Authors Notes: Hey! I'm baa-aack... OKAY! Stop screaming. I didn't mean to frighten you. Some *actual* authors notes this time. First off, I would like to "remind" you that Araiia is pronounced "eye-rah-EE-ah" or "ah-rah-EE-ah", depending on where you're from. [My best friend and I come from the same area, but two - very closely placed - islands, and mine takes the second pronuciation.] Secondly, I'm going to once again say that ^Darien and Araiia do *not* fall in love in this fanfic!^. Um... "Raia" is pronounced "REE-ah". Lastly, this story takes place a little bit further into our future, when technology is more advanced and our computers have actual personalities (if you buy them that way). ::sigh:: Disclaimer: "Konnichi'wa, and welcome to Tea with Takeuchi. Today we discuss the issue of disclaimers. Would you please, Usaziko-chan?" "Of course, Naoko-chan." ::takes mic and calmly clears throat:: "IT AIN'T MINE! MOVE ON!" ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It was 6:00 in the morning. Araiia slowly crept into Darien's room. He was so cute when he was sleeping on his stomach. His hair was all messed up and he had his arms out to the sides. She moved in closer and slowly massaged his shoulders. 'I hope he doesn't think I'm making a move on him,' she thought. 'If he is who I think he is, he's got a girl. He's married...' Darien slowly turned over. "Mmfmmfmmfmmfmf?" he mumbled. "Yeah, that was understandable," she replied sarcastically. "Morning, Darien. Wake up! I made a delicious breakfast, and you've got to go to work." "How do you know?" he said, covering his mouth. Morning breath. Ugh. "Um... I'll tell you some other time. Get up!" She snatched the sheets off his bed. "I'll fix this later," she informed him, throwing them on a nearby chair. "Up!" Darien sat up and yawned, looking at Araiia as if she were an intruder. "You're only twelve, girl..." he mumbled. "How can you cook?" "A true master chef never reveals her secrets," she replied, winking. "It's like a girl telling you she's the Moon Princess or something." 'WHAT DID SHE SAY?!' Darien's mind screamed. He decided to let it pass. "Now, Darien, time for YOU to get up. I wanna show you my secret," she announced. "Butchused..." Darien began sleepily, but Araiia cut him off. "Nope. Get up." ********************************************************************** 'He's sooo adorable when he wakes up!' Araiia thought. 'I should take a picture... nah, maybe later.' "These plates are empty, Raia," Darien said. "THAT'S part of my secret! Calm yourself and sit down at the table," Araiia ordered. "Fine, fine," he replied. Araiia closed her eyes. Darien noticed she closely resembled Raye at a temple reading. Araiia's deep blue eyes opened suddenly, and she stared intently at the plates in front of her. Food appeared out of nowhere. Pancakes, strawberries, orange juice, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs... Darien was in shock. "Raia..." he began, but he couldn't finish. "Darien, when you get home from work today... I need to talk to you. Seriously," she informed him. He looked her face once over. She looked so... adult. Like she had a serious problem. "I have an idea. Come to work with me today. I have a lot of free time around the afternoon, when things get slow. We can talk then," he suggested. He then straightened his back and deepened his voice. "We'll do lunch." Araiia's set face then cracked into a smile. She giggled. "Sure," she replied. *Araiia Mizuno, at this rate, it's going to take forever!* A voice in her head warned her. 'Najla, Denni, Perja... I'm sorry. Just hold out a few days longer, okay? Promise,' she replied in her mind. Three huge sighs came back at her. *'Fine.* ********************************************************************** "Darien," Araiia called from the back of the hallway. "Darien, if I asked you for your opinion on my clothes, would you give it to me?" "Yes, as long as you're not wearing a barrel or a paper bag, or something like that," he replied. "Okay. I'm coming. I hope I'm not too dressed up..." Darien heard the light clicking sound coming from the hallway. Sure enough, Araiia appeared, dressed in an amazing cerulean blue from head to toe. Cerulean sandal-heels adorned her dainty feet, and around her right ankle was a shiny blue anklet. 'It looks like it's in the shape of ocean waves,' Darien thought. A long skirt swept around her legs, matching the sleeveless blue top she was wearing. Darien spotted a tattoo going around her right upper arm... more ocean waves? Another, just below that, was a drop of water. 'And if I'm not delusional, that's the sign of Mercury inside that drop,' Darien's mind trailed. Then there was that strange pendant... the same one she was wearing when he found her... it looked exactly like her tattoo. A drop of water with the sign of Mercury inside... "You look... great," Darien commented. 'This light... this energy I feel from her... she reminds me of my love, my beautiful princess of the moon?' Araiia smiled. As mature as she looked, her baby voice came back. "Really? Thanks!" Darien pushed her head back gently, as a big brother would do to his sister. "No problem, Raia." ********************************************************************** Araiia's jaw was practically scraping the ground as they headed towards Darien's office building. "Thanks for the breakfast," Darien said casually. "But about the food... you have a lot of explaining to do, Lucy." "Wahhh," Araiia replied. "But seriously, Darien, this place is HUGE!" "Wait'll you see my office." "You have your own office? It's not just like... a really big cubicle, is it?" "Nope. Watch." ********************************************************************** "I can't believe the view," Araiia breathed. 'Besides looking out at the sunset from home, this has got to be the most beautiful place I've ever seen,' she thought. "I know, it's unbelieveable," Darien agreed. "I fell in love with it when I first got promoted." 'Fell in love?' Araiia thought. Those three words stung her like a trio of bees. *I swear I will never fall in love again...* she remembered. "Oh..." she turned away and held back a few tiny tears. Darien turned to his desk. "Raia, I have a laptop from last year over there on the other desk, if you want to play around with it," Darien informed her. She nodded. "Why IS there another desk?" "Well, I used to work with a guy, and we shared this office. He got fired." "What for?" "Sexual harrassment. Tina Bastinii next door was his little victim." "Oh," Araiia replied. She rose into the air and floated over to the empty desk. ********************************************************************** ^^ After a while... ^^ "Darien..." "Yes?" Darien looked up at her, lowering his reading glasses. 'He's so adorable!' she thought briefly. "How old is this computer?" "About half as old as you." "And has it been upgraded a lot?" "Countlessly." "I think you should listen to your tools a little more," she suggested, motioning for him to come to the desk. Darien smoothly walked over to see just what she was doing. There were messages all over the screen, alternating between blue and green. "I'm talking to her. Look. Her name's Erica," Araiia announced. Darien removed his glasses and squinted at the monitor, reading the conversation. *Hi, I'm Araiia from Omiya,* the blue type read. *How are you?* *Oh, I'm fine, Araiia. I'm Erica, Joel Crombei's old laptop. How is Darien?* Erica had asked. *He's okay. I don't think he knows you are capable of conversation!* Araiia had replied. The cursor was blinking as Araiia was waiting for Erica's reply. Darien was shocked - once again. "You have even more explaining to do, Raia..." he trailed. Erica's green words appeared on the screen. *Neither do I! You're the only one who's ever taken time to talk to me, Araiia. Oh, Darien's a really nice person and everything. Seems strictly business... but isn't he just TOO handsome?* Erica added. Araiia giggled as Darien's jaw dropped. 'This is amazing,' he thought. Slowly he raised his hands to the keyboard and tapped in a few words. *Hello, Erica, this is Darien,* his words appeared in white. *I never knew you could talk.* A warm feeling shot through his fingertips. It seemed as though... 'Erica' was blushing?! *Uh, hi Darien!* Erica replied. Then the laptop immediately shut down. Araiia giggled again. "Oh no... she's embarrassed!" she managed to say. Darien glanced at the blue-haired girl, a million question running through his mind. But in spite of himself he managed to regain his composure. "We'll talk when we get home, maybe?" he suggested. ********************************************************************** HAHAHAHA!! You don't knooow what happens neeeeext! I do, I do, I do!! I love being an author. I have sooooo much power. Jus' kiddin'. You know I love you guys. So e-mail me already, and I'll love you more!! Hehe. ::chessy grin:: Arigatou for reading, neva act your age. Ausaziko(Bijin Bunny@aol.com)