Tenshi drove the twins to her house in silence. She had dropped off Jasper already and would have dropped off Neko and Mi-chan at their house, if she didn't have to go pick their siblings up at her house anyway.
"Where are you taking us?" Neko asked warily, realizing they had turned off the path they had used to get from the Mizuno house to Jasper's hotel the other day.
"We have to pick up Gebriel-kun and Kimako."
"Oh." Neko had never met her siblings. When Mi-chan had called their parents to tell them about the quest, Ami had decided that Tenshi's parents could take care of Gebriel, known to most as Chibi, and Kimahou. So they had made arrangements for Haruka to pick up Kimahou from her friend's house and Chibi from his temple before they left. But that meant they had never come home to get reacquainted with Neko.
"Chibi can be a little� well, he's Chibi," Mi-chan told her, not very helpfully. She added, "He's klutzy, overconfident, and a little horny. But he's smart and fun, and can be nice too. Ki-chan's a bit more modest. She wants to rebel, but she's too nice for it."
"Will I like them?"
"Don't worry, Koneko," Tenshi attempted to reassure her.
"Shut up! No one asked you!"
Neko had never been this mad at Tenshi before. In fact, Tenshi had never seen her this mad at anyone before, except for the two minutes when she had blown up at General Tanzanite, but that had hardly lasted any time and she had been so distraught over it (along with the factors causing it), she had had a nervous breakdown afterwards. Tenshi hated the idea that she had been equated to Tanzanite� or even worse.
And no matter what Senken had said, Tenshi knew it all was essentially her fault. She had been warned not to confuse Neko. And she had done the absolutely most confusing thing she could have done to her.
She had kissed her.
She was Neko's fianc�e, she should have been allowed, but she wasn't. And she had known that, but she had been caught up in a moment of passion. And while the first time she had kissed Neko, it had also been a moment of passion, and they had not known each other much longer than Neko had known her this time, the circumstances had been completely different. The first time, Neko had already known she was gay and had understood the extent of her feelings for Tenshi. So Neko had welcomed that first kiss and many more afterwards.
But Neko could not be expected to understand, after only two days of life experiences, her almost eighteen years of predefined emotional reactions. And Neko had known Tenshi only as a close friend. Even if she had felt the attraction, she hadn't processed it as anything more than simple S crushing. And as such, Tenshi had no right to kiss her.
But that wasn't even her worst mistake, Tenshi reflected. Neko might have forgiven her for the kiss before the ritual, and even if she hadn't, she would have gotten her memories back and most likely forgiven her then. But she had run into the forest and found Jasper. And Tenshi had grown unnecessarily jealous while Neko had sought solace in him. She had reacted with an uncharacteristic anger, even going so far as to threaten him. And naturally, Neko had reacted just as strongly.
I hate you, Tenshi! I hate you!
Tenshi shuddered. She couldn't concentrate on that. It would only drive her insane. Neko loved her. If she would only let her heart speak to her freely.
She glanced in the rear-view mirror. Neko was still glaring at the back of her head. She sighed. Neko couldn't have been as vengeful if Tenshi had been a true enemy. No doubt she wouldn't have been. This anger was reserved for Tenshi alone.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
They arrived at Tenshi's house, where an older version of Tenshi stood waiting for them in the doorway with two teenagers, a girl with shoulder-length wavy maroon hair and a silver haired boy.
"Take them, please," said the (Neko assumed) woman, handing Mi-chan a couple of bags, as soon as they had gotten out of the car. Neko was a bit concerned by how eager she was to get rid of them, but Mi-chan laughed, reassuring Neko that it was probably just a joke.
"Neko-chan!" the red-head squealed, attacking her with a hug.
Not to be undone, the boy cried, "Mi-chan!" and hugged her.
Neko could only assume that these were Kimahou and Chibi, respectively. The younger girl looked up at her and asked, "Daijoubu ka, Neko-chan?"
There was no need to worry her, Neko decided. She patted her on the top of her maroon hair. "I'm fine, Ki-chan."
"She is not fine!" Mi-chan corrected her, disapprovingly.
"You didn't get your memories back? I thought you were going on a quest."
"It failed," Mi-chan grumbled.
"You still have amnesia?" Chibi asked. "You can't remember us?"
"I'm sorry, Chibi."
Chibi suddenly looked indignant. "Hey, why'd she get a 'Ki-chan,' and I still have 'Chibi.' That's not fair!"
Neko looked at Mi-chan for an explanation. She didn't understand the problem. "You call her Kimako," Mi-chan informed her.
"But you say 'Ki-chan.'" It was Tenshi who had used "Kimako." Neko was reluctant to follow in her footsteps.
"Well, you say 'Kimako,'" Mi-chan told her, throwing their siblings' bags in Tenshi's trunk. "You're just difficult like that, I guess," she teased her.
Neko frowned at the prospect of being difficult. "Don't worry, Neko-chan!" Kimahou assured her. "I don't mind it."
"We should get you guys home," Tenshi said, daring to speak despite the probability that Neko would snap at her again. But not now in the presence of so many strangers. It had been a fluke when she had done so in front of Senken, she certainly wouldn't do it in front of all these people she didn't know. Instead, she turned pointedly away and got into the backseat of Tenshi's car. Mi-chan followed her, with Chibi right after.
"Looks like you're in the front with me," Tenshi told Kimahou, opening the door for her and helping her in.
"Arigatou," Kimahou said, happily.
"Anything for a cute girl," Tenshi said with a wink.
She glanced back at Neko with a smile on her face, but Neko's look of disapproval turned that smile right off.
Neko crossed her arms and slumped back into her seat. *Just as I thought. She's just a big playboy. She'll flirt with anyone, she doesn't care who it hurts.* After all that "one true love" stuff that Tenshi, Jasper, and Mi-chan had been throwing at her, she had almost been expecting more from Tenshi. It just went to show that she couldn't expect anything from her.
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