, precious time that ticked away with each seconds. Leading to the moment to which cancer would take her life. Naiya could only wish that time would come faster, that it would come sooner instead of later, to take the pain, the suffering, everything, to finally take it all away.

-------

Li perched upon the window ceil, gazing out at the dreary night sky. He had a brother; he still could not believe that. He had known his brother for months, but never knew of their true relationship. While he was jubilant in the knowledge that now he had discovered one more piece of the puzzle to his forgotten life. He still had to wonder, why him, why that boy, why Touko.

“Why couldn’t it be Naiya as my sister, some one, anyone but that boy.”? Li growled, his fur bunching up on the back of his neck. “I really hate that guy.” He settled back upon the ceiling, his eyes flicking back and forth, watching the raindrops.

The water was sliding down the window, leaving little trails of droplets behind seemed therapeutic, almost relaxing. That was until the searing pain ripped through his sides, sending him tumbling off the window. Li opened his mouth, his mouth moving in an empty scream.

Kuroe placed his hand on the window, pushing it through the glass as if it were thin air, softly stroking Li’s fur. “It hurts doesn’t it, the feeling of being torn into a million pieces?” He asked, moving into the room.

“Kuroe, what…?” Li’s claws gripped the window ceil, digging into the wood and splintering it as he tried his best to release himself from the agonizing pain. “What is happening to me?” He moaned, rolling onto his back, his back paws disappearing and then reappearing.

“You are in so much trouble.” Kuroe shook his head in dismay, dismissing Li’s attempts to reach out for help. “You realize the Dominion are looking for you right now? Through your meddling the girl’s death is in limbo.”

Li rolled onto his stomach, digging his claws into the window ceil, splintering the wood as he dragged his claws along the ceiling, trying to relieve the pain. “Please.” He begged, his paw fading away with each second.

“There are rumors of them sending a Archangel down to clean up your mess.”
“Make the pain stop.”
“If only there was some one to set her on the straight path, some one she trusted.”

Li rose onto all four paws, only able to stand for a moment before his forepaws disappeared just long enough to cause him slip and fall. “Oh I wont let you die Li, you still owe me, and I plan to collect.” He reached down, stroking Li’s back in a soft gentle motion. “Breath in and out, in and out, center yourself and calm down.”

Li did as he was told, his trembling beginning to ease, his body solidifying with each breath. “Good, good.” Kuroe softly patted Li on the head before reaching for a piece of paper, quickly jotting down a few words on it. “Tomorrow I want you to take Naiya to this location, at this time, it should set her on the right path.”

“I have to know, why did my brother leave my mother, how did I die, why am I a Shinigami?” Li’s eyes traveled up, looking at Kuroe for answers.

“You know where those questions lead to, answer them, unlock your memories, and void your contract as a Shinigami. You will become a ghost, forced to walk the Earth until the end of time.” Kuroe dropped the piece of paper onto Li. “So do it after you clean up this mess.”

-------

The metal gate outside of the stadium shook several times to test its security. Droplets of fresh water flew from it with each thrust, flinging themselves into Touko’s face and hair. Who brushed them away with a quick swipe of his hand, before turning and squinting at the car sitting in the parking lot. He and Sakura had been searching for Naiya for hours ever since she had run out of the hospital at the birthday party.

“She isn’t here.” He called out to Sakura, rushing across the sidewalk to the parked car, shivering at the cold drizzle that had continued for so long, with no end in sight. “All the gates are locked, there is no way for her to have gotten in.”

Sakura shifted the transmission into reverse, her anger nearly breaking off the gearshift as they pulled out of the parking lot. “I should have kept a closer eye on her instead of worrying about how the room looked.” Sakura shook her head, trying her best to keep the anger to a minimum, and not lash out at Touko.

“Well if you want, I could wait to see if she shows up at my place.” Touko offered, knowing that Sakura’s self-loathing would not last very long, and that her anger would soon be directed at him.

“And how would she know where you lived?” She asked, one eye glancing over at Touko, the force of her glare enough to melt ice.

Touko opened his mouth, only to find his throat dry, and not a single word able to explain how or what happened that one night that Naiya had shown up on his doorstep.

“You know when I am having problems, and want to get away, I usually go home.”
“How did she know where you lived?”
“So maybe she could have gone back to your old house, or apartment, or wherever.”
“Answer me!”

The car suddenly jerked left, traveling over two lanes on the rain slick highway before pulling over onto the side of the road. A tactic used among parents to scare their children when they couldn’t get what they wanted out of the child. Even though Touko wasn’t Sakura’s child, just sitting on the side of the road in the stopped car was enough to cause an icy ball of fear to rise up in his gut. “I am not going to ask the question again.”

Sweat and rain trickled down Touko’s brow as he searched for the correct way to explain it. “She was dropped off by a taxi, I don’t know how she got the location.” He explained, expelling the first part of the explanation in one breath. “She was sick, and I had a party at that time so I put her in one of the upper bedrooms since it was late, nothing happened.” He decided to omit that he saw her transform, or that she was drunk when she arrived.

“Honest.” He added with a squeak in his voice, having to match Sakura’s glare until she started the car up and moved back on the road.

The silence in the car between them begun to cause Touko to twitch, he knew he had to protect Naiya’s secret, yet at the same time how much longer could he cover for her? “That is the exit you need to take, to take me to my house.” He pointed out, only to watch the exit pass by.

“We’re not going to your house.” She responded before Touko could even object. “I am taking your suggestion and heading to my old house.”

Touko sunk back into the seat, closing his eyes and praying to whatever God was out there, that Naiya was at the house, and that he could quickly get away from Sakura and her prying questions.

It didn’t take long for them to find the old house; all in all it was a pretty unremarkable small house in the middle of a low rent neighborhood. The only thing that seemed to peak Touko’s interest was that the car in the driveway of the house was missing, as was the cars of most of the houses in the neighborhood. “Does everyone go on vacation at the same time?” He asked, walking through the slick mud with Sakura, and into the back yard to find the backdoor unlocked and open.

“Alright either she is here, or we’re about to walk into a burglary.” He carefully pushed the door aside, taking extra care not to directly touch anything as he stepped inside. “I’m going to take it from here.” He added, peering down the hallway.

“No your not.” Sakura snorted in disbelief, crossing her arms defiantly.

Touko narrowed his eyes, knowing that what he had to say to Naiya was private and better if her mom didn’t hear it. “If she is here, yelling at her won’t help the situation.” He said defiantly. “And if there is a burglary here, then Naiya needs you alive more than she needs me.”

Sakura stepped back, taking in his arguments and running them through her head, before finally crossing her arms and leaning against the door. Touko nodded, turning and beginning to creep down the hallway, and trying to keep his mind off the thought that he had just put Sakura’s safety over his own.

“If there is a burglar here, please don’t have a gun.” He crept down the hallway, pushing the doors open and glancing in before moving on, each room as unremarkable as the last. Which is what caused him to nearly miss the child’s room that he had pushed open. Just before he stepped out of the way, he caught the sight of a small girl in the corner of the room out of the corner of his eye.

“Naiya?” He whispered, stepping into the room.

The small girl let out a sniffle, lightning lit up the room for a moment and allowed him to catch sight of her red and swollen eyes, tears dripping down her face. “My dad used to yell a lot, I would hide in here so he wouldn’t yell at me.”

All the tension drained from Touko’s body as he carefully shut the door, and then made his way over to the small girl. “My parents fought a lot when my brother died.” He explained, sitting down beside her and placing a hand on her hunched-over back.

“Parents tend to fight about a lot of stupid things.” He sighed, raising his eyes to the skylight. Trying to avoid what he knew had to come sometime, that he had to address the reasons why she ran away.

He finally took in a long breath, exhaling it as he formed the words in his head. “I want you to know that you are my best friend, my very best friend.” He looked down at her, moving his hand away from her back and used it to tip her chin up so that his eye’s were looking into her’s. “For the longest time, the only people I have known have cared about how much money I can make or have. You, you are something special Naiya, and I don’t want to lose our friendship.”

“I know…” Naiya grumbled, the reply more of a sigh of defeat than an acknowledgment.

Touko glanced away from her, fiddling with his thumbs in his lap. “Which is why, I have decided that if you can get us into the playoffs, I’ll take you out on a date.” He finally said, shuttering a bit from the tension that the words caused him. But he knew it really was the only way for the two of them to even get back onto speaking terms again, not to mention getting her to leave the room.

“Promise?” She replied, her voice full of shock and happiness as Touko turned to her with a grin, placing his hand on her head.

“Promise.”

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 18: Hmmm, well the character's backstories are revealed a little more here. I'm not sure (hazy about the beginning) but I'm assuming that Naiya's dad walked out on them (I was thinking at first that he died but from this chapter, the former is most likely).

Li's case is an interesting one. It seems Kuroe just enjoys torturing him about all the questions that he has and the soul-searching he's doing. It seems he's setting himself up for failure but hopefully that doesn't end up happening.

I know you know this already, but I still see the whole "dating" thing (even slight romantic interest) between an 18-year old and a 13-year old as very awkward. Even though it will supposedly be a "friendly date" it still seems awkward to me personally. Alas, we shall see how that turns out

Keep it up, see you next chapter

[Roy Karrde]

Thank you for the review Chaos! I believe it was in Chapter 7 that it was mentioned that the father walked out on them. Anyway I am sorry for this chapter being late, my mom who does the editing was in a Car Wreck. Anyway Here it is, and one will be up on Friday!

Chapter Nineteen
Naiya’s Fated Future

The large machine hummed with a life of it’s own, jerking every few minutes and making noises that would frighten many young children. For Naiya, it was something she had grown used to. Lying on the flat metal bed for hours at a time, heavy pads covering almost her entire body, except her chest. While the x-ray machine moved around her chest, snapping pictures every few minutes while the doctor issued orders from the other room in a dull monotone voice.

Li shivered instinctively as he buzzed around the room, keeping a wide birth of the machine. “Are you sure this thing is okay? The doctor is hiding behind a huge window.” He jerked his eyes nervously at the doctor in the next room.

Naiya laughed a bit nervously. “I don’t think this has been tested on Shinigami before.”

Li mumbled a response about his fur glowing in the dark while sliding down the far wall. For a brief moment Naiya could have sworn that she saw him fade from her sight for a moment. “Li?” Naiya rose up as fast as she could, nearly knocking over the x-ray machine as she got off the table.

“I’m okay, I’m okay.” Li gulped in air as fast as he could, mentally fallowing the techniques that Kuroe had taught him.

“This is why I hate children.” The doctor grumbled, entering the room and disconnecting the devices as Naiya put her shirt back on. “I’m never going to get complete scans of your lungs if you keep moving around.”

Li let out a growl, bearing his tiny fangs. “Yeah well you try to stay still with a death ray aimed at your chest.”

“I’m sorry, we can try again.” Naiya offered, only to be waved off by the doctor.

“I promise to be still next time.” She bowed again, exiting the room while dragging Li out by the tail. “What is wrong with you? Ever since my birthday you have been so angry.”

Li folded his paws like a defiant child, turning his head away from Naiya as the two snuck down the hallway and toward the playground. “It’s personal.” He grumbled after a moment or two of silence. He wanted to tell her all about his brother, how he had come so close to piecing his whole life together. But he couldn’t tell her about how close he had come to becoming a ghost, how his body constantly felt as if it were being ripped in two.

“When have we ever kept secrets from each other?” She asked in response, getting on her knees and crawling through the hole in the gate at the far side of the playground, one of the many exits that she had found to sneak out over the months.

“Naiya, just stop.” He whimpered, matching eyes with Naiya for a brief second before clapping his paws together, bringing about the transformation that Naiya had become so used to.

Naiya ran her hands over the trench coat and large hat that Li had formed over her now adult body as a disguise. “Do you think this is all necessary?”

“You do realize you are a celebrity now, people want your autograph, pictures of you, dates.” He finished the last one with a growl, still angry at Touko’s deal with Naiya. A long pause continued between them until he spoke up again. “Anyway you won’t be in it for long, Touko’s note said to meet him at a bookstore just a block away.”

Naiya gave a quick nod; clutching the small locket Touko had given her. While Li floated behind her, feeling a slight bit of guilt about having to lie about the origin of the note.

---------

Inside the bookstore seemed very quaint and relaxing, the gentle smell of roasting coffee, combined with that of fresh pages of paper, and the soft melody that seemed to flow through the air. All brought about a relaxing atmosphere for anyone who walked in. “I never knew there was a place like this, there must be a million books in here.” Naiya stepped through the automatic doors, her jaw open in shock.

“Too bad neither of us can read them.” Li slapped her back down to reality, giving her a harsh reminder that she had been in the hospital and away for school since grade two.

“I wonder if they have Manga!” She shrugged off Li’s response, not allowing it to bring her down as she rushed down the isles, glancing through each one before finally arriving on the isles for manga and American comics. “My mother used to read this one to me during bed time!” She held up one manga gleefully.

Li bent down, inspecting the manga before going back to the shelf and looking at the others. “What is…boy love?” He asked, going over the different titles, and designations that each manga had.

“Sounds like some kind of action book with a lot of explosions.” Naiya whispered back to him, trying not to arouse any suspicion as she moved to look at other familiar books. “Excuse me.” She apologized, bumping the girl next to her as she reached for a book.

“You’re excused.” The young girl rose, her piercing eyes looking directly into Naiya’s for a moment before she grabbed a book, quickly walking toward the next isle.

“How rude.” Li hissed at her, only to see Naiya turn and follow the girl.

For Naiya, there was a small inkling in the back of her head, something that could not be explained. The girl’s eyes, the look on her face, it reminded her of her own. “Hey, excuse me!” She called out, rounding the corner, only to run head first into the man standing in the middle of the isle.

“Excuse me, I did…” Her voice caught in her throat as she gazed up at the piercing ice blue eyes of the Yakuza man that she had met twice before.

“Naiya, what a pleasant surprise.” The man smiled, removing the hat from Naiya’s head and letting it fall to the ground. “I first must congratulate you of course, but I am quite surprised that you will be our new mule.”

Naiya instinctively stepped back, finding the entire situation a bit overwhelming. Congratulated for what? And what was a mule? “By the look on your face, I take it you have no idea what I am talking about.” He looked at her curiously, placing his sunglasses back on. “You weren’t traded, neither was Touko, we pulled a lot of strings to get your mom that job, lets just say the Yukaza has plans for you.”

He bent down slightly, coming eye level with her. “As for being a Mule, since Hiro will be going to New York , we will need some one to traffic well… our goods into the field house.” He reached a hand into his coat jacket, bringing out a paper bag with several small cylinders inside. “It really is a simple job.”

“What is in here?” She felt around the bag curiously, trying to figure out what was in the cylinders.

“Don’t ask questions, don’t look inside the package, just take it into the locker room and put it in locker forty three.” He explained as Li phased through the bookshelf, looking around in shock. “Come back here next week at the same time, and do not get caught.”

Li floated over, poking his head in the bag before pulling it away in shock. “There are needles in there.” He gasped as the bag begun to tremble in Naiya’s hands. The man smiled at her, patting her on the head before grasping a book off the shelf and leaving.

“Needles? Like shots?” Naiya whispered, afraid that some one would hear her voice as she hid the bag under her shirt.

“Throw it away, throw it away now.” Li growled, pointing a paw at the trashcan at the front of the store.

Naiya shook her head, finding the power in her legs and walked out of the store as fast as she could. “No, no, no, if I do that, they will know it was me, and I will be in even more trouble.” She explained, waving a hand to hail a cab. “Besides, they gave my mom a job, I’m not going to make her lose it.”

Li backed away feeling a mixture of shock and sadness, watching the taxi drive off. Deep in his soul he knew that this could not end well, that Naiya should have just given the bag back and walked away. “Shinigami: Li.” A thundering voice boomed from above as two angels clad in golden armor which shined in the mid day sun, descended from the sky.

“You have been summoned by the Dominion.” They both spoke in a dull monotone voice, they were both guardian angels, known as the police force of the angels.

“No I can’t leave her alone” Li pawed at the taxi, watching as it got further and further away, knowing this could possibly be the end of his life as a Shinigami. The last time he would see his best and only friend.

“Naiya…”

[Roy Karrde]

Chapter Twenty
Our Own Little Paradise

Each person has his or her own vision of eternal paradise. For one it could be a technological city that stretched on as far as the eye could see. For another it could be an artistic world created by him or someone else while they were alive. Or possibly the recreation of a magical or loving place they visited in the past. No matter what the design, it was all made for the purpose of providing eternal serenity.

This made it even more heart wrenching, that Shinigami were barely permitted to enter their own eternal paradise, and when they were allowed in, it was usually for business only.

Li let out a long sigh as he was carried through the various tropical plants and the sparkling creek that made up the meadow. His paradise consisted of hills upon hills of flowers that shined with every color of the rainbow, a bubbling creek with fresh cold water snaked its way through the meadow, feeding off of a series of tiny waterfalls at the far side. “You wouldn’t mind if I take a few flowers back for my friend do you?” He asked, struggling to reach for the petal of the nearest one, only to be snatched further away from it.

“Just asking.” He mumbled, the angels keeping their steely gaze forward, neither of them having made a single comment since he was plucked from the street. “You guys could be a bit more talkative, like asking how I am doing, or…” His voice trailed off as they reached the series of waterfalls.

Each one of the waterfalls was only a meter tall, one cascading down, feeding into the next. The entire cliff side made of sparkling blue rocks that only seemed to highlight the water that splashed on them. “Beautiful.” He gasped; every time he saw it he was awestruck at the beauty.

“Li?” A forceful, authoritative voice spoke, drawing his attention to the five angels that sat in front of the waterfall. Each with long messy hair that dipped over their eyes and down past their shoulders, each one with a wide variety of colors from golden to blue. “I have to say, we were hoping not to call you back so soon.”

Li bristled at the sound of her voice, settling upon the ground and looking up at both of the angel guards. “Well if you want me to leave, I can always come back later, maybe in a year or two?” He offered, giving a toothy grin while stepping backwards.

The crimson haired angel stomped his foot, sending ripples around the pond, while the two angel guards moved with ease to block Li’s escape.

“We had so much hope for you Li, but look at what you have done, you revealed yourself to the very girl you were supposed to watch. You altered her future in a very dramatic, very deadly way. And worse of all you actively pursued information about your past.” The turquoise haired angel spoke, her voice very soft and relaxed compared to the rest of them.

Li sat back, his mouth dry as he tried to figure out what to say to defend himself. “Possibly a century or two of work away from Earth could correct this problem.” The crimson haired angel spoke as the others nodded approvingly.

“It would be for his own good.” The angels nodded in unison.

Li had to wonder about how they had found out so many of his secrets. Had Kuroe actually gone to the Dominion and told them everything after Naiya went to the bookstore? “STOP!” Li screamed at the top of his lungs, his claws extended and fur sticking up. “Do I even get a say in this?”

“Do you wish to challenge these crimes?” The turquoise angel asked.
“No…”
“Then what is there to say?”

Li pondered the question for a moment before speaking, laying out his words with extra care as if his fate depended on them. “Yes, I have broken almost every rule that has been set for a Shinigami, but taking me away from Naiya would do even more damage.”

“It would take a unstable element out of the situation…” The golden one countered.

“What is going to happen if Naiya were to suddenly disappear from the team? Everyone is going to start asking questions and it could cause even more problems!” Li exclaimed, shocked that he had to spell it out for such high-ranking angels.

The angels exchanged glances before the crimson one spoke. “We would of course send a experienced Shinigami to take care of the situation, and clean up any additional mess.”

Li crossed his paws defiantly, a sly smile creeping across his muzzle. “If someone suddenly appeared in my place, Naiya wouldn’t trust them or even work with them, and convincing her to do anything against her will won’t work.”

Each of the Dominion exchanged curious glances with each other. “We will have a one hour recess to consider your arguments.” The golden one spoke, fading into the waterfall in a swift but elegant manner.

------------

“I’m here, I’m here.” Naiya rushed down the hallway to the doctor’s office, stopping as a fit of coughing came over her. “Sorry I’m late, I had to do something.”

“I’m just glad you showed up this time.” Sakura patted her daughter’s back, Naiya shooting back a glare at the mention of how many appointments she used to miss when it came to discussing the x-ray scans.

“You two can come in.” Naiya’s doctor quickly interrupted the two.

The three entered the doctor’s office, one following the other into the small cramped room, a room that always scared Naiya. For so many years she had come into this room only to receive bad news, each time telling her things such as how much surgery would cost her, or how she could never play on a baseball team while in her condition. Slowly she had decided to make up ways to not attend the meetings, believing that if she were not there to hear it, the bad news would not exist.

“Well we have your x-ray results in.” The doctor gestured to the two to take a seat in front of his desk before turning to turn on the light board behind them and began to place up the pictures.

“I apologize for my daughter not staying still during the examination.” Sakura shot a glare over to Naiya, causing her to shrink down in the seat.

“We were able to get enough.” The doctor sat in his seat, intertwining his fingers while trying to hide a grin. “I could go on for a hour or so about the specifics, but since I am keeping you from your job...”

Sakura nodded gently, clinching Naiya’s hand to support her as much as drawing support from her daughter. “So lets just cut right down to it.” His lips twisted to a grin. “The cancer has shrunk dramatically between the last examination in April, and the one yesterday.”

Sakura rocked back in her chair, the blood draining from her face as it contorted to look as if she had been punched straight in the nose. “Say, say that again.”

The doctor sat back in his chair, looking quite comfortable before taking a glance at the two x-ray pictures. “The cancer in the left lung has shrunk by thirty percent, the cancer in the right lung has shrunk by twenty percent.” He explained much to her disbelief.

“I’m not going to die?” Naiya asked in disbelief, uncontrollable happiness suddenly bubbling up inside of her.

The doctor shook his head and rose from his chair, walking over to Naiya and bending down to her level. “We are going to have to keep aggressively attacking the cancer, but I would say that right now it looks as if you will be attending school like anyone else next year.”

Naiya glanced over at her mother, who had her head in her hands, over come by the event. “School?” Naiya repeated the doctor, tears quickly flowing out of her eyes. She was going back to school? She was going to be a normal kid soon, going to school and having hair, and not having to worry about weekly chemo treatments.

“I know, it’s quite a miracle to have this much reduction in so little time.” The doctor rose, walking back to his desk as Naiya embraced her mother.

Naiya knew better, it wasn’t a miracle that was saving her life; it had to be all the transformations. Some how, some way, the magic was shrinking her cancer. Li, a Shinigami that had been sent to kill her, was now saving her life. “Thank you Li.” She whispered, hugging her mother as tight as she could, wiping her tears away on her mother’s shirt. “Thank you so much.”

------------

The words of gratitude never reached Li, not because he wasn’t listening, he wish he could talk to Naiya, to do anything but wait inside paradise. Although with each minute that ticked by, and the very thought of being trapped for over a century without any contact to Earth, paradise was soon beginning to seem like a prison to him.

“So, how long have you two been serving the dominion?” Li asked the guards curiously, both of them having kept their rigid stance ever since they arrived. “Do you guys have a Union? Get any benefits?”

Their frozen, emotionless state continued to irritate him as he turned to look at the waterfalls. “We have returned.” The crimson angel announced, appearing in the small pool in front of the waterfall.

Li took in a small gasp of air to try and settle the fear that bubbled up into his stomach. “As you have noted, Naiya would provide us with even more problems if you were taken away from her.” The angel announced as Li rejoiced silently in his victory. “So you will be returned to her, but another pre-selected Shinigami will determine her new death.” She added, instinctively Li knew who had been determined, Kuroe.

“Yet your crimes shall not go unpunished, we will relieve you of the affliction that was brought about by your search into your past.” The golden one spoke, crossing his arms defiantly.

“Because of this, and your other offenses, you will lose any chance to become a human Shinigami, for the rest of your time as a Shinigami you will remain inside of your beast form, the Dominion is adjourned.” The turquoise one spoke, each angel disappearing in a spray of mist.

“WAIT!” Li screamed, rushing to the angels, only to tumble head first into the pool. “Come back, I have to know, why did I die, what did I do to become a Shinigami.”

The only answer he received was the sound of rushing water, and the vast emptiness of his “so called” paradise.

[Perfect Chaos]

Chapter 19: So Li's issues have finally caught up with his relationship with Naiya. It seems that he's more and more destined to become a ghost and wander the Earth.

And the Yakuza make another appearance, this time trying to sabotage someone's reputation. I love how you make bring up the reference to the steroids issue that's currently shadowing MLB as of lately, its very fitting that the Yakuza would trying to pull something like that.

Oh shit! Li's been called up by the Dominion, what's going to happen now to him? This is all a very tense situation.

Chapter 20: Wow, Li managed to somewhat win his case. Sucks though that he now has to be stuck in a beast shinigami form now and has no chance of achieving human form.

What's this? Naiya's going to survive?! ZOMG, plot twist!!11oneone Ah wait a minute...this is still shinigami, so there's still a chance that she has to die anyways. Oh well, have to wait and see. It was still nice to see some hope in Naiya and Sakura's life as of now.

See you next chapter