Here we go! My second Mikan no Tsuki fanfic! Review, please!

And a special thanks to Saiyuki-Lvr, who told me to write another Crescent Moon fanfic. So here I am, trying my hand again. Hope it's not too bad…

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Oscar the Grouch's reincarnation, or any of his little friends. sob

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Unspoken Words

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"Mahiru!" Akira called. "Table 3!" He slid a few plates over to the waiting girl, who promptly took them over to the table. She smiled cheerily at the customers, but inside she was really tired. It had been a long, busy evening at the Moonshine. School hadn't gone so well today, either—Mahiru had failed one of her finals. She knew she could retake it, but she felt so… stupid. She felt like a failure.

Mahiru was normally very happy, but Akira could tell that she wasn't feeling very well. He didn't know why, but she looked a little sad.

Maybe she's sick or something, Akira mused. I wish I could ask her what was wrong, but we're so busy!

"Hey, Nozomu, what's wrong with Mahiru-chan?" He asked when the vampire passed by the kitchen. "She doesn't look so good."

"You know, you're right," Nozomu agreed, glancing at a visibly downtrodden Mahiru. "I'd ask Oboro to give her the rest of the night off, but we're so damn busy, so…" He trailed off. "Mahiru's strong, though. She'll be okay," he assured Akira. "We'll cheer her up after we close up, 'kay?"

"Okay!" Akira grinned and went back to cooking.

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Mahiru sighed as she plopped down onto an empty chair. The mop, which she'd leaned up against the table before she sat down, fell to the floor. She blinked, as if suddenly realizing that she wasn't where she thought she was, then picked up the mop and took it back to the closet. She closed the door and leaned into it, her back against the door. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to ready herself for more cleaning.

"Mahiru?" Came Akira's cautious voice. "Are you feeling alright? You look a little…"

"Under the weather," Nozomu finished, walking in with Akira. "Is anything wrong?"

"Ah!" Mahiru gasped, surprised. "Iie, daijobu. Everything's fine, really." She forced herself to smile in a false mood of cheeriness, and went to go wipe down tables. Akira and Nozomu exchanged skeptic glances, both thinking the same thing: Mahiru was not okay.

"What should we do, Nozomu?" Akira asked worriedly, staring at Mahiru as she dragged the wet rag back and forth across a table absentmindedly.

"We can't really do anything. We'll just have to wait for the princess to come to us, I guess," Nozomu said dejectedly. "But either way, we still have to get cleaning up. I'll help you with the kitchen." The pair grabbed the mop and another rag from the closet, and began cleaning, while Mitsuru continued to dry the dishes he had just finished washing.

Mahiru wasn't really paying attention to her work. She was thinking about… well, a lot of things. How did I let this happen? She asked herself. I used to have a pretty good life. I had friends and I was getting good grades. I lived my aunt, who loves me a lot. She's my only family. I remember how I used to go do karaoke after school with everyone.

It's so different now. I live with a bunch of men, I work in a restaurant everyday after school, and I'm a thief. In fact, I'm a princess. The princess of a race of dying people. I can't even remember the last time I hung out with my friends from school. How did I let this happen?

I can't believe I did so badly on that test. I'm such a failure. I'm a screw-up. I can't even take orders right. I got three orders messed up tonight! That's unacceptable. Why can't I get it together?

Mahiru was so deeply involved in her own thoughts that she didn't notice Mitsuru as she walked towards the bar sink to rinse her rag. Mitsuru had a tray of glasses that he was carrying into the kitchen. Mitsuru, of course, was as aloof as always, and hadn't really noticed Mahiru, either.

So both of them were more than a little surprised when they found themselves on the floor.

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"Did you hear that?" Akira asked, alarmed. It sounded like something big had just broken right outside of the kitchen doors.

"Don't worry, I'm sure it was just Mitsuru being clumsy again. He did that a few nights ago, remember?" Nozomu reminded him.

"Oh yeah… Well, if you say so…" Akira didn't look convinced, but he went back to mopping the floor nonetheless.

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"What is wrong with you!" Mitsuru hissed at her. "Can't you look where you're going!"

"I'm sorry…" Mahiru whispered, staring at the floor, which was currently covered in broken glass. She put her hand down on the floor to push herself up, and winced as a few pieces of glass cut her fingers. "I'll clean it up right away…" She reached for a large chunk of broken glass and picked it up. She bit her lip as she felt the sharp glass slice into her skin. "Ow…" She dropped the glass and stared at her hand as if it were a painting instead of her bleeding appendage.

"Can't you do anything right! You are so useless! You wouldn't even be here if you weren't the princess! And we would be better off without you! You can't do anything! You're just a stupid, silly little human girl! I hate you! I would've killed you ages ago if you weren't the princess! You are useless!" Mitsuru raged at her.

"Mitsuru! Stop!" Nozomu bellowed as he slammed the tengu against the wall.

"What happened?" Akira demanded.

"That stupid little girl ran into me and broke all the glasses!" Mitsuru growled though gritted teeth. He struggled to get free of Nozomu's grip, but without any luck.

"Mahiru…" Akira said softly as he turned around to face her. The girl was ghostly pale and shaking, clutching her bleeding hand against her chest. Her eyes were wide from the shock and horror and pain and fear. Tears were flowing down her face, but she didn't make a sound, and was perfectly still apart the trembling.

"I'm so sorry…" She whispered again. And then she was gone.

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The three of them stared at the open door as Mahiru disappeared into the dark.

"Why…" Nozomu asked softly, still gazing out the door. "Why did you say those things to her…"

"Dammit!" Mitsuru yelled, punching the wall. Akira said nothing, still staring sadly out the dark doorway.

"What's going on down here?" Oboro asked, coming down the stairs.

"What the hell just happened?" Misoka said accusingly, showing himself from behind Oboro.

"The Princess…" Nozomu started.

"Mahiru." Akira corrected, still not taking his eyes off the door. "Mahiru… she left. Mitsuru hurt her."

"You hit the princess?" Misoka asked in disbelief.

"No!" Mitsuru snapped. He was just starting to absorb what had happened. What he had done.

"He said some… horrible things to her," Nozomu explained, emphasizing horrible. "She ran away." A strong gust of cold fall air took them all by surprise as it rushed through the open door.

"Well then I suggest you find her, and fast!" Oboro said, defeated. He massaged his temples. Why couldn't anything ever be easy? "We can't afford to lose track of the princess!"

"She's not the princess."

"What the hell are you talking about, Mitsuru?" Demanded Nozomu, eyeing the tengu warily along with Oboro and Misoka. But Akira nodded.

"He's right," Akira agreed.

"What? Of course she's the princess!" Misoka insisted.

"You're wrong. She's not the princess. She's just a 17-year-old high-school human girl named Mahiru," Mitsuru said in a monotone, staring at the floor. Oboro sighed.

"Just find her, alright?" Oboro pleaded quietly. Then he went back upstairs.

"She wouldn't have gone far," Misoka said helpfully as he turned to follow Oboro. "I suggest you find her fast. We don't want the princess to catch a cold."

"Mahiru!" Mitsuru and Akira growled simultaneously.

Nozomu, who nobody had noticed disappear, returned to throw jackets at Mitsuru and Akira. "Get your shoes on. We're going to find her."

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He found her at the park, curled up on a bench in front of the pond. She was staring at the moon, her eyes puffy and red. She was still trembling, but he wasn't entirely sure that it was because of the cold. He could see the trails of tears that had recently stopped running down her face. The gentle wind swirled around her, blowing her hair over the gentle curves of her face.

"Mahiru," he whispered hollowly. She slowly picked her head up and turned it to see who it was. Her eyes broke his heart. They were full of sadness and regret. Full of pain and fear. They were so full, yet they looked so empty and distant.

"Mitsuru…" She looked unbelieving, as if he must be nothing more than an illusion in her mind, because there was just no way he could have really been there. "What do you want…" She asked softly, turning back around. He slowly walked closer to the bench, sitting down beside her. She didn't react, but simply kept staring at the lake. There were tears flowing down her face again.

"Mahiru…" He whispered again. His whole face looked pained as he watched her stare at the water.

"I'm so sorry…"

And then she was sobbing again, her entire body shaking violently. Mitsuru grabbed her and pulled her close to him, holding her tightly as she cried into his chest.

"Mahiru, I'm so sorry. It was all my fault. I didn't mean to say all those things to you. I shouldn't have said them. But you know how I am when I lose my temper. I just start yelling. But you know I didn't mean it. How could I hate you? You can't hate someone you love. I love you. You were the first person who ever got through to me. Thank you, Mahiru. I'm so sorry."

Mitsuru never said any of this out loud. He never uttered a sound while Mahiru cried herself to sleep on him. He sat there, his arms wrapped around her, until he felt her breathing become regular again. He remained there for a while longer, listening to her soft breathing. Finally, when he realized that it was probably getting late, he should probably take her back. He lifted her off him, took his jacket off, and placed it on her shoulders. He noticed that her hand had stopped bleeding, and it probably wouldn't need stitches. He was relieved. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he transformed and flew home, holding tightly onto the sleeping human girl.

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The next morning, Mahiru was back to her normal self. She greeted everyone cheerfully as if nothing had happened last night. It was easier for them all that way. She had wrapped her hand up with a bandage.

Just before she left for school and everyone else was busy opened the shop, Mahiru positioned herself in front of Mitsuru and wrapped her arms around his neck. He froze, then relaxed as she whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry. I understand. Everything's okay." Then, with a smile and a wave, she was gone.

Mitsuru smiled softly. He hadn't said a thing while Mahiru cried on him last night. But she'd heard every word anyway.

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Hope everyone liked it! Please review!

Ashuton-chan