Live for Me
Chapter 6


Naza woke up at dawn, as the first ray of sunlight broke through the window. He
stretched lazily and got up, gathered his cloth and tiptoed quietly to the
bathroom. He came out of it ten minutes later, feeling fresh.

Walking into the kitchen, he was momentarily confused by the sight of a cat on
the counter, licking a bowl of milk. Naza then recalled that they have a new
guest in the house and called: "Hmmm… Calais? Is that you?"

The cat turned around and made a strange gagging noise.

~Damn! I forgot cat's tone don't work this way.~ She arched her back and soon
she changed back to her human form, sitting on the edge of the counter with her
feet dangling in the air. She smiled at him good-naturedly: "Good morning. You
are Naza, right?"

"Yes." He answered quietly, trying his best to hide his discomfort. He is
always a little uncomfortable around people, especially around people he
doesn't know well. He walked over to the refrigerator to find things for
breakfast. Sensing her eyes on him, he cleared his throat: "So… Why were you
sticking to your cat form?"

She shrugged: "I seem to enjoy the milk more when I'm a cat. When I'm a human…"
She grimaced at the bowl of milk in her hand, "I hate the smell of it." But
she drank it anyway, and wiped her mouth on a napkin.

He smiled and began to spread cream cheese onto his bagel, looking at the
bagel as if he was doing something extremely important. Calais studied him
a moment longer but he pretended not to notice it. Calais then decided to
cut straight to the subject: "Is my being here bothering you?" She asked
seriously.

Naza stole a glance at her, startled, and quickly shook his head: "No, of
course not."

"You don't even look at me when I'm talking to you." She said matter-of-factly.

Naza froze for a moment, then sighed: "Forgive me, Calais. It has nothing to
do with you, it's just… my appearance isn't exactly normal, people always
stare at me or… worse. That's why I tend to avoid eye contact out of habit."
He looked into her eyes directly for a moment, giving her a full view of his
abnormally small pupils, before quickly turning his gaze away.

"I already noticed that yesterday and honestly, I can look a lot more weird."
Calais shrugged and cocked her head: "Would you feel better if I turn myself
into a snake or something?"

"No, that's not necessary." Naza said quickly.

"Good. Because I don't like to eat my breakfast with fangs." She walked over
to retrieve a bagel from the bag, and held her hand out to him, "Now, are you
done with the cream cheese?"

Naza couldn't help but stare at her. Finally he chuckled, handing her the
cream cheese: "You are a strange one, Calais."

"I hear that a lot." She calmly replied.

***********************************

When Shuten and Nasuti walked down fifteen minutes later, hand in hand, they
stopped at the bottom of the stairs and stared in amazement.

Shin was in the kitchen making pancakes, while trying to prevent Shu from
stealing them. Touma was chasing Byakuen all around the room, who stole his
box of chocolate muffins, while Ryo watches the two and laughs hysterically.
But what really amazed Shuten and Nasuti was that Calais and Naza are sitting
on the couch, enjoying their coffee and bagel while talking quietly, oblivious
to the chaos around them.

Nasuti arched an eyebrow: "I thought Naza doesn't like talking to strangers."

"Some times I think he doesn't like talking at all, maybe except when he's
pulling witty insults." Shuten muttered, and shrugged, "Well, I guess Calais
does have a charm to her."

Nasuti glared at him playfully: "You are saying I don't?"

Shuten chuckled and guided her toward the kitchen: "You already drove me crazy
with your power, what more do you want?"

She laughed: "I want a good breakfast, with blueberry muffin and orange juice."

"Well then, we better get you that before we run out of supplies. This is a
rather large household."

Calais saw them and waved with a smile: "Good morning, Nasuti, Shuten."

"Good morning." Nasuti smiled back while pouring herself a glass of orange
juice: "Calais, you had a good sleep last night?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"So tell me," Anubis walked down the stairs stretching, "Does Lady Kayura
snore?"

Calais laughed: "No, sorry to disappoint you."

Anubis made a face: "Surely she talks in her sleep then? That woman is always
shouting commands and bossing around, I imagine she has a lot of practices at
night, that's why she's so good at it."

Nasuti shook her head: "Anubis, you really should be careful of what you are
saying."

He cocked his head: "And why is that?"

"Because the subject of your inquiry is right behind you." Shuten replied
smugly.

Anubis turned around to see a fuming Kayura on top of the stairs.

"Well, Yami Masho, I see you have quiet a few complaints about me, ne?"
Kayura narrowed her eyes and smiled wickedly, "You know what? I suggest
you start running, and fast too, because I AM GOING TO BEAT THE HELL OUT OF
YOU!"

Anubis didn't need to be told a second time, he zoomed straight out of the
front door, followed closely by a very pissed Kayura.

"So, what's all the noise about?" Seiji finally walked down the stairs, a
little sleepy.

"Oh, the usual." Nasuti shrugged, "Shin and Shu fighting over pancakes, Touma
trying to get his sweets back from Byakuen, Ryo laughing himself silly, and
Anubis is feeling the wrath of an Ancient."

"Huh?" Seiji looked out the window and saw Anubis chased around by Kayura,
who is trying to beat him with her sakujou.

Seiji snuffed elegantly: "What did the poor guy do?"

Calais answered him from the couch: "He called her bossy and wanted to know
if she snores."

"Ah, and he thought he knows how to please the ladies." Rajura smirked,
walking into the kitchen.

After everyone was almost finished with breakfast, Kayura and Anubis finally
came back into the house, and the only reason they did was because they were
hungry. While those two ate, the rest all decided that it's better to wait a
while more, since they still don't know where the enemy's stronghold is.
Nasuti then whispered something into Shuten's ears and he nodded, clearing
his throat: "Nasuti and I are going to shop in the supermarket. You guys want
anything particular?"

Touma ordered marshmallow for his hot chocolate and Shu wanted a pound of ham,
Shuten nodded at them and went upstairs to get Nasuti's and his overcoat.
Soon the couple was ready to go.

"We'll be back after lunch." Nasuti called at the door and before anyone could
reply, hastily shut it and went into the jeep.

Several people snickered. Even with a household of twelve people plus an
oversized "pet," shopping for food won't take a whole morning. It looks like
the couple finally had enough of them and decided to go on a date.

"Hmmm… I wonder where they are gonna go…" Anubis muttered curiously and looked
at Calais: "Hey, why don't you turn into a bird or something, and go find out
what they are up to?"

She rolled her eyes: "I have better things to do then use my talent to pry,
thank you very much."

Kayura smiled: "You really do have an unusual and powerful talent, Calais.
I'm glad it's you and not Anubis who possesses it. That pervert would probably
turn himself into a fly and spy on girls bathing."

Anubis whined: "I resent that! With my handsome face, I don't need disguise in
order to look at girls bathing!"

Rajura winced: "Pal, I just had my breakfast, and I'd like it to stay there.
So shut up, okay?"

Everyone laughed a bit. Then Seiji coughed and looked at Lady Kayura: "I hate
to ruin the mood, but do you think it's safe for the two to go out alone?
After all, we were just attacked yesterday."

Kayura shook her head: "Don't worry about them. Shuten can take care of
himself, and I know for a fact he'd die before he let anything happen to
Nasuti, and Nasuti herself is not helpless either. Besides, I think now is
actually a good time to relax a bit."

Everyone looked at her, puzzled. Ryo voiced the question: "What do you mean,
Lady Kayura?"

She replied slowly: "Think about it, Muma just sent his minions to test our
strength yesterday, so they would expect us to be tense and alert right now.
It is a good bet that he will wait a while until his next attack. Therefore,
now is actually the perfect time to unwind a bit."

Touma considered it and nodded: "I think you are right." He grinned at Seiji,
"What you say we go to the mountains for a hike?"

"Sounds good to me." He replied.

Shin also looked excited: "Then I'm gonna go to the river for a swim. Coming
Shu?"

"Nay, you go ahead little buddy." Shu grinned, "I wanna train some more."

Naza got up from his seat and walked over to Shin: "Suiko, I'm coming with you.
I… owe the creatures there an apology, for what I've done."

Shin regarded him for a moment and nodded, with no resentment in his voice:
"Alright."

"Can I come too, Shin?" Calais asked thoughtfully, "It's been a while since
I last visited there."

"Sure, but it's a long walk from here. You up to it Calais?" Shin gave her a
friendly smile.

She nodded: "Of course. I can even give you two a ride."

"Huh, you have a car?"

She smirked: "No, but you ever rode a horse?"

Shin's eyes widened a bit: "Are you sure about that Calais?"

"Of course. When I change into a horse, I have a horse's strength. Just don't
treat me like an ordinary horse. If you kick me in the stomach or whip my ass,
I swear, you are not gonna live to see another day." She threatened.

Shin grinned: "I wouldn't dare. Thank you Calais."

Naza muttered his thanks too. The three walked outside and Calais instantly
turned into a tall, beautiful black horse with a white star on her forehead.
Naza and Shin climbed on and they soon took off.

Touma sighed playfully: "Since I can't turn you into a horse too, I guess we
gonna have to walk, Seiji."

His blonde friend smiled: "No. We are gonna run and I'll beat you there, slow
poke." With that he rushed out of the door.

"Hey, you cheater!" Touma laughed and chased after him.

Shu suddenly stopped watching TV. He glanced around the room and looked at the
remaining people: There's Ryo, Lady Kayura, Anubis, Rajura and Whiteblaze.

Shu's eyes widened and he cried: "OH MY GOD!!!"

"What the hell's with you, Kongo?" Rajura lifted an eyebrow.

"Do you people realize? EVERYONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO COOK HAS LEFT THE HOUSE!"
Shu declared in sheer terror.

Ryo, Kayura, Anubis, and Rajura looked at each other. A silence settled in the
room.

"Hmm… maybe I'll give it a try… This cooking business I mean." Finally,
Kayura volunteered weakly.