Back then, before she met them, all she wanted was just a normal life but now, she was so involve into their circle, slowly sinking into their deepest secrets that Maki can't be sure if she can back out now and leave their group; having a normal life would be the farthest thing that could happen to her right now.

The most surprising thing was she learned to accept and like what she has right now, this strange ability of hers. She met a group of people who's just like her, who's still struggling to live happily despite the things that they've been going through. It’s like she already found the home that she's been looking and longing for so long. Maki wished she can know more about them so that she can understand them better, know when she can be a help to them.

The sudden flash of purplish light woke her up from her musings.

Maki stood still, straining her hearing while trying to see what that 'light' was. The bright light was gone but something purple still lingered, flickering in the darkness.
Maki walked cautiously forward. Something flashed again, this time its bluish white and its momentary light illuminated the profiles of five guys standing near at the base of a building. As Maki got closer, she soon realized that the five guys were Yamapi, Ryo, Massu, Kame and Jin and the strange purple thing was actually Jin's wings while the blue ones was Kame's.

It’s not the first time that she had seen a pair of wings but still, she shivered upon seeing them, it’s still felt strange and scary to see those giant wings attached to a human body, but now, Maki appreciated how beautiful they were.

They seemed to be talking seriously to each other, if not arguing, Maki didn't know which of the two. She was near enough to see them clearly but still far away for them to notice her presence.

Just as Maki opened to call out to them, Yamapi bared his wings.

Maki stopped moving, voice lost deep in as she gaped at those 9 feet long white wings, iridescent and shimmering against the dark sky. It flooded its surroundings with pure white light and Maki saw the admiring look in Massu's face and the shock expressions of Kame and Jin, their wings lost its splendour next to Yamapi's white ones. Ryo's back was turned to her that's why she can't see his expression but she can clearly see Yamapi's face.

Maki, for the first time, realized what he really was. He's different from the other Moonchildren she had seen, maybe his wings got something to do with it, but his bearing clearly stated that he's higher among them... almost like a God.

Then suddenly, 'it' came.

Something, a strange feeling that Maki never felt before roared inside her.

Maki gasped at the sudden surge of that strange emotion and she had to lean on the nearest tree to keep herself from trembling. Confused and scared, Maki tried to calm herself while discerning what that 'feeling' was.
Its not until she looked back to Yamapi and saw his wings again that she realized what that 'feeling' was... envy.

She had never felt this before… not this great, not like this when every inch of her was aching to... not like this when it felt like she wanted to hurt... 'Him'...
Maki's eyes went large when she realized what she was thinking.

Revulsion slowly rose up inside her. What the hell was she thinking, wanting to hurt someone for just a pair of wings? But the feeling was still there, like a monster, clawing at her insides, wanting to be free...

she slowly slid to the ground, shaking, she never felt so much hatred with herself not until this moment.

Maki didn't see them leave but when she looked up again, Yamapi and the others were gone; the place where they stood earlier was now empty.

It was gone as fast as it came, the strange 'feeling', that great envy ceased the moment Yamapi and his wings was out of her sight, but it left her feeling empty, lonelier than ever before.

Different emotions, hatred, disgust, confusion and sorrow welled up inside her as tears appeared in her eyes.

She did not know why she was crying, she was not the crying type of girl but she can't stop these damn tears from falling from her eyes.
Her mind seemed empty of everything but a confused sense of sorrow and pain that Maki can't understand at all. It felt like something that she really loved and cherished was taken from her and she can't get it back. As those thoughts came to her, something flashed in her mind... a pair of silver wings, like the one she saw in Tegoshi's memories... the bloodied silver wing.

Maki didn't know how long she was sitting there, silently crying; she only got back to her senses when she felt cold drops of water hit her skin.

It began to drizzle and Maki forced herself to stand up, calming herself as she wiped the tears away from her face.

She turned around and saw a profile of a man leaning on the next tree. "Who's there?"

The man walked out of the shadows, its Tegoshi.

Maki flushed with embarrassment at the thought of him seeing her cry. "W-what are you doing here?"

"Making sure that no human will see what you saw." Tegoshi replied as he sauntered towards her, stopping just a few meters away from her.

"Eh? How long have you been here?"

"I'm already here even before you came." Tegoshi said.

"Oh," said Maki, more embarrassed than before. He must be laughing at her right now, seeing her cry like that. Maki forced herself to look at him in the eye and saw that no, he was not laughing at her, actually there's no amusement in his eyes- only unfathomable seriousness and, Maki can’t understand why- grief.

“They’re pretty ne~, those wings,” Maki said just to break the uneasy silence that’s surrounding them. “They’re so beautiful they even made me cry.” She said, trying to make the whole thing to seem like a joke.

Tegoshi didn’t speak; he just smiled at her, a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Uhm, where did they go?”

Tegoshi shook his head. “I don’t know, maybe something to do with Aoi. Erika told them a lot of information about her this afternoon.”

“Oh, really,” Maki said vaguely, not really paying attention to what he said but to the sound of his voice. His voice as she remembered it had never been so- so- what was the word she wanted? Lifeless? Colorless? Empty?

Tegoshi looked up at the dark sky. “Its starting to rain,” he said, “I think you should go back to your room.”

Maki sensed that something was wrong but nevertheless she started to walk back to her dorm only to stop short again. “Tegoshi-“ she began tentatively, remembering what Ayu had told her this morning.

“Yes?” said Tegoshi, “what is it?”

“Did you go to Ayu’s room last night, before you met Aoi?”

“Why?” A small smile was slowly showing on his face. “What did Ayu say?”

Maki was glad to see that smile, relieved that he’s getting back to his old self now. “She just told me that she dreamed that you sneaked into her room and that you hugged her all night.”

“Not all night though,” Tegoshi grinned, “I left and met Aoi, didn’t I?”

“Mou~ you messed up with her memories again.”

“I did?” Tegoshi mockingly asked, smirking, “but she remembered, didn’t she?”

“But that’s not-“

“But what?”

“Nothing,” Maki said, looking down at her shoes, wishing she could say something, something that would help them, something that would make him and Ayu happy. Maki raised her head and saw that Tegoshi was watching her with that grave expression on his face again.

“Go back to your room now, its late.” Tegoshi said.

“Tegoshi,” Maki said, “can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“D-do you know something about me?” asked Maki, “I mean the reason why I have this- uhm... gift?”

Tegoshi didn’t speak, he just stared at her with that unfathomable expression on his face again that Maki’s starting to hate. She didn’t even know if he’s listening to her or not.

She took a step forward, raising her hand, her intent was to touch his arm and to gain back his attention... but he abruptly took a step back and shook his head.

Feeling hurt and rejected, Maki looked into his eyes and was surprised to see her pain reflecting in there.

“Yamapi told me the things that you saw every time that you touched me.” Tegoshi said, his voice trembling slightly.

“I didn’t mean to-to-“

“I know,” Tegoshi said, “I just want to keep some things private ne~”

“I’m sorry,” Maki said.

“I’m sorry too for not paying attention earlier.” Tegoshi smiled at her but Maki can still see the pain in his eyes. “What’s your question again?”

“I’m asking you if you know something about me, if you-“

Tegoshi shook his head. “No, I don’t.”

“B-but-“

“What?”

“B-but I saw in your memories- I saw myself wearing the school uniform of my previous school, walk-“

“That was the first time I saw you.” Tegoshi said. “I just happened to pass by in your place and then I saw you and noticed that you’re different from the other humans.”

Maki looked at him in disbelief; something in his voice told her that he was lying...

“T-the night that Yuihiro attacked us,” Maki said, her voice shaking as she looked deeply into his eyes, searching for something, a clue, a hint... “Remember that, in the rain? You asked me if I can hear your thoughts when I didn’t even tell you yet about my ability. How did you know about that?”

Tegoshi looked back at her before he took another step backward. “I’ve been observing you since the day you entered this school and that was just my impression. I didn’t know that I was right then.” He said. “I grew up in the Temple; of course I would get curious to your case. You’re the first human to have a gift like ours and a powerful one at that, that’s why I’ve been watching you from the start, other than that, I don’t know anything.”

Nobody speak for a long moment.

Maki decided to break the silence. “I’m sorry for bothering you,” Maki said, trying to stop her disappointment from showing in her voice. “Are you okay? You seemed to be trembling.”

The drizzle turned to heavy rain and big drops of water soon fell from the sky.

“Don’t mind me, I’m okay.” Tegoshi said. “Go back to your own room now Maki, before you get wet.”

His face was half hidden in the shadows and for the first time, Maki wished that for just this moment, she could hear his thoughts.

Maki bowed before she turned around and ran back to her dormitory, leaving Tegoshi behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I’m sorry ne, Maki.” Tegoshi said as he watched his sister slowly disappeared in the darkness; the rain washing the tears from his face. “I’m really sorry.”

Somewhere in the distance, hidden beneath the shadows, Erika Sawajiri was watching them; the usual twinkle in her silver eyes was gone.

_______________________________________

a/n: i've decided to divide this into 3 parts.. i'm not finished yet... but more will come hopefully this week.. ^_^
sorry if its a little bit confusing.. explanations at the last part.. i promise...

hope you will enjoy this one.. ^_^

*runs-to-her-job*