Hmm. If not onii-chan, would Shiho use "Tate" or "Yuichi"? Anyway, I wrote "Yuichi" here.

Lost Souls - Chapter 3

by Mara S. S.

"There, that guy."

I looked where Nao pointed. Across the street from where we stood, a middle aged man was peering through a store's glass window.

I bit my lip and shook my head. "Nao, I can't do that." I whined.

She glared at me. "Geez, if you can't even talk how can you expect Tate to like you?"

"What if he says no?! Nao, I can't talk to stranger!" I said, beginning to panic. "And what does this have to do with Yuichi?" I asked, looking around anxiously. There weren't too many people around. Most were probably at work or in school.

"Just ask him the time, Shiho." Nao said with exaggerated patience. She looked me up and down. It made me shiver for some reason. "And be glad I'm not making you hitch a ride." Nao continued. She put her hands against the small of my back and gave me a shove.

I stumbled but caught myself then refused to move another step. Nao's so unfair. I don't see what this has to do with oni... with Yuichi. Yuichi. "Nao... I can't..."

"Good grief. You're hopeless. You have the self-confidence of a mouse." Nao buried her face in her palm.

I looked at her uncertainly, unsure of what I should do next. "Nao..."

"Fine, fine." Nao sighed. "Just... watch, 'kay?"

I nodded desperately, scared that if I made a wrong move she'd still make me go. Nao sauntered off and I watched her with a growing envy.

Nao looks so self confident so sure of herself. She crossed the street as if she expected the cars to stop and let her pass. They did let her pass, but there weren't too may cars around at that time so I'm not sure what that means.

I wish I could be like that. Is that the kind of person oni... Yuichi. Is that the kind of person he likes? Mai has that self confidence too, but without the mean streak Nao has.

Nao approached the man but I was too far away to hear what they said. The man pulled back his jacket sleeve to reveal a wristwatch. Then Nao said something and they both laughed. Nao put an arm around the man's waist, pressing against his side.

I swallowed hard. No matter what I do, I can't imagine myself being as brazen as Nao. Never. Never, ever. I looked around again but no one even gave me a second glance. I smoothed my skirt and nervously tugged at my hair.

The man said something again but this time Nao pulled away. She started walking towards me with a backward wave at the man. Nao had a pleased smile on her face, like a cat who got the cream.

I sighed in relief when she got back. I felt self conscious in my middle school uniform, almost as if everyone was staring at me. But standing with Nao made me worry less about other people. If anything, they'd probably notice her first before me.

"See, that was easy wasn't it?" Nao said with a smirk. She signaled to follow her and we started walking again. Her eyes were lively and vibrant, they kept moving, darting around, scanning the crowd.

"Where are we going now?" I asked.

"My apartment." Nao answered without looking at me.

"I thought you lived in the dorms?" I frowned. Had I gotten her confused with someone else?

"Mama and I have a place of our own." She glanced at me now, and there was a touch of irritation in her look.

"Oh." I thought about it quietly, mentally reviewing everything I'd heard about Nao. I didn't know much. Her reputation as a delinquent and a flirt. Kidnapping Takumi, attacking Natsuki. Not much.

A distant part of my mind noted that she'd brought us to a seedier part of the city. The buildings looked worn down, paint peeling and signs fading. Men and women with hard eyes watch us warily. Eyes like Nao's. They kept their distance though, and Nao marched us onward without fear. I felt safe enough with Nao there.

Until Nao dragged me into an alley that is.

"H-hey!" It was dark and didn't smell too good. I wrinkled my nose. "Nao, what are we doing here?"

"Ssh, ssh." She said crossly. She took out a slim leather wallet from the pocket of her skirt. She rifled through the wallet's contents. "Cheapskate." She muttered, scowling at no one in particular.

"I should have known that guy wasn't worth it." She said absently. Nao pocketed the bills and threw the wallet into a heap of trash piled against the wall. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "What a waste of time. Come on, I have better things to do." She started to walk away.

"Nao?" I said, my voice shaky.

"Mmm?" She turned and looked at me with a touch of impatience.

"That belonged to him, didn't it. That guy you talked to?"

"So what?" She leaned against the wall and crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Nao... you stole from that guy?" I never thought. I mean, I knew the reputation she has but I never expected to see her breaking, not just school rules but the law.

"And cutting class is something only angels do?" She said mockingly.

I winced, stung by her words. I struggled to find something to say. "But cutting class doesn't hurt anyone..." I said weakly. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it. What I'd said... Looks like it made Nao really angry because she suddenly exploded at me.

Nao leaned forward and grabbed my arm. "Listen, miss goody two shoes. Four walls, a roof over your head, three full meals a day. Betcha you had all that right? A pampered princess."

Not even waiting for me to nod, she continued, her voice low. "Well you have no idea what my life was like so don't go preaching at me. I hate it when people do that."

"I'm sorry..." I said, though I wasn't completely sure what I was saying sorry for. This was starting to scare me especially since I knew I wouldn't be able to find my way back home if Nao left me.

"Fuck you. Don't go pitying me either. I'm not like Mai." She spat out the name like it was a bad word. "I hate that kind of person even more." She looked at me, her eyes piercing. "You should have finished her off at once, you know."

"Wh... what?!" I didn't get her. Her way of thinking was a mystery to me. She's just a year older but there were lots of other things that made her difficult to know.

"Though that'd be too much to ask from you I suppose." She shook her head. "Your kind wouldn't last a week alone." Nao said derisively.

Something didn't sound right though. Didn't she say earlier... "Won't your mother take care of things now?" I ventured tentatively. Surely her mother would make everything okay again.

"Leave my mother out of this!" Nao hissed, her eyes going wide and angry.

I could feel myself starting to cry. "I'm just trying to understand!" I screamed back at her, sobbing hysterically. "I'm just trying... to understand. SO STOP BEING MAD AT ME!" I screamed through the tears.

I thought Nao would say something horrid and I knew that if she did I'd run away and hide. I don't know what came over me, to yell back at her like that. I shouldn't have, I shouldn't have. She'll just get even more mad at me...

But to my surprise, she just laughed. Suddenly she laughed, an abrupt about face and just as suddenly, the tension drained away. She laughed, and kept laughing, clutching her stomach and half bending over.

"Nao?" I asked uncertainly. I wiped away my tears. "Nao, are you alright?"

"Of all the times for you to grow a backbone..." She said, still laughing.

"Eh?!" I watched in surprise as Nao smiled at me affectionately.

"Hmph. So this princess has claws." She put an arm around my shoulders and steered me out of that smelly alley. "Guess there is something for me to work with."

I squirmed at the close contact. Nao's arm around my shoulders wasn't unpleasant, just weird. Weird, especially since we'd just been yelling at each other.

Her expression was considering, as if she was measuring me up and finding maybe, just maybe, there was something she liked. "With a bit of advice, maybe you could go up against Mai." She chuckled, her grip around me tightening. "This could actually work..."

"Uh, Nao?"

"Yeees, Shiho-chan?" She answered, her sing-song voice all flirty. I felt myself getting red.

"Fighting Mai is what got Yuichi killed." I reminded her. That was why I didn’t want to fight Mai anymore. The memory of him vanishing... It wasn't something I wanted to relive.

"Hey." Nao snapped her fingers in front of my face. "Carnival over, remember? Elements gone, drama reset, everyone alive and happy again." She grinned. "Going after Tate isn't gonna kill Mai right? All's fair-"

"-in love and war." I finished the quotation. "Are you sure?"

"Trust me." Nao laughed again. And you know what? I guess I did.

Well... maybe just a bit.

TBC