A talented acrobat! Kamlyn, friend or foe?

"Look Keitaro, I know you're sick, but I'm not going to waste a perfectly good Sunday just to look after you; that's Mom's job!" Mizu told Keitaro. Keitaro had caught the flu somehow and was not exactly in the best of moods.

"In case you didn't notice, Mizu, Mom's gone on another date; she won't be back for hours, knowing her!" Keitaro shot back, then sneezed so loud it scared Landlady of the Universe, causing her to jump off the couch and run all the way across the house and back, then knock right into the couch and fall over (A/N: yes, cats actually do things like this; my cat does this all the time). Mizu sighed and then picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"If you really think you need someone to take of you, I'll get someone who's actually willing to do it," Mizu said more to herself than anyone else. "Tenshi should be free."

***

"Thanks for taking care of Keitaro, Tenshi; I owe ya one!" Mizu called before she left. Keitaro stared up at Tenshi from his place on the couch.

"Can I watch TV?" he asked innocently, and Tenshi shrugged.

"I don't see why not," the older girl replied, and she sat down in an armchair as Keitaro turned the TV on, and started flipping through the channels. Tenshi's eyes went wide as she saw a commercial on a channel, but Keitaro quickly clicked past it.

"Hey, go back, I want to see something," Tenshi told Keitaro. Keitaro went back a channel and Tenshi watched the commercial.

"One night only, The Kami Acrobatics Troupe will be performing at the Shinjuku Community center," the announcer on the TV stated. "They also perform gymnastics. Come and see amazing feats, and we can't forget the star performer, Kamlyn Yuki!" With that, a girl of about fourteen or fifteen with white hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen for a few seconds. "The date of the performance is Monday, November 12'th at 4:00pm." Keitaro looked at Tenshi and blinked.

"Why did you want to see that commercial, Tenshi?" he asked, then sneezed and got snot all over Landlady of the Universe.

"I have a feeling that girl Kamlyn Yuki has something to do with us," she stated, and Keitaro looked at her skeptically.

"You got that from looking at her picture for, like, three seconds?" he asked, and Tenshi nodded.

"I'm psychic, in case you forgot," she stated. "Maybe I'll go see this performance and meet that girl face-to-face."

***

Mizu sat at a table in the mall eating an ice cream cone.

"This is definitely better than watching Keitaro whine all day," she said to herself through licks. She was interrupted, however, as she saw someone very familiar. It was a boy with light-blue hair and light blue eyes, and he seemed very lost. Mizu didn't get up, though, but the boy finally looked over and saw Mizu, and he walked over.

"Is that really you, Mizu?" he asked, and Mizu smiled as she nodded.

"Of course it is, Toshi, who else would I be?" she replied. "But you never sent me a letter or something telling me you were going to be here!" Toshi sat down and groaned.

"My Dad accepted a job offering here, so I'm stuck," he replied. "I liked it better over in Hiroshima, though. I just don't get why we moved so far just for a job." Mizu smiled at her old friend. He had always been like that. Back when Mizu lived in Hiroshima just a few months ago, they had been practically inseparable, though. Of course, until Toshi made a very big mistake. Toshi opened his eyes and noticed Mizu staring at him.

"What, do I have something on my face?" he asked, and Mizu shook her head.

"No, I guess I'm just surprised to see you," she replied, then smiled, causing Toshi to turn slightly red. "I don't suppose you'd like to follow up on what you told me a few days before I moved, though?" Toshi shook his head.

"Nah, I think I was just responding way to quick to my feelings," he replied, looking down at the table. "Just because we were really close and all doesn't mean I'm in love with you, right?" Mizu smiled.

"A wise decision," she replied. "And besides, if you still did, I think you'd have some competition." Toshi sat up straight and blinked.

"Competition?" he asked, and Mizu nodded.

"If you're in my class at school, you'll meet him," she explained, then got up. "Well, I'd better go. One baby-sitter can only last so long against Keitaro, as you have learned so many times before." Toshi smiled and Mizu walked off.

***

"An acrobatic and gymnastics group?" Mizu asked Chiyu the next day at school, and the boy nodded.

"Yeah, Tenshi told me that they're performing today, and that we should all go," he stated. "Said something about the star performer maybe being a kami or something." Mizu scoffed as she leaned down and picked a book out of her locker.

"Oh, come on," she began. "Tenshi may be psychic, but she can't ALWAYS be right. Besides, my mom probably wouldn't let me go; Keitaro has the flu and Mom has to work late tonight." Mizu stood up and closed her locker, then turned around, and there was Toshi, walking down the hall. She smiled.

"Hi, Toshi!" she called, and Toshi walked over.

"Chiyu, this is Toshi Yukino," Mizu introduced. "He was one of my friends back in Hiroshima. And Toshi, this is Chiyu Kaze, one of my current friends." Chiyu blinked a few times, then bowed in greeting, but then looked at his watch.

"I'd love to stay and chat, Mizu, but I gotta get to class; see ya after school!" Chiyu called as he walked down the hall, eventually disappearing into the crowd of students. Mizu looked over to Toshi to see that he was still staring after Chiyu.

"You know, he was the first person in this school to even talk to me, unless you count Nariko Hikarino and her band of stuck-ups who made fun of me on a regular basis. Course, soon as Chiyu started talking to me, everyone seems to know I exist, although not always positively," Mizu stated, then smiled, her eyes closed. "Well, I'd better get to class, too. There's a test in math and the last time I studied was for about five minutes. See ya later, Toshi." With that, Mizu tossed her suitcase in her locker, closed it, and headed off into the crowd also. Toshi sighed.

"Maybe when I told her yesterday that she was no more than a good friend to me, maybe that wasn't entirely true," Toshi said to himself, and then the bell to begin class rang.

***

Mizu sat at her desk eating lunch, every now-and-then looking back at Toshi.

"Mr. Popular," she muttered. Ever since Toshi had been introduced to the class, all the girls loved him. Not that she resented him for it or anything, most of those girls were Nariko's friends, but still...

"Mizu?" someone asked. Mizu was snapped out of her thinking and looked up to see Chiyu. She smiled slightly. "Is something wrong?" Mizu blinked, then shook her head and leaned back in her seat.

"Why would anything be wrong?" she asked. "I actually have friends, no one makes fun of me anymore, my best friend has moved here. Again, I say, why would anything be wrong?" Chiyu rolled his eyes, then followed Mizu's gaze over to the group of girls huddled around Toshi, laughing their head off at some bad joke. He raised his eyebrows.

"Well, it looks like you've got a case of the green-eyed monster," he finally said. Mizu immediately turned her head to Chiyu, then shook it furiously.

"No way," she exclaimed. "He's my friend, not my boyfriend. Sure, he confessed that he loved me just before I moved here, but that doesn't mean I feel the same way." Chiyu again raised his eyebrows.

"He told you that he loves you?" he asked, and Mizu looked to the floor.

"Loved," Mizu corrected. "Evidently he's set his sights a litter higher than that nobody in the corner who's social live revolves around fighting off fantasy-style creatures." Chiyu smiled and put his hand on Mizu's shoulder.

"Hey, these days, anything can happen," he said. "After all, it's not like you didn't know you'd end up fighting off fantasy-type creatures in the first place, right?" Mizu rolled her eyes, but it wasn't a scorning roll, it was a teasing roll.

"Hey, if I knew I probably would've saved the world already," she said playfully. "Who needs you?" Chiyu took his hand off Mizu's shoulder.

"Ha, I bet you couldn't last one day without me!" he shot back. Meanwhile, back to Toshi's group, Toshi heard that last comment. He stood up.

"Excuse me, girls," he said as he pushed his way through the crowd and towards Mizu's desk. The girls looked absolutely appalled. Meanwhile, Chiyu and Mizu were still talking.

"Oh, so you say you're better at it than me?" Chiyu asked, and Mizu shrugged.

"No, I'm just saying that given the chance, I could probably prove that I can fight for myself," she replied. She then felt a tap on the shoulder, and she turned to see Toshi.

"Mizu, can I talk to you for a second?" he asked. Mizu blinked a few times, looked at Chiyu who just shrugged and she nodded. She stood up and followed Toshi until they were outside the classroom.

"Mizu... um, how can I say this?" Toshi began. "Well, you see... it's like this. You're my friend, right?" Mizu nodded. "But Chiyu is, too." Again, Mizu nodded. "And well, I think that maybe... what I said about loving you might not be entirely false." Mizu blinked a few times. "But then I look over to you, and you're flirting with a guy you haven't even known half a year!" Mizu blinked.

"Um, Toshi?" she began. "I..." But before she could say anything, the bell to end lunch rang. Before Mizu went back into the classroom, Toshi said one last thing.

"If you don't mind Mizu, I think I'd like to know a little more about this guy before you fall all ga-ga in love with him and end up getting dumped," he stated. By now, Mizu had a very large headache.

***

Sakura Kaori stood in the kitchen pouring more orange juice into a cup for her sick son when Mizu came in, holding her head.

"What's the matter, Mizu?" Sakura asked, eyeing her daughter. Mizu groaned and fell over into a chair.

"Would you believe me if I said I studied so hard for today's test that my brain is now full?" she asked, and Sakura shook her head as she walked in and gave the orange juice to Keitaro.

"I'd think she'd believe it if you said boy problems," Keitaro said, then sneezed and startled Landlady of the Universe, and she ran clear across the house and back. Mizu groaned again.

"Don't mention boys!" she exclaimed. "Right now, the world would be better without them!" Sakura raised her eyebrows.

"I thought the exact same thing when I was your age," she stated. "Of course I can't be talking. Two years later, well..." Mizu rolled her eyes. The phone rang after a few minutes of silence, and Mizu picked it up.

"Hello?" she asked. "Oh, hi Tenshi. An acrobatics act? Sure I'd love to go." There then was a long pause and Mizu's eyes grew wide. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN JUST ME AND HIM??!!!!"

"Well, I have to practice for my next concert, Nariko has piano lessons and Keitaro's sick, so, just you and Chiyu," Tenshi explained. "You don't have to stay the whole time, just long enough to see that girl, Kamlyn Yuki, and maybe ask her a few questions. If she is a Kami, we have to get to her first!"

"Oh, all right," Mizu finally said. Her face turned very pale as she put the phone back on the receiver, and she sunk down into her armchair.

"What's the matter, honey?" Sakura asked. There was a long pause.

"I think one of my best friends just tricked me into a date," Mizu finally said.

***

"So just what kind of questions did she want us to ask, anyway?" Mizu questioned Chiyu as they watched the acrobatics troupe perform all kinds of stunts.

"Heck if I know," Chiyu replied. "I was never good at interrogations." The show finally ended, and as Kamlyn got off stage, she spotted Mizu and Chiyu, and she seemed to shiver a little. As soon as the crowd cleared, Kamlyn walked over.

"I'm Kamlyn," she introduced herself to the two younger kids. Mizu and Chiyu just stood dumbfounded.

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Chiyu: Next time on Shinki no Kami, Mizu and I finally meet Kamlyn, but trouble seems to follow whenever we see her. Just who are the 'Dark Kamis' anyway? And just when things couldn't get worse, Tenshi tells us that the Kami of ice and snow has emerged. Just who is he, and why the heck does Toshi keep trying to interrogate me? Find out next time on Shinki no Kami.