Author: Mariah

Summary: Mariah's upset since Ray had abandoned her yet again just to rejoin the Bladebreakers. She goes on a search to Japan looking for him and finds him having feelings for Salima. Her heart's broken, but the thing is, how would you feel if someone you loved had a chance to be with you, but loved another person? And that other person loved someone else. It's a four way run, and Mariah feels forgotten. R/M short story, Mariah's POV.

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I was looking at the same moon that night on the same old hill. It hung like a bright ornament in the dark sky. Nowadays, the moon reminded so much about the night Ray and I made a special promise to each other. Or at least, it was a promise.

"The Festival, Ray, don't you remember?" I asked no one and nothing in particular. In fact, I don't even think anything had heard what I had whispered at all. I probably said it too quietly.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I pinched off a piece of my moon cake and put it in my mouth, chewing. I loved taking in the sweet flavor of bean paste filling. Ray sat beside me eating his own. It wasn't long before we had finished off our treats.

"So, how are you enjoying the Moon Festival?" He asked me.

I smiled, "Fine. You know it's one of my favorite times of the year!" I saw him nod and look back up at the sky. The breeze just had to decide to start blowing right then and there. If it hadn't, I wouldn've stared at him so long. I mean, it was hard not to. His clothing and hair floating with the wind, it just made him more, well, cute. Coming back to my original senses, I had to rip my eyes away from him.

Then I heard his voice again, "You know, Mariah? I think I know how you felt when I left last time. Now that I think about it, I feel kinda guilty leaving you like that."

My eyes began to sting and water thinking about what he was saying. It was true after all. He didn't tell me he had left back then. And if you knew what it was like to feel abandoned, it was tough. I felt like my voice had clogged in my throat and I couldn't say anything so I just nodded yes.

"And I was thinking. I can't promise you that I won't ever leave the village again 'cause you know Tyson, Max, Kenny, even Kai still need me to be there with them sooner or later, as a team."

I wanted to shake my head and tell him to stay forever, but that was just downright selfish. Instead, I paid closer attention to what he told me next, "But let's make a promise. I'll tell you where I'll go when I have to leave again. You'd be the first to know."

My smile came back to my lips as I beamed at him, "Thanks Ray. You're a great friend." He grinned back at me, and if I was seeing correctly, his eyes were sparkling too as he said, "Then it's a promise."

"A promise," I had repeated.

~*~*~*~*~*~

I got up and sniffed quietly, just very upset. I took the dirt path back to the village. I still don't get why Ray just broke his promise like that! He said I would know where he went first, but no, he had disappeared and the first person to tell me was my brother and team-captain Lee! When I had slipped back into my room and plopped down onto my bed, I glared at the ceiling. Why wouldn't it just fall and crush me to death?!

'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!' I chanted in my head.

At least one bright idea popped into my head. I'll just go have a little "visit" to Japan. Brilliant, right? Or so I thought.