Wish I Will, Wish I Might

Here is Greenwood is property of its creators. No copyright infringement is intended. This story is property of the author. Greetings! It’s me again! This is my first attempt at writing a story about someone I have almost no information about -- Aoki Kunihisa. I think that it’s about time that SOMEONE wrote something about the secondary characters of Koko wa Greenwood. Anyway, this is sort of like a continuation of my third story Something Worth Dying For. It’s independent of the third story, but it would be better if you have already read it since I will be making occasional references. BTW, I have no idea which bunk Aoki occupies, so bear with me.

by Lady Aria

*RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!*

A hand groped the small headboard shelf and clicked the offending machine shut. Sleepy black-brown eyes looked at the time and the boy’s head plopped back down on the warm, soft pillow it had abandoned and the blankets followed, covering the boy from head to foot. A muffled sigh could be heard from the cocoon.

It was VERY early Saturday morning and Aoki Kunihisa was determined to stay in bed as long as he could.

It had been a couple of months since the incident with Kaijuro Sutanage. Aoki had been the reason why Kaijuro was caught by Kobari’s men and very nearly killed. Although Kaijuro, Shinobu and Kazuya readily forgave him, after the affair was over, it had taken him a while before he actually forgave himself. He had, after all, accepted the responsibility of watching Kaijuro that fateful afternoon and it had been his pre-occupation with a new video game that had proven to be his downfall.

Unable to reclaim his lost sleep, he hung upside down and peered into the bunk below him.

Sakaguchi Hideya was still sound asleep. Apparently, the clock’s loud ringing hadn’t been able to wake his roommate. He was glad it hadn’t. Sakaguchi was often grumpy whenever he doesn’t get a decent night’s sleep.

Aoki pulled himself back into his bunk and laid down on his stomach, looking out the window. They had left it open to savor the cool breezes that signaled the coming winter. Outside, the leaves of the trees surrounding Greenwood had turned into the yellows, reds and oranges of autumn. The night hadn’t been very dark and the sky was colored a delicate blue-purple. All this was highlighted by the crescent moon with a big, bright light resting on it’s lower tip.

<Venus, the morning star,> Aoki thought as his eyes started to droop. He remembered from his science class that Venus had a tendency to become brighter and bigger during the wee hours of morning, but this was the first time he had actually been awake to see it.

Just as his eyes were drifting shut, a light streaked trough the heavens.

The light disappeared as suddenly as it appeared. When he was a child, he had been told that he should make a wish whenever he sees a shooting star. He had watched his grandmother in awe when they once laid on the cool grass late one evening watching a meteor shower. She had told them that all those stars had been sent down from heaven because a lot of people were in need of hope and a miracle. He had believed her. Despite all the science he had been taught, despite the fact that he now knew that these ‘shooting stars’ were just rocks burning up in the Earth’s atmosphere, he knew deep inside that he still believed her.

Smiling at the memory, he turned and found a comfortable position on his bed. He had seen the shooting star and he had made his wish. Now, all he had to do was wait for his star to deliver.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Hey, Aoki! Wanna go with us to the mall?"

Aoki looked up from his breakfast and saw a smiling Shun who had taken a seat in front of him. Shun was pretty famous around Ryokuto Academy with his long pink hair and feminine features, but most of all, with his ability to get along with the residents of Greenwood. Today, he was wearing denim jumper shorts and a yellow shirt.

"Who’re ‘us?’" Aoki asked between bites.

"Suka-chan and me," he replied, propping his elbows on the table and cupping his face in his hands. "Miya Igarashi’s birthday is coming up and Suka-chan wants to get her something. I’m just there for approval and, besides, I want to do some shopping of my own. I was just wondering if you’d like to come with us."

Aoki smiled at the comment. Shun had invited him along on a number of shopping trips before and those had always been interesting. He had also been able to find a few games he had been dying to get during those trips. It seems as though luck was always with him whenever he tagged along with Shun.

"Okay," he said, picking up his empty tray. "Just wait for me to change and grab my wallet."

"Great!" Shun said, hopping off his chair. "I’ll go tell Suka-chan!"

Aoki shook his head as he watched him skip off. Shun had always been a fount of endless energy, throwing himself into any activity with incredible amounts of gusto. He returned his tray and walked back up to his room to find a still-bleary-eyed Sakaguchi stretching beside the window.

"Ohayou, Aoki," he said, yawning.

"Ohayou," Aoki replied as he pulled out a pair of faded blue jeans and a black shirt from his closet. The arcade wasn’t going to open for at least an hour and Aoki was glad that he could change in his room, for once, instead of going to the bathroom.

Sakaguchi regarded his roommate as he started picking clothes off the laundry line they had set up in their room. It LOOKED like Aoki was going somewhere, but he doesn’t remember him saying anything about it.

"In case you’re wondering, which I see you are," Aoki said as he pulled on his jeans, "Shun asked me along to the mall."

"Seems like you’ve been spending a lot of time with them."

Aoki noted the wry smile on Sakaguchi’s face. He HAD been spending a lot of time with the infamous 210-211 circle and it had started even before Kaijuro came to Ryokuto. At first, contact had been limited to only Shun. Shun had badgered him into helping him out for a school play by creating the sample scenery using the computer. Then, he found himself in the company of Kazuya when the latter needed help in his computer education class. Eventually, Aoki found himself being somewhat included in various plans orchestrated by Shinobu and Mitsuru, some of which, including the Kaijuro incident, proving to be hazardous to his health.

"Yeah, I guess," he finally replied. "It’s just gonna be me, Suka, and Shun. Suka’s going to look for a gift for his girlfriend and Shun and I will just be doing some window shopping."

"I’ll bet," Sakaguchi answered. The last time Aoki said he was going to do some window shopping, he had come back with what seemed to have been several dozen game cartridges. Although the new games boosted business by almost 200%, Aoki had been pretty indisposed for a few weeks since he was determined to finish the games before anyone did.

Aoki snorted at his retort and dug around the mess of CD cases on his desk for his wallet. He had just placed it into his pocket when a head popped into the room.

"Hey, guys," Sagarii greeted them, his longish ash blonde hair drifting over his eyes, "the arcade open yet?"

"Come back at around ten," Sakaguchi said smiling at Sagarii. He was one of their best customers and could easily give Aoki a run for his money during video game tournaments.

"Hey, Aoki, going to the mall?" Sagarii said, noticing Aoki’s clothes.

"Yeah, why?"

"Could you pick up some chips for me?" Sagarii said, handing him a 1,000 yen note. "Riku somehow got into my stash and cleaned it out."

"No problem," Aoki said, plucking the note out of his hand before rushing down the stairs to join Kazuya and Shun.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Man, I am pooped!"

Shun, Kazuya and Aoki were sitting at the ice cream parlor eating banana splits while resting their tired feet. Kazuya had dragged them through countless boutiques looking for the perfect gift for Miya. Apparently, he had absolutely no idea what he wanted to get her and they had looked from cosmetics to dresses. Aoki’s patience was already wearing pretty thin and even Shun was just about getting ready to scream when Kazuya dragged them to a small jewelry store. One look at a pair of dangling sapphire earrings and he bought them immediately. Aoki had thought that the gift was a little expensive, although the shop had charged Kazuya a reasonable price for the earrings. But then again, who was he to argue with a love-struck fool like Kazuya?

Aoki swirled his ice cream into a semi-solid mush. Shun had accompanied him to a grocery and they had bought some stuff including several grocery bags of chips that Sagarii had asked him to buy. He was lazily looking out the ice cream parlor window when he saw the sign outside the window of the mall’s arcade.

"NEW FIGHTING GAME! ONE-DAY TOURNAMENT! BIG PRIZES!"

"Oi," Shun said, snapping his fingers in front of Aoki. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Aoki said, realizing that Shun had been talking to him all the while.

"What’s up?"

"You see that sign?"

Both Shun and Kazuya looked in the direction Aoki was pointing at and understood why he had been transfixed. A video game tournament was exactly what could get Aoki all dreamy -eyed.

Before either of them could say anything, Aoki got up and trotted towards the shop. From their vantage point, they could see Aoki talking to what looked to be like the arcade’s manager and they saw him sign a sheet. The man nodded and handed him a circular disk. Aoki then made his way back to the ice cream parlor and promptly finished his ice cream.

"What was than all about?" Kazuya asked twirling his spoon in his hand.

"I just entered the tournament," Aoki said, popping the last cherry into his mouth.

"Honto?" Shun asked him.

"Hai," he replied sipping from his water glass. "The top prize, after all, is 100,000 yen."

The shocked look on Shun and Kazuya’s faces was all Aoki needed to see. It really was a lot of money and the company that created the game stood to make a profit since contestants were required to give a 1,000 yen entrance fee. Aoki knew that he was very much adaptable to any new video game. The only person he could think of that could even pose a threat to his success would have to be Sagarii and he was in Greenwood playing in the arcade.

"What time does it start?" Shun asked finally gathering enough of his wits to say something.

"Fifteen minutes," Aoki said, as he gathered his purchases and started for the door. "I’m contestant number 215 batch A. There will be two batches and the best of those batches will face off to see who will win the grand prize."

"Wanna watch, Shun?" Kazuya asked him as he joined them outside.

"You bet."

*-*-*-*-*-*

It was a good thing that the venue for the actual competition was at one of the mall’s spacious trade halls designed for fairs and the like. All in all there were 500 entries with each batch having 250 competitors. The mechanics of the game were simple. The preliminaries were one-round make or break fights. You have to beat you opponent in one round to advance to the next round. For Aoki, it was a piece of cake, immediately showing preference for a ninja warrior with a long slashing katana and lethal shurikens. The semi-finals was for the ten qualifying members of each batch. This one was a bit more complicated. They had to pre-pick five characters that they will use and beat their opponent in a best out of three series. Aoki held his breath as he picked out his five because these were the same five he will use for the entire semi-final round. Shun nearly fainted and Kazuya was starting to get a bit hoarse from shouting when Aoki nearly got eliminated twice. The master of ceremonies declared a twenty minute break to let the competitors rest for the championship and as predicted, the representative of batch A was contestant number 215.

The three stepped out of the hall and took in some cool sodas.

Aoki wiped the sweat off his brow and took in several deep breaths. He had absolutely no idea how tense a video game tournament of this magnitude could get and the cloud of tension inside the hall was so great you could cut it with a knife. The air conditioning inside the hall wasn’t helping either.

"I can’t believe that you made it to the final round!" Shun said as he popped some peanuts into his mouth. "I really thought that you were gonna get eliminated several times back there!"

"Well, they don’t call me ‘Arcade Aoki’ for nothing," Aoki said, laughing. A buzzing sound came from the hall signaling the end of the break. "Well, moment of truth," he said getting up from the seats they had commandeered outside the hall.

"We’ll be rooting for you, Aoki," Shun said, nudging Kazuya who gave Aoki a smile.

"Thanks," he replied as he walked back inside.

Inside, the coordinators had arranged the seating into a neat semi-circle with two arcade machines facing each other. A huge screen was in the background so that the audience would be able to see the fight. Shun and Kazuya took seats in the central part of the bleachers and cheered for Aoki as he made his way to the center.

"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the championship round of the competition." Cheers. "To your left is the winner for batch A, contestant number 215."

Aoki could hear Shun and Kazuya’s excited cheers above the crowd and smiled.

"To you right, is the winner for batch B, contestant number 158."

Aoki tried to look at his opponent, but the glare of the spotlight was too great. All he could see saw the guy’s silhouette.

"To your stations please."

Aoki and his opponent sat before the arcade machines. The instructions flashed through the screen. Once again, this would be a best out of three competition, only this time, the computer will choose the players they will be using. Aoki felt a hint of panic. He could think of at least five characters that he didn’t like and getting stuck with even one could spell his doom. Aoki bit his lip as the computer randomly picked out his characters -- the werewolf, the samurai, the magician, the wrestler, and.... Aoki nearly fainted in relief when he saw his final character -- the ninja.

He chose the order of his team and waited. He wanted to save the ninja for last, since there was no telling when he will need that character. In the first round, it was his magician against his opponent’s undead monster. Aoki won and he saw Kazuya give him the thumbs up sign. Next it was his wrestler against the ninja. Aoki lost and he chided himself for underestimating his opponent. The next round saw his samurai against a phoenix. He lost again. His werewolf was up against the magician and he won.

By now, Aoki was sweating bullets. It was now a draw and this last battle will decide who will win. It was now his ninja against his opponent’s werewolf. Aoki concentrated on his character’s arsenal of moves. His opponent was fast, admittedly as fast as him, and their life meters were already both low and one blow each could spell doom on them both.

Aoki’s power meter flashed full and he decided to take a chance. He had discovered the ninja’s secret move during the preliminaries and hadn’t been able to use it in the semis. This would probably be the best time to try it out.

Kazuya and Shun both held their breaths as Aoki’s ninja approached his opponent. Just as the other guy was going for a throw, Aoki let him have it. A firestorm whirlwind erupted from under the werewolf and the life meter expired before it even hit the ground.

Kazuya and Shun were both jumping up and down and hooting for Aoki while he himself slumped down in front of the terminal taking deep breaths to calm his still shaking fingers. The next thing he knew, Kazuya and Shun were giving him pats on the back and saying things like ‘wayta go!’ and ‘alright.’ He had just regained enough of his senses to look at the person at the other arcade terminal.

A few girls clumped around there and they seem to be talking to the guy sitting there. Aoki had just gotten up and was about to walk over to his opponent when he stopped dead in his tracks.

The blinding glare of the spotlight finally out of his eyes, he was able to see his opponent clearly for the first time.

He, or rather she, was a girl.

Shun peered over Aoki’s shoulder and his jaw dropped while Kazuya punched Aoki lightly on the shoulder.

"I can’t believe that you nearly got beaten by a girl!" Kazuya said, laughing.

His statement carried over to the other group and the three were approached by the group of girls led by the runner up. She grabbed Kazuya’s shirt and forced him to look her straight in the eye. He audibly gulped as he looked into those light blue depths, looking much like flashing orbs of ice.

"So what if I’m a girl?" she said furiously, giving him a shake. "Girls can do a lot of things boys can do, and I just proved that despite being only second place!"

"Okay, okay, I’m sorry!" Kazuya said as he tried to appease the furious girl.

"Come on, Umi," one of the girls next to her said, as she placed a hand on her shoulder, "it’s time for the awards."

The girl known as Umi let go of Kazuya and walked away, her pageboy cut ash blonde hair bobbing as she shook her head in disgust.

"Now that’s someone I definitely don’t want to get into a bad mood," Shun said as he followed Aoki to the stage at the other end of the hall.

Aoki nodded in agreement and went up to join Umi. By just winning the batch eliminations, a person was already guaranteed a prize of 50,000 yen, so the loser of the championship round wasn’t going to walk away empty handed.

He stood to the right of the announcer and looked at Umi. Their eyes met and she sniffed at him, obviously not caring whether Aoki was the one who offended her or not. He looked away from her with a sour expression. He wasn’t about to sink to her level.

The announcer introduced them to the crowd to great cheers. They were each handed a trophy and their respective prize money as well as a copy of the new game. They shook hands and the expression on Umi’s face practically said that she’d rather kiss a leper than touch Aoki and his expression mirrored her own sentiments.

<Good riddance,> Aoki thought as he let go of her hand, <may our paths NEVER cross again.>

*-*-*-*-*-*

"I can’t believe it!" Sakaguchi said, as the frantic gaming in the arcade stopped when Aoki entered with the trophy in hand. "I should tag along on Shun’s next shopping spree and maybe I could get as lucky as you!"

"Believe me, it was no walk in the park," Aoki said, tossing the game onto his desk and plopping down on Sakaguchi’s bed. "The last entrant I had to beat was a really nasty girl by the name of Umi. I mean, if her friends hadn’t there, she probably would have decked Suka!"

"Still," Sakaguchi said, inspecting the trophy, "winning this much money from a video game competition is quite something. You can’t even win that much from Shinobu’s betting pool."

"Darn, I almost forgot." Aoki got up off Sakaguchi’s bed and grabbed two of the grocery bags he had brought home. "Sagarii’s chips," he told Sakaguchi who nodded and waved him out the door as he picked up Aoki’s new game and read the booklet.

Aoki walked past the open door to room 210 and saw Kazuya looking dreamy-eyed at the earrings he had just bought while Shun put away various school supplies he purchased. The door to room 211 was closed but he could hear a muffled thunk that could only be a bunch of books plopping on the desk. He passed several other rooms, but didn’t pay much attention to the sounds coming from them. He stopped in front of room 216 and knocked.

From the frosted glass window, he could see that the lights inside the room were out. He decided to try the door so that he could just leave Sagarii’s chips.

It was pitch dark inside and Aoki entered the room. He had taken no more than two steps when he felt his foot land on something wet. He nearly fell over in shock. From the available light from the doorway, he could see that he had stepped on something wet, alright, something wet, something warm, and something very red....

Aoki’s eyes were wide as saucers and his stomach churned as he slowly looked up to try and find the source of the all too-familiar liquid.

Kazuya and Shun nearly jumped out of their skins as Aoki’s scream split the otherwise peaceful night. They peered out of their room to see Shinobu and Mitsuru already moving to the source of the scream. A crowd had gathered in front of room 216 and summarily stepped back at the sight.

Shinobu flicked on the light switch and a it revealed a quivering Aoki was plastered to the wall beside the door looking at a pale and bloody Riku hanging limply from the ceiling. Sagarii, who had just had dinner, nearly lost it at the sight of his roommate.

Shinobu walked in and pulled loose the rope holding Riku in place. He had underestimated the weight of the body and it fell... right into Aoki’s arms. Aoki felt his knees give way and fell flat on his back with the body on top of him. He heard his heart beating in his ears as he looked into those unseeing orbs. Suddenly, a dry, rasping voice came from the body.

"So, what chips did you buy?"

Aoki had to be restrained as a now smiling and animated ‘corpse’ rolled off him and stood a good seven paces away -- far enough from Aoki’s fists. It took a good ten minutes for the other residents to get Aoki to calm down and for Sagarii to dress Riku down. All the while, Shinobu and Mitsuru shared amused expressions from the doorway while Shun and Kazuya shook their heads in disbelief at Riku’s nerve. Riku was well-known throughout Ryokuto to be a great practical joker and was also one of the reasons why Greenwood had earned the reputation of being a den of weirdos.

"Sorry, Kunihisa," Riku said, holding up his hands, "I just had to try out the props and make-up I was going to suggest that we use for the school festival production." He looked mischievously at Sagarii and continued, "I was actually waiting for Sagarii to get back from dinner."

Sagarii bopped him on the head and gave him a dangerous look. Apparently, no matter how many times Riku had already gotten into trouble with the residents, he wasn’t going to stop using them as his guinea pigs.

Aoki picked up the grocery bags he had dropped and tossed them to Sagarii who gave him a smile in thanks, while still looking at Riku with narrowed eyes. The people in Greenwood really were like a family to him, but there were times when he wished that his ‘brothers’ would keep their antics to themselves.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Aoki tossed his bag onto the seat at the corner table of the room and loosened his tie. It was Monday afternoon and he was taking the time before most of the residents got back from their classes to change into more comfortable clothes. He had just finished pulling on a white sweatshirt when Sakaguchi walked in and dropped a load of paper onto the corner desk.

"What are those for?" Aoki asked as his roommate changed into his street clothes.

"Oh, these," Sakaguchi said, picking up a sheet. "See for yourself," and tossed it to Aoki.

* RYOKUTO ACADEMY / MUSASHINO SEIKA HIGH SCHOOL CHARITY FAIR FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TOKYO ORPHANAGE -- PARTICIPANTS NEEDED *

Aoki looked questioningly at Sakaguchi and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Shinobu-sempai asked me to post these on the bulletin boards around campus," Sakaguchi said, putting on a heavy jacket. It had started getting colder outside and it looked like it was going to start snowing soon. "It looks like Ryokuto Academy wants us to do something ‘productive’ with our free time."

"What do they want us to do anyway?"

"I think all we have to do is to help out, you know, like set-up and man booths, judge contest, or something like that, but you know," Sakaguchi said, as a gleam came to his eyes, "the best part of that will be working with the girls from Musashino Seika."

Aoki shook his head and sat down on Sakaguchi’s bed. Several students have already made their way to the arcade and sat in front of the terminals with more signing the queue sheets that Aoki had posted at the door. He wasn’t really doing anything that afternoon and seeing the number of sheets Sakaguchi had to post he came up with an idea.

"Need some help?"

Sakaguchi looked at him gratefully and handed him half the stack of papers and a staple gun.

"Where do we start?" Aoki said, grabbing a jacket off his bed.

"Meet me downstairs," Sakaguchi said, digging through the mess of clothes, CDs and knickknacks on his desk. "I’ll be down in a few minutes, I just have to look for something."

"Okay," said Aoki and he started down the hall.

*Ping-pong*

*Sagarii Rukinade-kun, you have a visitor waiting for you at the lobby."

Aoki was already at the ground floor when he heard the P.A. Curious, he decided to wait for Sakaguchi at the lobby. A girl wearing a Musashino Seika Girls’ High uniform stood there with her back towards him. She was tall and slim and her hair was cut short. Aoki was about to make a pass at her when she turned and they both froze in their tracks.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

The girl nearly dropped the package she was carrying and her delicate oval face turned a furious shade of red. Light blue eyes flashed dangerously and she gritted her teeth.

"I SHOULD ASK YOU THE SAME QUESTION!"

"WELL, I JUST HAPPEN TO LIVE HERE!"

Their exchange had already started to attract a crowd when both Sakaguchi and Sagarii arrived. Sagarii looked at her with narrowed eyes and before she could utter another retort at Aoki, he grabbed her by the collar and dragged her out of Greenwood still giving Aoki the evil eye. Sakaguchi ushered his furious roommate outside and to the direction of the school. Sakaguchi gave him five minutes to cool off before interrogating him.

"What was that all about?"

"THAT," Aoki said, pointedly, "was Umi."

Sakaguchi nodded in understanding and let the matter drop. It looked like Aoki hadn’t been exaggerating after all when he told him that girl was really nasty.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Aoki and Sakaguchi returned from their posting just in time for dinner. They were joined by a rather embarrassed Sagarii who took a seat directly in front of Aoki.

"Sorry, about that," Sagarii told Aoki, "I never thought that she could cause this much trouble."

"S’okay," Aoki said between bites of his shrimp, "so, how do you know that witch anyway?"

"That witch," he replied sheepishly, "is my younger sister."

Aoki and Sakaguchi’s eyes bulged and the former nearly choked on his food. <Sister?!> Aoki thought as he hurriedly gulped down some water, <how could a demon like her be related to a great guy like Sagarii?>

Sagarii waited for the two to regain their composure and continued, "yes, she’s my sister and she’s also one of the reasons why I’m staying in Greenwood despite the fact that I, like Mitsuru-sempai, am a Tokyo native."

"I don’t blame you," Aoki said after gulping down some more water to clear his throat. "If I had a sister like that, I’d make sure that I stay as far away from her as possible."

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

As one, Aoki, Sagarii and Sakaguchi turned their heads to the source of the scream.

Plastered to the wall was a very wide-eyed, very much shaken Mitsuru. In front of him stood a girl with light green hair and dancing purple eyes.

Misako.

"Konbanwa, Ikeda-san," she said in a voice dripping with honey. "It’s been quite some time and I thought that a visit was long overdue."

Sakaguchi rolled his eyes and laughed. "I know that Mitsuru-sempai has some really persistent admirers, but Misako sure takes the cake. She hasn’t even cleared up a bit since the last time we saw her. I mean, I like girls as much as the next guy but having one haunting you is hardly my idea of fun."

Aoki wasn’t listening to Sakaguchi. Instead, his eyes were focused on a teary-eyed Misako eyeing a fuming Mitsuru -- or, rather, focused on Misako’s uniform.

<Didn’t Shinobu-sempai once say that Misako-chan went to Musashino Seika Girls’ High?> he asked himself, a thoughtful expression coming to his face. <I wonder....>

Both Sagarii and Sakaguchi were surprised when Aoki stood up and went to Mitsuru’s table. Kazuya and Shun gave him a grateful look and marveled at his bravery -- most Greenwood residents didn’t want to be in the immediate vicinity when Mitsuru lost his cool.

Mitsuru was about to start screaming at Misako when he heard someone cough behind him. He was surprised to see Aoki there that he forgot his irritation with Misako. The latter, on the other hand, decided that it would be a good time to fade out of the picture.

"Misako-chan! Matte!" Aoki said to the rapidly fading ghost. "I need to talk to you."

Misako blinked back into the room staring wide-eyed at Aoki. She rarely saw him and has never spoken to him before. "What is it?" Misako asked him, a hint of curiosity coming to her voice.

"Uh...," Aoki said, looking at the gathering crowd. "Co-Could we... um, talk somewhere a... uh, a little more private?" He knew that the residents of rooms 210 and 211 had a weird knack of meddling in the lives of the other residents and he wanted them to keep their distance, just this once.

"Okay!" Misako then disappeared from view. "Lead the way!"

Everyone inside the cafeteria jumped at the ghost’s disembodied voice and a very red-faced Aoki ran out of the room.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Aoki stopped beneath an oak tree located in one of the numerous clearings inside the park near Greenwood. Looking around to make sure that none of the other residents have decided to follow him there, he called out to his invisible companion.

"Misako-chan! Where are ....GAH!"

Aoki plopped down on the grass as Misako’s face materialized a mere six inches from his own. <Misako really should learn not to do that,> he thought as he willed his heart to stop beating too fast.

"So," Misako said, floating a few inches above the grass, "what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, umm," Aoki stuttered. He had absolutely no idea how to go about asking the questions. "Um, Misako-chan, when did you, uh, meet with that, um..., accident?" He looked at his hands not wanting to meet the ghost’s eyes. This was hard enough as it is.

"Hmmmm," she said, thoughtfully. "I think it was about last November. Why do you ask?"

"Ahhh, you see, there’s this girl," he started, still unwilling to meet Misako’s eyes. "She goes to the same school you did, so, I, uh, thought that you might know each other."

"Yatta!" Misako cried happily. "Are you really interested in a girl in Musashino Seika?"

"That’s not it!" Aoki shouted and he covered his mouth when he saw little beads of moisture start to come to Misako’s eyes. "Gomen nasai, Misako-chan, I didn’t mean to shout at you. It’s just that Kazuya got into an argument with this girl from your old school and I was going to ask you why she is being so much of a pain."

"Oh," she said, the little tears disappearing as suddenly as they had appeared. "So, tell me what happened."

"Well," Aoki started as he settled himself comfortably, leaning on the oak tree. "Suka-chan, Shun-chan and I went to the mall...."

*-*-*-*-*-*

Meanwhile at Greenwood....

Mitsuru looked down on his dinner and shook his head. He couldn’t believe that Aoki ,of all people, got rid of Misako for him for the time being. Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what Aoki had to talk privately about to Misako. She was after all a ghost.

"If you’re wondering what Aoki could want with Misako, I might have a clue."

Mitsuru stared wide-eyed at his silver-haired dinner companion. Knowing jade eyes looked into his curious amethyst as he regarded his roommate. There were times when Shinobu withheld information, even from him, and waited until the last minute before telling the people involved what they were really getting themselves into and it gnawed at him that he could never be a step ahead.

"So," Mitsuru said, propping his elbow on the table and resting his face on his open palm. "Do tell. What could our resident computer game addict want with my ghostly admirer."

Shinobu sipped his tea and looked at Mitsuru, ignoring the room 210 pair who have stopped eating to listen in on their exchange. "I know for a fact that Aoki got into a shouting match with Sagarii’s sister this afternoon and she goes to Musashino Seika. There is undoubtedly a connection."

"You’ve got to be kidding!" Kazuya cried, eyeing Shinobu. "That girl’s Sagarii’s sister?!! She’s like the Wicked Witch of the West! Why would Aoki want to have anything to do with her?"

"Suka-chan’s right," Shun piped in. "She’s like a teenage version of Nagisa-chan."

Mitsuru looked curiously at the pair while Shinobu continued eating his dinner. What Suka and Shun have just said made very good sense. There was no way Aoki could actually be interested in the girl from Musashino Seika. He looked quizzically at Shinobu who just shrugged.

"Right now, I know just about as much as you three do on this matter, so don’t give me that You’re-keeping-something-from-me look." There was a warning note in Shinobu voice and Mitsuru dropped the smart retort he was prepared to give. Shinobu’s been on a pretty short fuse ever since that mess with Kaijuro and this was not worth getting into an argument with him.

"So, Shun," Kazuya said, changing the subject. "Are you going to be helping out in the charity fair?"

"Yup," Shun said, between bites of rice. "You know me, always on the go."

Kazuya rolled his eyes and said, "you participate in so many events and clubs, it’s a wonder that... HEY!" Kazuya lifted his tray in time to prevent Mitsuru from snagging any more of his dinner. "Keep you chopsticks to yourself."

Mitsuru gave Kazuya an evil glare. First, Misako appeared out of nowhere, then Kazuya successfully blocked his mooching. This was definitely not one of his best days.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"And that’s it."

Misako looked at Aoki with a look of surprise. She personally knew Umi Rukinade and she was definitely not the kind of girl that Aoki just described to her. <She couldn’t have changed that much in under a year,> she thought.

"So, Misako-chan," Aoki said after taking in a deep breath. "What do you think?"

"I know Umi and she’s definitely not like that!"

Aoki was taken aback by the vehemence in her voice. Misako covered her mouth at her outburst and colored slightly from shame.

"Gomen, I didn’t mean to snap at you. It’s just Umi and I were such good friends...." Misako sighed deeply. She missed Umi and the fact that Aoki just described her in such an unflattering way gnawed at her. "Umi is the most caring, wonderful person in the world! She’s never been one to carry a grudge. We always teased her that she would someday make her husband the happiest in the world...." A single tear ran down her cheek. "It’s not fair that you should talk about her that way!"

"Gomen, I shouldn’t have talked to you about her." He rose to his feet to walk towards Greenwood when Misako floated in front of him, eyes shining.

"Don’t be. In a way, I’m glad you did." Misako wiped a stray tear. "It felt good to remember what it was like to be a regular highschool girl."

"Hey! I just remembered!" Aoki said, slapping his forehead. "Ryokuto and Musashino Seika are having a joint charity fair. Why don’t you come? You might see one or two familiar faces in the bargain."

"Thanks, I just might do that!" Misako said as she started fading from view.

Aoki waited until Misako has completely faded from view before starting back towards the dorm. He was glad that he talked to Misako. It wasn’t everyday that someone could actually make a ghost feel better.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Riku and Sagarii looked up as Aoki poked his head into their room and asked if he could come in. Sagarii waved him over while Riku turned his attention back to the book he was reading. He plopped down on the floor beside Sagarii and sighed. He needed someplace quiet to think and the fact that there were still a good number of people in the arcade pushed him to go to room 216. Although he knew that he could have easily gone to room 210, Aoki knew that he could better trust Riku and Sagarii to keep their mouths shut than either Shun or Kazuya.

"So what brings you here?" Sagarii asked him sipping a cup of coffee.

"I needed someplace quiet to think."

"And you decided to come here?" Riku snorted. "Just listen to the racket!"

As if to punctuate Riku’s remark, Aoki heard several muffled thumps, bumps, and an occasional giggle coming from the left wall of the room. He was starting to feel sick and was getting a little green from imagining the only possible source of the sounds.

"Yep, looks like Fujikake and Yoshiki are at it again," Sagarii observed.

"How could you two stand it?!" Aoki said to Sagarii amazed at the nonchalance displayed by the boy beside him. <Doesn’t anything get to him anymore?>

"Imagine living with those sounds for over a year," he said, chuckling at Aoki good-naturedly. "After a while, you will start to learn to block them out."

"So, how did it go with Misako?" Riku asked, putting his book down. He had arrived at the cafeteria after Aoki had left, so Sagarii and Sakaguchi had filled him in.

"Well, it looks like she was one of your sister’s best friends...."

"You mean Umi actually has friends?" Sagarii said, a comical look of surprise on his face.

"Baka, of course, she does."

"How would I know? I stay as far away from her as possible."

"Anyway, I invited Misako to come to the fair if she wants."

"Mitsuru-sempai’s gonna kill you when he finds out," Riku said matter-of-factly before plopping back down on Sagarii’s bed. "You might as well say your good-byes now....OOMPH!"

Aoki threw one of the pillows on the floor and it hit Riku right smack on the face. Riku was just about to throw it back at him, but he got up just in time to see Aoki closing the door behind him.

"Why do you have to tease Aoki?" Sagarii said, moving to sit on his bed as Riku tossed the throw pillow back on the floor. "Isn’t it bad enough that you scared the living daylights out of him with that dead-and-bleeding-body routine?"

"Sorry, I couldn’t resist," Riku smiled as he sat at the desk in the corner. "Aoki’s buttons are so easy to push, it’s a wonder that Sakaguchi doesn’t try pushing them whenever possible."

"Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he’s his roommate?"

"Still, I gotta wonder. How come Aoki’s showing so much interest in Umi anyway? Do you think that he’s interested in her?"

"I hope not," Sagarii said as he fluffed up his pillow and laid down. "I couldn’t even imagine my stuck-up sister getting along with anybody, let alone actually going out on a date."

Riku shrugged and changed into his pajamas. "I just hope that Aoki resolves whatever fixation he seems to have with Umi. If this thing starts to turn into a courting thing like what Suka-chan went through with Miya-chan, I going to keep as far away from Aoki as possible."

Sagarii nodded sleepily and turned on his side to face the wall. Aoki was definitely on his own with this one. There was no way in hell that he’d get into anything that involved his crazy sister. Sagarii yawned and closed his eyes as Riku turned off the lights and climbed into the top bunk. Soon room 216 was quiet with the slow rhythmic breathing of its two occupants intermingling with the humming of the room’s heater.

Well, that and the absolutely shameless sounds coming from the room next door.

*-*-*-*-*-*

The final bell rung and Aoki breathed a sigh of relief. The week had dragged on and on and finally, Friday has come. He closed his book bag and stretched. He had promised Shinobu-sempai that he and Sakaguchi would help out in the charity fair and a meeting was set up for that afternoon to group together the volunteers from Musashino Seika and Ryokuto.

"Aoki-chan! Come on! We’re going to be late for the meeting."

He turned to see Shun waving at him from the door and he got up from his desk to join him. Shun, as always, was amongst the first to volunteer for the event. Shinobu had once again coerced a very reluctant Mitsuru into participating so that they would expect a large turn out of female volunteers. Apparently, Mitsuru also had a fan club in Musashino Seika.

"So, Shun," Aoki said as they walked towards the auditorium, "what do you think will happen in the fair?"

Shun shrugged, flipping his long pink hair over his shoulder. "Who knows? I don’t even have any idea what our theme’s going to be, let alone what to expect. Shinobu-sempai’s in one of his secretive moods again, but then again, he’s never been one to volunteer information."

Aoki just gave a smirk. When it comes to scheming, Shinobu-sempai was the grandmaster. Aoki has never seen any of his schemes fail before.

Kazuya met them outside the building along with Sakaguchi and all four boys made their way to the gym. Inside, they saw that the place was ‘divided’ into two sections. Apparently, all the students of Ryokuto had gathered at the left side of the gym while the Musashino Seika students opted to stay on the right side. A podium has been set up in the front of the room and they managed to find a seat just as Shinobu got up to speak.

"Thank you all for volunteering to help such a worthy cause," he began. He heard a group of girls near the front of the room sigh and smiled inwardly. "As you might all know, this is a fund-raiser for charity and the benefits would all go to the Tokyo orphanage. Now, groups of four people will be assigned to work together -- two from Ryokuto, two from Musashino Seika. To make things more interesting, the group that manages to earn the most money will be given a special prize."

Excited murmurs erupted from the crowd and the four boys just looked at each other. It was just like Shinobu to prod people into action with the promise of material gain. Aoki could actually feel a betting pool forming. Shinobu tapped his microphone to regain everyone’s attention.

"Since this is also an attempt to exercise your social skills...," he said as two fish bowls were dragged on-stage, "the groups will be assigned at random."

Shinobu starts picking two names from each bowl and the four people called get up to find their respective groupmates to start brainstorming. Aoki and the others were just starting to get bored from waiting when they heard Kazuya’s name being called.

"Sagarii Rukinade and Kazuya Hasukawa from Ryokuto Academy."

Kazuya gets up and waves to Sagarii who was at the end of the room chatting with Riku. He just managed to reach Sagarii when the names of their groupmates were announced.

"Meimi Fujiwara and Umi Rukinade from Musashino Seika Girls’ High."

"NO WAY!" Kazuya and Sagarii shouted in unison. Several heads turned to look at the pair while Aoki and Shun slapped their hands to their faces, shaking their heads in disbelief.

"Well, it looks like Suka-chan hasn’t quite been able to get rid of his bad luck," Shun observed as he saw who could only be Meimi Fujiwara leading a fuming Umi to their not-too-happy teammates.

"Do you think Shinobu-sempai did this on purpose?" Aoki asked Sakaguchi.

The blonde boy shrugged and said, "who knows? Maybe Shinobu-sempai thought it would be a good idea to group together people who would more than likely tear each other to shreds. I’m feeling a little sorry for that Meimi girl, though," he sighed nodding to the petite brunette, "looks like she’s going to go through hell and back."

Aoki was about to reply when his name was called.

"Aoki Kunihisa and Mitsuru Ikeda of Ryokuto Academy."

"Deiji Shurimo and Anzen Kurida of Musashino Seika Girls’ High."

As Aoki made his way towards Mitsuru, he could see that the two girls have already gotten there and were fawning over him. He rolled his eyes and stood behind Mitsuru who was desperately looking for a way to divert the two girls’ attention from himself. He saw Aoki standing behind him and grabbed him by the ruff and dragged him to the side.

"Now that you’re all grouped, here’s what you’re all going to do," Shinobu began as the students settled themselves in their respective groups. "The fair will be held on the Academy grounds on the first week of December for an entire week -- that gives you three weeks to prepare whatever merchandise or services your group will sell. You are responsible for finding your own sponsors and the fair committee will judge the performance of the groups on the last day of the fair."

"Are we allowed to sell anything?" A voice called out from the back of the room.

"Yes, you are as long as it is in accordance with the theme of the fair which would be Christmas and, of course, as long as your merchandise is socially acceptable."

There were still muffled murmurs throughout the room as Shinobu walked off the podium to talk with the school officials gathered at the side of the room. Aoki craned his neck to look at Kazuya and Sagarii and laughed. The two boys were talking animatedly with Meimi and ignored Umi who was still fuming. Shun was paired off with Tochizawa and with, Aoki couldn’t believe it, twins!

"Mitsuru-sempai, what do you want to do?" Anzen asked.

Aoki looked at the notorious blonde and smiled as he sighed with resignation. He settled himself and looked at the girls on his team. Deiji Shurimo was a willowy girl with black shoulder-length hair and inquisitive grey eyes behind wire-framed glasses. Anzen Kurida, on the other hand, looked like a seasoned athlete, like Mitsuru, with green-black hair and green eyes.

"Well, we could start by telling each other what crafts we’re good at," he began, looking at each teammate. "Let’s start with Aoki."

"Me?" Aoki asked him, wide-eyed. "The only craft I know is computer graphics imaging and I don’t see how that’s gonna help us here."

"Next," Mitsuru said, completely ignoring a dumbfounded Aoki.

"Well, I’m good at design," Anzen said.

"I’m good at painting," Deiji said shyly.

<This isn’t going to get us anywhere,> Mitsuru thought, frustrated. <Shinobu, you are definitely going to owe me big for this one.>

"Look, I think that we should think about things that we could make that people would actually want to buy," Aoki piped in. "We must know how to make something that people would like."

Mitsuru was about to give Aoki a sharp retort when Deiji spoke up.

"We could make glassblown art."

"Come again?" Anzen asked, looking at the small girl.

"I-I know how to make vases and bottles and paperweights and stuff like that using blown glass," Deiji said, looking at her feet. "Oh, just forget it."

"Wait," Mitsuru said, his mental calculations kicking in. "That sounds good. But where do we get the stuff to make these stuff?"

"I have them in my house," Deiji said, her voice taking on a more animated tone. "All we would need is a lot of sand and coal to keep the furnace hot and some industrial coloring that we could get from a hardware store and I could show you guys how to custom-make the items. People could just come to the booth and choose the colors and designs they want and we could make them on the spot."

"And seeing that it would be around Christmas-time," Aoki said, "people will surely love giving one-of-a-kind gifts!"

"Looks like we have our merchandise," Mitsuru said gleefully. "Dei-chan, is it okay if I call you that?" The girl nodded vigorously and he continued. "So, Dei-chan, tell us more about this thing...."

~~~~~~~~~~~ Two weeks later ~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Oh man, my feet are killing me!" Aoki whined as he sat down on Sakaguchi’s bed.

"At least that’s the only thing that’s killing you," his roommate replied as he pieced together a bead necklace. "I swear, if I see another one of these stupid beads after the fair, I am going to lose it."

Aoki snickered and Sakaguchi eyed him menacingly as he finished beading the necklace. Sakaguchi had been paired up with Riku and, for lack of ideas, they decided to sell hand-made jewelry. One of his teammates’ aunts owns a well-known custom jewelry shop and was more than happy to sponsor their team. She provided them with a starting kit and taught them to make designer beads from paper. Although Aoki doubted that Sakaguchi would readily admit to it, he knew that his roommate enjoyed the beautiful patterns he made.

"Mitsuru-sempai and I must have lugged around a ton of sand for our booth," Aoki said as he laid on the bed. Thankfully, there weren’t any people in the arcade given that most were too busy studying for their exams or working for the fair.

"How is that glass-blowing thing coming?" Sakaguchi asked, putting down the needle he was using.

"It’s pretty easy, although we’ll probably have very sore throats and red cheeks after this week through," he said from his position. "But you really got to see the stuff we made. I mean, it was art! Even the ones we thought were mistakes turned out pretty well. Here take a look." Aoki pulled out a globe from his pocket and handed it to Sakaguchi.

"Hey! This really is good!" He said turning the globe over in his hand. He could see a small orchid pattern inside the clear glass sphere. "So, what are you guys going to do with the ones you’ve made so far?"

"We’ll probably use them for display and sell the ones that people like. By the way, how are Suka and Sagarii?"

"Well, if you want to know if Suka’s already gotten into a fight with Umi, then the answer is yes," Sakaguchi said returning to his threading.

Aoki shook his head and sighed. "That girl is too stuck-up for her own good."

"Shun, I am telling you, if I have to go near the girl again, I am going to go nuts!"

Shun sighed and looked up from the book he was reading. Although he knew that he could pass his exam with his eyes closed, he just wanted to do something to distract himself from Kazuya’s ranting. He knew that Umi was being a pain, but there was little that Kazuya could actually do to get out of the situation. Even Shinobu said that he couldn’t do anything about it, although Shun thought otherwise after seeing the all too-familiar evil glint in the older boy’s eyes.

"Suka-chan, how’s Meimi?" Shun sighed, hoping to change the subject.

"Meimi?" Kazuya echoed as he paused during mid-rant. "She’s okay. It was pretty funny, though when we were looking around in the mall and we ran into Miya. Turns out Meimi and Miya used to have cooking lessons together. So, we basically decided to provide the fair with food."

"Great!" Shun said, his mood lightening at the mention of food. "So what’re you guys cooking?"

"I don’t know, really, but Meimi said that she’s got it all figured out."

Shun shrugged and changed into his pajamas. If the girl took cooking lessons, she should be able to whip up something that tastes great. He was just about to turn in when he heard a grumbling sound coming from room 211. Curious, Kazuya and Shun pressed their ears to the left wall and settled in to listen in on the conversation.

"I don’t see why I have to get stuck with working in a group while you get the great job of just watching and judging our efforts," Mitsuru said as he rubbed his sore cheeks. "My face feels like it’s been stretched out of proportion."

"Mitsuru, any injuries to your face heal in under a minute, there’s no reason for it to be sore," Shinobu said as he looked at his glowering roommate. "It’s all in your head."

"Easy for you to say," Mitsuru grumbled as he jumped onto his bed. "All you have to do is sit there and... what the...."

"Konbanwa, Ikeda-san."

"YYYAAAAHHHHHH!"

Shun and Kazuya looked at each other with half-closed lids and said in unison the one thing that could get Mitsuru to scream like that.

"Misako."

They stepped away from the wall as the sound of an angry male voice made it through and decided that as entertaining it would be to listen in on Mitsuru screaming at his unwanted visitor, they still had several exams the next day.

"Oyasuminasai, Suka-chan," Shun said as he rolled up in his blanket.

"Oyasuminasai, Shun."

*-*-*-*-*-*

Aoki twisted in the last hook and wiped the sweat from his brow. It was the day before the fair and he and Anzen were charged with putting up the booth. They had acquired curtain rods, velvet curtains, and several glass display cases with lights for the fair. Mitsuru and Deiji were at the back of the booth putting together the oven where they were going to melt the sand and they had arranged the coloring to be used in small metal containers.

It was a good thing that they decided to do glass blowing. The weather out was pretty crisp and the oven would keep them all nice and warm in the booth. There was no danger of anything catching fire since Deiji had personally made sure that nothing remotely flammable was anywhere near the oven and the workplace was always kept clear. They had decided earlier that Mitsuru and Anzen would work at the counter first while Aoki and Deiji would be at the oven. They would take turns so that the work will be evenly distributed.

Opposite their booth, Sagarii and Kazuya were busy setting up what looked to be a food stall. Shun had told him earlier that Kazuya’s group would be selling food, although he hadn’t mentioned what kind. They just had to see for themselves.

"Hey, Aoki," Anzen said handing him a curtain rod. "Put this up. I’ll hand you the curtains later."

"Sure!" He called down from the step ladder.

He just made it down from the ladder and was about to go for a break when he collided head first with an incoming person. They went down in a heap and it was a good thing that neither was carrying anything.

Aoki looked at a fuming Umi who disentangled herself from him and stomped off to their booth. He shook his head and barely took two paces when a voice called him.

"You sure got off on the wrong foot with her, Aoki."

"Misako!" He exclaimed as the ghost appeared beside him. "As you can see, she’s changed A LOT!"

Misako nodded sullenly. "I can see that she has. I guess she didn’t take my dying too well."

"Huh?" Aoki replied as he stared at Misako.

"Are you hungry?" Misako said cheerily, "We could go out and I could tell you about it."

"Uh, sure," he said following the ghost off campus.

They went to a small noodle house around the block and told Aoki about how close she and Umi were before she died. Aoki hung onto every word she said and finally understood.

"So you think that Umi is acting this way because she doesn’t want to get close to anyone?"

"That’s my best guess," Misako said as she looked down at the table. "I couldn’t think of anything that could have made her change so drastically. I’ve been hanging around Umi for a week and it’s like she hates the world or something."

"Well, I don’t think I can do much about that," he said, getting up. "You should come to the fair, though I would advise you not to surprise Mitsuru-sempai."

"How come?"

"We’ll be making glass art, and those things are hot -- literally," Aoki looked at Misako sternly. "You don’t want him to get burned, now do you?"

Misako shook her head vigorously and Aoki sighed in relief. "I promise I’ll behave."

"Good."

*-*-*-*-*-*

As Shinobu had predicted, there was a huge turn-out at the fair. The students sold stuff that ranged from trinkets to dresses. Aoki and Mitsuru’s team never got a chance to rest. It seems as though all the girls in Tokyo were vying for a chance to own something that Mitsuru touched. Aoki and Deiji loaded sand into the melting chamber non-stop and at the end of each day, they were all tired to the bone.

Kazuya’s team did sell food, as Shun had said, but their fare changed from day to day. On the first day, they sold French delicacies like croissants, muffins, and crepes; the next day they sold Chinese food; and their decorations changed according to the food they sold. It was no wonder that Kazuya and Sagarii were dragging themselves back to Greenwood at the end of the day.

"I’m taking a break!" Aoki called to Mitsuru from the back of the booth. "I’m gonna get something to eat. I’m starved!"

"Get us something too, while you’re at it," Mitsuru called from the front of the booth.

"Hokay!"

Aoki stepped out and stretched his arms. It was good to feel the cold wind on his face and he looked around the fair grounds. A lot of his friends were busy with their booths and one or two waved as he passed. He heard a child crying nearby and rushed to see what was wrong. He skidded to a stop and peered around the corner.

Umi was with a little girl. Apparently, the little girl tripped and scraped her knee. Umi was wiping the tears from the girl’s face and soothing her. Aoki smiled as he saw the teenager pull out a small bottle of iodine from a pouch and apply some on the child’s knee. The child giggled and hugged her. He was surprised to see Umi hug the child back and was even more surprised when she laughed.

‘Umi is the most caring person I know....’

He heard Misako’s words in his head. She didn’t doubt the ghost’s words. He made his way to the center of the fair and bought some sandwiches from Sagarii.

"So, how’s business," Sagarii asked as he wrapped up the sandwiches.

"It’s great," Aoki said handing Sagarii some money.

"Well, today’s the last day, I bet that you guys will win."

"The day isn’t over yet," Aoki replied as he waved at Sagarii and entered his own booth.

Inside, the three remaining members breathed in relief as Mitsuru put the break sign up and they all gathered at the back to eat.

"I can’t wait for this day to end!" Anzen said, leaning on a wall.

"Me too," Deiji piped in as she sipped some water from her cooler.

"Cheer up," Mitsuru said as he gobbled down his sandwich, "after all it is for a good cause, and," he continued as he pulled out two pouches from his pocket, "these are for you."

Anzen and Deiji were delighted to see that the pouch contained glass pendants. Inside, instead of having colored swirls, were beautiful tiny flowers that have been preserved forever in the glass. Deiji threw her arms around Mitsuru and gave him a kiss on the cheek and Anzen followed soon after.

<Boy, Mitsuru sure knows how to make girls feel special,> he thought as he ate the last bites of his sandwich.

The day ended soon enough and it was time to announce the winner. Even though everyone was dead tired from all the work they’d all done, they were still excited to find out who won the ‘surprise.’

Shinobu had made the rounds along with the other judges and the decision had been unanimous. He got up on stage to announce the winner.

"I would like to congratulate all the participants of this event. Your efforts were truly remarkable and commendable. Although you were all competing against yourselves, we must remember that the true winners are the children in the orphanage."

The crowd cheered and applauded at the speech.

"Well, enough of that," he said, whipping out a white envelope from behind. "The winner is, with the most creative and highest earning during the week is.... the glass art booth!"

Aoki, Deiji and Anzen jumped and hugged each other. Mitsuru just smirked and eyed his roommate on the podium. He’s already known that they’d win from day one.

"And the prize for each one is... a candlelit dinner for two at Le Couer de Paris. Congratulations!"

*-*-*-*-*-*

Sagarii and Riku had just come back to their room after a bath when Aoki bounded in.

"Konbanwa!" Aoki greeted as he plunked down on the konatsu.

"Good grief, aren’t you tired?" Riku said as he climbed to the upper bunk.

"I am, but I still feel a little giddy," he said moving to sit on Sagarii’s bed.

"Please take your giddiness and let me sleep," Riku called from above and soon, Sagarii and Aoki could hear him snoring.

Sagarii shook his head and pulled the curtain shut, muffling somewhat the snores.

"So, congratulations," Sagarii said as he ran a comb through his hair.

"Sagarii, I came here to ask you a question."

"Go ahead," he said, still combing his hair.

"Do you mind if I take Umi out on a date?"

Sagarii nearly fell over in shock at those words. "HAHAHAHAHAHA! That’s funny, Aoki! Tell me another one."

"I’m serious," Aoki said, irritated.

"So am I," Sagarii said, his fatigue momentarily forgotten. "There is no way in hell that Umi is going to agree to go on a date with you."

"I wouldn’t know unless I try."

"You are one stubborn, guy, Aoki Kunihisa," he said tossing the comb into the drawer. "Do what you want, but don’t say that I didn’t warn you."

*-*-*-*-*-*

Shun looked past the hedge and sighed. He can’t believe that he actually let the blue-haired boy talk him into this scheme of his and it’s too late to back out now. He could see Umi walking back home from the store carrying a grocery bag. Aoki had instructed him to give the invitation to Umi, but there was no way he was going to show himself. He tied the string on the invitation to an arrow that he’d gotten from the physical education department and fitted it to a crossbow he’d borrowed from Riku. He aimed for a low tree and prayed that he doesn’t hit Umi by accident.

Shun almost fainted when the arrow clunked to the tree nearly a split second before Umi walked passed. He saw her take several steps back in surprise and pull the envelope off the arrow. She smiled a half-smile and stuffed the envelope in her bag before picking up the groceries and heading home. Shun wanted to whoop out loud.

Mission accomplished.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Aoki waited in the shadows of a nearby tapestry for Umi to make her appearance. He was wearing a suit and was starting to get worried that she wouldn’t show up when the maître d’ escorted her to the table. She looked good in a blue cocktail dress with matching spike-heeled sandals. She was sitting at the table when a string quartet started playing for her.

<Well, here’s a dramatic entrance as any,> Aoki thought as he stepped out of the shadows and handed her the bouquet he was carrying.

Umi gaped at him. The invitation asked her to meet someone at the restaurant, but it didn’t say who. She was still shocked even as Aoki took a seat before her.

"What... why...," she stammered.

"Because you deserve it," he said, as the waiter poured sparkling red wine into the glass. "I saw the real you when you were helping that kid back at the fair. Looks like Misako was right on target when she told me about you."

"Misako...," Umi whispered and tears started to form in her eyes.

"Hey, don’t cry."

Umi looked up in surprise as another figure wearing a lavender dress came to sit at the table. The girl’s light green hair reached down to her shoulders and her lavender eyes sparkled.

"Misako," she gasped, "but, how...? You died a year ago!"

"As you can see, I haven’t passed on yet," she said sitting beside Umi. It was a good thing the table they were in was nestled farther away from the others. It wouldn’t be good for someone to accidentally walk in on them. "You have to forgive yourself, Umi. It wasn’t your fault that I died."

"But I should have been with you, then," she said, pain apparent in her voice.

"I don’t blame anyone for my death, so why should you?" Misako reprimanded her. "Here you have this really great guy who’s interested in you so much that he actually talked to a ghost just to know more about you...."

Aoki blushed and Umi looked at him.

"Is that true?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I guess," Aoki said, embarrassed.

"Well, I gotta go, see you later," Misako said as she faded into the air.

After dinner, Aoki and Umi walked in the nearby park. They didn’t talk much over the meal -- it felt a little awkward with Misako fading out. It was a full moon out and the stars were shining bright. Aoki turned to face Umi and broke her out of her musing.

"That day in the arcade," Aoki said, "were you really that mad at us?"

"A bit," Umi laughed, "you guys were making such a big deal out of my being a girl."

"Then I guess I should properly introduce myself to you," he said, bowing low. "Hello, my name is Aoki Kunihisa. I’m very happy to make your acquaintance."

"And I am Umi Rukinade, and I am pleased to make yours."

Aoki looked deeply into her blue eyes as he held her hands. He was starting to get skeptical about the wishing bit, but it never fails. He had wished to meet a great girl that he would like and, though it took some time, he finally did.

*-*-*-*-*-*

The gang of boys hiding in the bushes watched as the couple walked farther away from them, their hands together. As one, they collapsed in a pile their legs cramping from squatting in the bushes for so long.

"Looks like those two are going to go a long way," Shun said giggling.

"I can’t believe that he actually managed to turn monster girl into Miss Prim-and-proper!" Kazuya said in wonderment.

"Still, it looks like I’m going to start having an easier time with Umi -- at last!" Sagarii said, happily.

"Can we go back now?" Riku whined, "I wanna try out some of that goop stuff that I got earlier."

Sagarii rolled his eyes as he picked up the pouch he dropped.

Mitsuru looked at the not-so-surprised expression on his roommate’s face. "Shinobu, don’t tell me that you knew this was going to turn out this way!"

"I had my suspicions," he replied calmly. After all, being observant was one of the things that made him who he was.

"At least everything worked out in the end," Mitsuru said as he stretched his arms over his head.

"Maybe things could also work out between us, Ikeda-san....."

Mitsuru’s eyes bulged as he felt cool fingers on his cheek and a cold presence run along his jawline. The others, with the exception of Shinobu backed away from him, as Misako’s face emerged before Mitsuru’s and gave him a spectral kiss.

"MIIIIISSSSSAAAAKOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

---------------------- The End -----------------------

Author’s Note:

I know that this is a little cheesy, but what could you expect? It took me almost two months before I finished this, and I’m just glad I actually did. This would be Greenwood fic number 5 and I think I will be working on another one soon, after I finish Quatre’s birthday fic that I started writing to keep myself from falling asleep in one of my big classes (average number of students in that class on normal days, 120. Number of students when I had that subject: 150). I rushed this fic because I wanted to finish it before my classes start again (sob! I get no rest!). Anyway, thanks for reading this and I hope you send me your comments!

Ja,

Lady Aria