Disclaimer: --;;

Warnings: Tasuki language, shounen sap, psychological stuff, ummmm……slight Keanu Reeves bashing. Sorry, KR fans. ~.~()

Notes: Whazzaaaap, everyone?? ^_^ Thanks for reading, and for reviewing, too. ^___^ Sorry I haven’t been writing as quickly as I’d like, but as I’ve said before, AHHHHHH, SCHOOOOOOL!!!! ~.~() But, anyway…I hope you guys like this. And I put two akugis at the end to make up for all the times I’ve been overeager to post and forgot them. ^_^ Anyhoo, have fun! Love ya! **glomps to all**

"How the heck could you forget about it???" I demanded, three seconds away from trying to tear my hair out. The three of us—Saihitei, Genrou, and I—had converged on the empty lot that had once been Dinah’s Diner, and were now staring blankly and helplessly at the lack of anything resembling a tessen in the area.

"Well, fuckin excuuuuuuse meeeee!" Gen-chan yelled. "Not like I was fuckin messed up or anythin at the time, having just set a fuckin building on fire!!!"

"All right," said Saihitei, Mr. Calm. "Let’s try not to kill each other. Agreed?"

Genrou glowered. I sighed shakily and crossed my arms. I wasn’t mad, really… frustrated, but not mad. How were we gonna find the thing, for crying out loud??!!! It could be lost in a pile of rubble from the explosion, in which case it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack…or, worse, some random dude could’ve picked it up, in which case our chances of finding it were as slim as a supermodel in a child-sized corset.

"Well, shit," said Gen-chan finally, "it sucks that the fuckin thing is missin, but it’s not like it’ll cause any fuckin damage."

"Um…isn’t it kinda…a weapon of mass destruction?" I said cynically.

"Well, actually," said Saihitei, "correct me if I’m wrong, but Tasuki…you’re the only one who is able to use the tessen, are you not? After Taiitsukun enhanced our powers, she remade the tessen so that it could only be used by you."

Gen-chan raised an eyebrow. "Well, fuck, I dunno about all that shit. What I fuckin mean is, who the fuck is gonna know ya have to fuckin say ‘Rekka Shinen’ for the goddamn thing ta work???!!"

Blinking, Saihitei assumed a thoughtful expression. "Well…you do have a point there. But I’m fairly certain my reason is true, as well."

"Oh, yeah," snorted Gen-chan. "Cuz yer always fuckin right, Mister Fuckin Perfect Fuckin Keanu Reeves Wannabe."

"You take that back," Saihitei warned through clenched teeth, his eyes narrowing.

"Fuckin make me, girly boy!!!"

"STOOOOOOOOOOOP!!!!!" I shouted, flailing out with both hands. My left one struck only air; the right one, however, collided with Gen-chan’s jaw and sent him soaring across the lot. He landed on his back about ten feet away from us with a loud thud and a slightly louder "oof."

Saihitei and I stared at him, all three of us more or less frozen. Then Saihitei put his hand on my shoulder, making me look up at him.

"In the future," he said calmly, "it might be wise to remind yourself of your newfound power, to prevent accidentally crippling someone."

"Eheh," I said sheepishly.

"Still," he continued, "anyone who compares me to Keanu Reeves has it coming to them."

I gave him the big eyes. "Yes, sweetie. You’re much cuter than he is."

Looking pleased, he hugged my shoulders impulsively. "You’re such a lovely, intelligent young creature."

"Aaahhhhhhem," called Gen-chan, who, by this time, had pulled himself to a sitting position and was regarding us with something between boredom and malice. "Remember me? The guy ya fuckin socked?"

I trotted to his side, dropping to my knees beside him. "I’m really sorry, Gen-chan…I didn’t even think…are you okay?"

"Little fuckin late, wouldn’t ya say?"

"Well, I know your head’s too hard to damage that easily," I grinned, messing up his hair.

"Stop, man," he said, twisting away.

"Sorry I hit you."

He grunted.

"And I’m…sorry I behaved in such a belligerent fashion," said Saihitei.

Genrou grunted again, and climbed to his feet, dusting his pants off…not that it would’ve made a difference, since Genrou’s pants were perpetually dirty anyway.

Saihitei cleared his throat pointedly.

"Right, right, right…I’m sorry I called ya a fuckin Keanu Reeves wannabe," Gen-chan growled, but we knew he meant it. "I’m just fuckin pissed with myself. I can’t believe I forgot about the thing."

"Well, these things happen," I said, still kneeling on the ground. "I mean, I’ve been forgetting to return my library books for about a month, so…dammit!!!" My eyes suddenly flew open. "Aw, man!! I can’t believe I forgot about them again!!!"

"We should go try to find out where the rubble from this site was moved," said Saihitei.

"And what? Pretend we’re professional rubble hunters?" I said dryly.

He smiled. "There’s always the option of claiming we accidentally left something at the site. Come on, now; let’s go." Reaching down, he looped an arm around my waist and hauled me up like a rug, carrying me for about five yards before finally deciding that I could, in fact, walk by myself. For my part, I was too caught off guard to do much in the way of protest; when I’d "regained my footing," I could only stand there slack-jawed, watching my boyfriend calmly continue on his way to the car.

Almost drooling in my pathetic state of goopy happiness, I turned as if drugged to look at Gen-chan, to make it known to him—quite inanely—that my boyfriend was super cool. But the goopiness soon changed to shock at the sight of Gen-chan running right at me, shoulders low like a football player; before I could move, he’d plowed into me with a playful roar and hoisted me over his shoulder like a freaking Viking bride.

"GAAHHAAAAAAA!!!!!!" I cried as we ran past Saihitei, who blinked dumbly, then resumed his meandering pace. We reached the car, and Genrou leaned against it casually, making no move to put me down.

"’Sup," he nodded at Saihitei as he approached.

"Hi," Saihitei returned, going around to unlock his door.

"Ummmmmm, excusemehello????" I said, trying to struggle.

"Gen-chaaaannnn!!!" I whined. "Put me dowwwwwwwn!!!"

"Yo, Sai. Where the fuck’re we goin? PD?" he said, ignoring me.

Saihitei nodded. "Seems like the best place to ask…don’t you think?"

"Right, I’ll meetcha there," Gen-chan nodded, finally opening the passenger door and plopping me down on the seat.

"Ya spazz!!" I called after his retreating figure, then turned to Saihitei with folded arms. "Why didn’t ya save me????!!!!"

He started up the engine and tossed me a dashing smile. "I was trying. I thought if I ignored him, he would feel slighted at the lack of attention and discontinue the abduction."

"Didn’t work," I informed him blandly.

"Well, you see, now I know that," he acknowledged, pulling out into the street. "And next time, I will resort to other tactics to rescue you from the evil clutches of your best friend."

"Next time??? HAH!!" I scoffed. "There will be no next time. Once I figure out how hard I can hit without causing irreversible damage, with God as my witness, I shall never be manhandled again!!!" I started "doo-ing" along to the Gone with the Wind theme song, and struck a dramatic pose.

He chuckled, and I leaned back happily, content that I’d made him laugh. But then, his face fell the slightest bit.

My heart gave a little tremor. Don’t be sad! Don’t be sad, don’t be sad, why the heck are you sad??? "You okay?"

With a frown, he looked at me briefly before turning his eyes back to the road. "You…you don’t think I really look like Keanu Reeves, do you?…"

I relaxed. Silly idiot. "Of course you don’t. Well, you have the whole Matrix Trench-coat thing going, but as far as look goes…"

The look he gave me then was reminiscent of an eight-year-old orphan hoping to be adopted.

"Ehhhh…you’re certainly better looking," I said. "No question about it. You’re not as…uhhh….stubbly. And you have nicer hair. And nicer eyes. And…"

"And…" He’s being a hypocrite. "And why’s it important, anyway?" I demanded. "You’re you! It doesn’t matter if you look like Keanu Reeves or Tom Cruise or or or Robert de Niro!!!"

"Robert de Niro???"

"Stop it! You’re you, you’re you, you’re you!!! And you can’t tell me to stop being so insecure about myself when you do the same thing! It doesn’t matter." I smiled to take at least a little bit of the sting out of my words, in case there was the possibility that they might sting. "Heart to heart, ya know? Not….face to face."

"Ryuuen," he said, again glancing over at me. "I know. I’m all about the heart thing."

"Then, why do you keep making such a big deal about the way you look?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Call it force of habit," he said.

Ummmm…okay? "Not that you look like Robert de Niro," I said, "because I really think you’re…" …Stunningly attractive? Good-looking as hell? God-like? "…very handsome. But you don’t have to seem so worried about it all the time."

Wow. That was a weird concept. That Perfect Saihitei could be…self-conscious? Him???? What the heck could he have to be self conscious about??? He was smart, he was pretty, he was one of THE nicest guys I had ever met in my life…and funny, in a weird kinda way…

But…I suppose anyone could be insecure, because when you’re inside yourself, you can’t see what others see. And it probably takes a lot of effort for people to see themselves as they really are.

"Shall I tell you what I see?"

I blinked, taking in his profile: the long, elegant nose; the shining hair, the smooth skin, the dark eyelashes.

It suddenly popped into my head that maybe it wasn’t his looks that had him all worried. Maybe it was something else, like…well…me. He said he’d been waiting his whole life to find me. He had memories of me; memories of ignoring me, of making me unhappy…maybe he’d even known I’d cried because of him. And now, he really, really wanted to put things right.

He has to keep reaffirming his physical attractiveness because he thinks it’s the only way I’ll notice him. The only way ANYONE will ever notice him.

The now overly familiar feel of tears filled my eyes, and I promised myself that I’d make him realize the truth. That I wouldn’t love him if he were handsome and a jerk. That he was now and had always been the greatest guy; even in the past when things couldn’t work out for us, it was destiny that was the cause of my unhappiness, not him.

We pulled into the parking lot of the police department, and I bolted from the car. Running around the hood to meet him as he shut his own door gently behind him, I leaped into his arms—no, really; leaped, so that when he caught me, my feet were dangling about half a foot above the ground—wrapped my arms around his neck, and kissed him right on the mouth.

When I pulled away, craning my head back so I could see beyond his nostrils, he was staring at me like I’d just pinned a feather on his head.

"Was the car ride really that enjoyable?"

"You know, you’re the best," I said firmly.

"Umm…well, thank you," he said, regarding me quizzically.

With a satisfied smile, I tucked my head against his neck and sighed.

"I wouldn’t fall in love with just anyone, you know," I said quietly. "Not just any handsome past-life emperor. Only you."

He didn’t say anything, which I took as a good sign. It meant he knew I really meant it. And it was one of those perfect moments, where the only people in the entire world are you and the one you love…our hearts beating against each other, his breath falling softly on my neck…

"Isn’t it kinda fuckin stupid exhibiting like that in front of the fuckin PD?" called Gen-chan.

Still smiling, I slid back to the ground and turned around. "Your manners never fail to astound me."

He grinned, showing off both fangs. "Can I show the happy couple to the fuckin honeymoon suite?" he said, jerking his head toward the building. "Pun intended, in this case."

My face colored. "Drop dead, hammerboy. Just because we’re dating doesn’t mean we…"

"Fuck!!" said Genrou. "Ya think that fuckin blond guy’ll be here again?"*

I winced at his language. However, Saihitei didn’t seem to be phased at all. "Blond guy?" he inquired.

"Yeah," I said. "The guy who let Gen-chan go that time was…blond."

"Ah," he nodded.

Genrou and I shared an uneasy look. Although neither of us remembered specifically what Blond Dude had done in the past, Saihitei most certainly would. We were willing to give him another chance, but neither of us had anything personally against him, nothing we could remember that would really strike home. But did Saihitei?

"Well. Shall we?" said Saihitei, moving to go up the stairs. Gen-chan and I both took deep breaths and followed him, and…

…The cell phone rang. Again.

Saihitei made a surprised sound, then spun back around. He dug out the phone, snapped it open, held it to his ear, and stuffed his other hand in his pocket. "Hello?"

"Who the fuck is that, d’ya spose?" said Gen-chan.

"Well, it’s not you, and it’s not me," I said brightly.

He gave me a Look; I winked at him. Then he reached up and flicked me in the nose.

"Hey—OWWW!!!" I exclaimed, covering the offended body part with both hands.

"Ah, c’mon, it didn’t fuckin hurt." He rolled his eyes. "Nothin like gettin a full goddamn punch in the puss."

"That was an accident!!!" I said, my voice muffled by my hand.

"Oh, once it was a fuckin accident…" Gen-chan began, but our spat was interrupted by Saihitei coming quickly back own the stairs, parting the air between us. After a slight pause, we hurried after him.

"Saihitei? What’s up? Who was that?" I asked, worried that it might be bad news, the way he’d reacted to it.

"That," he said, "was Taka. We have to go see him right away."

"What? Why?"

He sighed, putting his key once more into the lock on his car. "Miaka called."

"And that’s fuckin cause for an emergency meeting?" said Genrou. "Oooooh, Miaka called!! Ooooh, the two of them exchanged loving words."

"Shut up," I frowned, stopping myself from swatting him just in time. "Would ya let him finish??"

Saihitei shot a disapproving look at Gen-chan, then moved his eyes to mine.

Oh, no, I thought, it IS bad news. It IS.

"It’s Houjun," my boyfriend said, in a calm voice that belayed his obvious agitation. "He’s run off. He’s gone."

TBC…

* (trying to hide snickers) I’M SORRY!!! I’m sorry…I couldn’t help it!!! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

ANOTHER STORY AKUGI!!!!

Take One:

Saihitei: We should go try to find out where the rubble from this site was moved.

Ryuuen: And what? Pretend we’re professional rubble hunters?

Genrou: **donning a safari hat, adopting an Australian accent** Join us es we geah inta the jangle ta hunt deahn the elewwwsive Dinah Rabble!!

Ryuuen: End deahn’t fergit ta tewn in at ah SPESHUW toime next weik!

Saihitei: What the fuck are you two TALKING about???…

Take Two:

Ryuuen: **narrating** We pulled into the parking lot of the police department, and I bolted from the car. Running around the hood to meet him as he shut his own door gently behind him, I leaped into his arms—

Saihitei: **calmly steps out of the way**

Ryuuen: **runs into a tree**

Genrou: **dies laughing**