Heat

**sobs** It's over! **crying** My wonderful story's over! What am I
ever going to do? **pulls out handkerchief and blows nose**

Actually, I'm going to write the sequel. Haven't come up with a title
yet, but I've got some really good ideas. And hopefully some
Seiya/Kakyuu action. I don't want all my stories Taiki/Yaten
centred! ^^0

Thank you all for reviewing, especially those who started reviewing
at or close to the beginning and didn't stop. I'd especially like to
thank Deep Serenity for suggesting improvements. Thank you all so much!

Poor Taiki and Yaten have been through so much. What's going to happen
to them now? Only one way to find out ^.~ Please read and review.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

~*Heat*~

~Chapter Eleven: The End

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Unh..."

Taiki stirred. Bleary violet eyes opened and roved around his still-
darkroom. Was it even morning yet?

Well, yes. When he looked over at his clock, he found it was just
slightly past 3 in the morning. "Gods..." he groaned, turning over and
staring at his ceiling. Couldn't he get back to sleep?

He lay there and stared at the ceiling, willing himself to drop off to
sleep again, but to no avail. He was as wide awake as he would ever be.

Reaching over, he picked a volume up off his bedside table and immersed
himself in poetry. He couldn't go and visit Yaten at this hour. Even if
he got them to let him in, she'd be asleep. He couldn't wake her
up at this hour.

Maybe if he whittled away some time with reading...a bit of writing,
maybe. He had to keep his mind off what happened...if he allowed
himself to think about it at all, that image of the stilling child
blossomed in his head...

He shook his head, ridding it of that image. Concentrating on the words
on the page, he blocked everything else from his mind. Once it was late
enough, he would go visit Yaten.

~*A few hours later*~

Yaten rolled over and groaned, opening her eyes. Early morning sunlight
pierced through the sheer curtains of the hospital wing, blinding her
for a few moments.

*What am I doing here?* She wondered, briefly, before the memories of
the day before came flooding back. Her hand twitched, coming to rest on
her abdomen. Looking up at the ceiling, she closed her eyes briefly.

She had been perfectly fine for a few moments, and then suddenly a fiery
pain had flooded her lower torso. She had felt her uterine muscles
contracting sharply, and it had taken her a few moments before
she had realized what it all meant.

She had lost the baby. The trauma from being flung into the wall must
have jarred her enough that something had torn, or the baby had hit her
head or something. But that didn't matter now.

It felt so odd to be empty, after the past four months. She had
gained a little weight, but that would be gone within a few months. No,
what she missed was the weight of the child in her belly. It hadn't
been much, but it was noticable now that it wasn't there.

A soft 'creak' startled her out of her reverie, and she looked over to
see Taiki tiptoe into the room. She smiled, shifting back into a more
upright position. "Hey."

He looked up and saw her. "Hey yourself." He murmured, coming over and
sitting beside her bed. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I think I'm all right now." She replied, reaching out and taking
his hand. "Can you say the same?"

"I don't know." He shrugged after a lengthy pause. "I think I'm still a
little upset." He suddenly grinned. "It took me a little while longer
to realize what happened than it did for you."

She suddenly reached for him. He responded by moving his chair closer
until she could wrap her arms around him. She held tight, not crying,
not talking at all, just holding him. He slipped his fingers into her
hair, holding her too.

For a while they just sat there, holding each other. Yaten shook her
head slightly when she felt something warm and wet drip onto her cheek.
Looking up, she saw a pale, glistening tear-trail down Taiki's face.
"Taiki-chan..." She murmured. "You're crying."

He opened his eyes, looking down at her before reaching up to touch his
cheek. "Am I?" He asked, rubbing at his cheeks absently.

"Yes, you are." She reached up, brushing at his face with a gentle hand.
He leaned back slightly, wiping at the rest of his face.

"I...I'll be okay, Yaten. I..I think I just need a little time."

She sighed, leaning back against the pillows on her bed. "I think we
both need a little time...just to heal...and to think over
what's happened over the past few months."

"Yeah..." He tousled her hair, grinning as she smiled at him. "Listen...
I'd better go...No one knows I'm here but you."

"Okay..." She murmured. Reaching out, she claimed one last hug and kiss
before he stood and tiptoed out, leaving her to think.

~*A few days later*~

Yaten sat in the gardens. She looked around, taking in the sunlight and
the fresh air. It was all so...perfect.

Unfortunately, what she thought of was not perfect. Not at all.
But it felt like it needed to be done. She sighed, staring around at the
brightly coloured flowers and plants. She didn't really want to
do it, but it looked like she had no other choice.

"Yaten-chan! What're you doing just sitting around? I thought you would
at least have your camera or a sketchbook...it's such a wonderful
day out."

She waved to Taiki, then beckoned him over. He came without question:
he'd wanted to spend time with her anyway. She smiled as he came and sat
beside her. "Hey Taiki-chan. What's new?"

He paused a little. Her smile looked very...forced... "Nothing really."
He replied, slightly suspiscious. "What's up with you?"

Her eyes lowered until they were trained on her cloth-covered lap. "I..
I need to talk to you..."

"Privately? Shall we go under the viusth tree?" He inquired,
trying to get a good look at her eyes. He could read those; the
messages he was getting of the rest of her weren't very clear.

She nodded, keeping her eyes downcast. "That's a good idea. Come on..."

They walked silently towards the viusth tree, both thinking.
Taiki felt slightly bewildered...she hadn't ever acted this strangely
before. Was it something he did? Or said? Or was it about him at all?
Could it be she was just acting this way to make him nervous? He studied
her again, making sure that she wasn't just fooling him.

Yaten squeezed her eyes shut, feeling him study her. She knew he was
worried...but she couldn't make his worried feelings go away. Not yet.
There was still something she needed to do...something she couldn't put
off anymore.

They slipped under the curtain of leaves and into the canopy of the
viusth tree. Yaten kept walking until she reached the trunk of
the tree and rubbed a hand over its weathered bark. This tree had taken
so many of her tears, and her fears. It had made her feel safe when she
was ten and living her first few days at the palace, not sure if she
would ever have friends. It had withstood the Sailor Wars, and
afterwards had been cried on by her and most likely all of her other
friends, too. This tree had been a steadfast friend, where meetings
could be held and secret trysts kept from prying eyes under the moon
and stars.

Taiki came up behind her and stopped, not knowing if he should make his
presence known or not. In the end he simply stood there: she'd brought
him there, now she would explain why.

She stood with her back to him for the longest time. She clenched her
hands and tensed her shoulders so they wouldn't shake. Finally, she
spoke.

"You want to know why I brought you here?"

He blinked. "I would, yes."

She whirled around and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him
fiercely. He jumped a little, but didn't fight. When she drew away, she
buried her face in his shoulder, and Taiki was startled to realize she'd
been crying for quite some time.

"Yaten...sweetheart...what's wrong?" He stared at her, violet eyes
concerned. She wiped at her eyes, one hand still wrapped around Taiki's
neck. "I..." She began, her voice watery and soft. "I just wanted to
kiss you again..."

He looked completely bewildered again. "Yaten...what in the world do you
mean? Are you...going somewhere?"

"No!" She cried, fisting her hands in his shirt. Wiping at her eyes
again, she continued in a softer voice. "I...I think we should split up
for a while."

Her words hit him like a bucket of ice. He stepped back, staring at her
with the most confused expression on his face. His mouth was open, a
sign of his shock. "You...you think...?"

"Only for a while...a few months...maybe a year. Long enough for the
wounds from my miscarriage..." She blinked back a few more tears.
"...for those wounds to heal." She looked up at him, pleading with her
eyes that he understand. Hoping that he could realize why she'd made
this decision.

Taiki was in shock. Literally. He'd known something was wrong, but he'd
never thought she would suggest this. Only when he thought he could get
his mouth working did he try to speak. "D-do...d-do you think th-this is
the best o-option?" He asked her, feeling and sounding like he was
fighting for the breath to speak. Everything seemed much closer now, as
if he'd had a sudden attack of claustrophobia.

She nodded, her tears spilling over despite her vain attempts to stifle
them. "I do..." She whispered.

He turned away, turned his back to her. Yaten drew in a quick breath,
almost a gasp, and went forwards. But before she could even touch him,
he spoke.

"I'll keep my distance...as long as you need me to..." Taiki murmured,
hoping that his voice wouldn't crack. He swiped off his glasses before
continuing. "When you think it's been long enough, tell me."

Without even stopping to say goodbye, he turned and whirled out from
underneath the viusth tree. Yaten watched him go, her bottom lip
trembling slightly. When the soft branches of the tree stopped swaying,
she fell to her knees on the cold, soft ground and wept.

~*~The End~*~

How sad! **sniffle** The poor things...must have been horrible for poor
Yaten. And Taiki! The poor guy! **sniffle** So upsetting.

I hope you all have enjoyed my story "Heat". I'm going to bid it
farewell...it was fun to write, but I must be on to the sequel now.

Finished at 12:38 AM on July 30th, 2005, Seiya-kun's Birthday (And my
sister's! o_o)