Hey guys! Time for another update! Thank you again, for all your support, it means a lot to me ^^ I know this chapter isn't as long as the last one, but it really did have fun writing it and I hope you guys enjoy it ^^;; By the way, italics are like used to indicate flashbacks, okay? Anyway, happy reading and happy belated April Fool's!

Ray sat at a small booth in the hotel café as he absent-mindedly stirred his hot tea. Nothing like a good cup of tea to help absorb the happenings in just half an hour. He had no idea that it was even possible for so much to happen in just thirty minutes, but nevertheless, they did. All that he and the rest of the gang could do now was move forward. Easier said than done.

The dark-haired teen let his gaze wander to the adjacent lobby. While staring through the clear glass, he soon found himself releasing a quiet sigh as his golden eyes landed on that familiar motionless figure, also known as Richi.

Ever since the group had arrived at the hotel, the light-haired brunette had sat himself beside the fountain in the foyer and appeared to have declared it as his new home. Not that you could blame him though. How many people would actually be bouncing around happily after a soap-opera style talk anyway? Sure, watching soaps could be pretty interesting and funny at times, but when it actually becomes a scene in your life, then it's suddenly not so amusing.

'Poor guy,' thought Ray, silently watching his new teammate. He couldn't help but emphasize with him. As everyone should know, Ray had also experienced the whole "traitor" issue. He knew exactly how much it killed to have your closest friends hold such ill feelings towards you, and he also recognized that unforgiving glare that the redheaded girl wore, that famous glare that could pierce right through your whole body.

Alex, if he remembered her name correctly, was definitely upset, and she made no attempt in hiding it either. On the other hand though, Ray could also see that there was one thing that she was desperately trying to hide: her pain. Behind that thick cloud of rage in her dark jade eyes was a girl who seemed just as torn up as Richi was. Things weren't always as one-sided as they appeared, after all.

Ray finally managed to tear his gaze away from the dispirited brunette and reinitiated the constant stirring of the sweet-smelling brew. Before he was tempted to look back up at Richi again, he quickly occupied his mind with thoughts about the preceding declaration.

Even now, he still couldn't believe it. They were actually the Bladebreakers again! It was completely certified earlier at the stadium. Of course, excluding Tyson, they all already knew about it, but to actually hear it publicly announced by Mr. Dickenson in the arena with all those people around, it was just plain surreal.

Tyson's reaction was exactly as expected. He ended up repeating history as he did a victory dance around the stadium, while waving around that famous drumstick they had dubbed as the "holiest of foods". Of course though, it wasn't all just fun and games for the sixteen-year old. Definitely not. He actually got pretty mad when Richi ended up stealing the drumstick and shoving it in his mouth. But…well that wasn't much of a surprise either.

From a bystander point of view, you would have never guessed what happened earlier to Richi by the way he was acting. The official Bladebreaker news had appeared to give him a grand sugar high, and he was almost bouncing around just as much as Tyson was. He was totally hyped up! Or so it seemed.

Now we all remember how much the loveable chicken boy likes to keep up appearances, right? Just like during his battle with Tyson. He had to act rather cocky and sort of rude, even though all he really wanted to do was actually be super nice, which, on a side note, he later succeeded in without giving himself away. Well, he pulled off yet another marvelous act.

Richi wasn't exactly faking happiness, he really was happy to be part of the Bladebreaker team. It's just the way he acted was perhaps a little bit too joyous. That extra cheer seemed to be like a way for him to hide how the other part of him was feeling: hurt.

"Oh crap," swore Ray in a whisper, realizing that he was thinking about the scene between Richi and Alex again. He couldn't really help himself though. It was just so clear in his mind and he honestly couldn't shake it. It was sort of like a song on loop…playing over and over and over…

It's funny how great minds think alike. Or at least the minds of people who have been through similar situations. Just like Ray, Richi also had that scene repeating in his mind. The only difference would be that the song playing in his head was a hundred times more vivid since he was actually part of it.

Richi could still feel Alex's slap, see her expression, and hear her words. No matter what he did, they just wouldn't stop! It was like his conscious was trying to torture him to death. Of course, that little voice in his head had a lot of help from a certain redhead…a redhead who had a tendency to blow up on people and act totally unreasonable.

'Why can't she just be sensible? Or to at least stop and think?' Richi thought, slightly exasperated. 'She's known me for almost all her life and she should know by now that I would never want to hurt them purposely…'

Of course, Alex being Alex much preferred to lose her temper instead of thinking about those things. It's just her nature. A testing nature, but not everyone is sunshine and lollipops, right?

It's kind of funny because despite her personality, Richi never gets mad at her. Of course, at times Alex did drive him crazy, he was only human after all, but nevertheless, he could never actually get really mad at her. Even now, he wasn't mad.

It's like another one of his sayings, "Why get mad at chicken for burning your mouth because it's so spicy? That's just the way it's made." Just like chicken, some people are made spicy. So, every time you feel an urge to bust, just pop another ice cube in your mouth and cool down.

An ice cube…that's exactly what Richi needed right now. Normally, he'd turn to his trusty poultry for advice, but due to his current condition, he decided not to since he knew he'd probably end up consulting the delectable meat for hours without end. Thus, without an ice cube or chicken wing, all Richi could do was sit and think. What a wonderful predicament he was in. Now where were those damn lifelines when you needed them anyway? Life was just so unfair.

The brunette finally decided to avert his gaze from the fountain to the entrance doors. He soon blinked upon his discovery. Snow. It was snowing outside. Very lightly, and the new thin layer would probably melt the next day, but it was still snow. Slowly, but surely, a little smile began forming on his soft lips as he watched the light fluff gently fall from the sky. It all looked so peaceful and innocent, and not to mention absolutely gorgeous. How could he not smile?

'I think…I'm gonna go outside for a bit,' Richi declared to himself, finally giving into the angelic temptation.

He gradually began to rise, for he realized that if he rose too quickly, he'd probably topple over since his feet were partially asleep. Eventually managing to securely stand on two feet, he gingerly made his way to the door. Stopping in front of the entrance, he slowly pushed the gate open and was immediately greeted by a cool breeze.

'Ah…' he sighed contently, allowing the winter air to play with the light strands of his brown hair. Then, stepping out of his momentary daze, he paced towards the sidewalk, away from the sheltered building. Making sure that he wasn't just going to stand in the middle of the pavement, he sauntered towards a lamppost and simply leaned against it.

Soon enough, tiny white snowflakes were resting on his hair, each one possessing its own unique pattern, but all being made of ice. Richi held out his hand as he watched the little crystals gently descend on his open palm, melting upon contact. He grinned, watching the ice droplets transform into miniature beads of water.

Richi's gaze subsequently wandered to a long row of icicles on a building across the street. They were of various lengths, but they all held one thing in common: a rigid and cold appearance. Well, all except one.

It was rather strange because right in the middle of this army of ice was a single entity that seemed to be glazed with a light coat of water. It was actually melting, just like the crystals that landed on his hand. But…how could that be? There was no sign of a heat source.

Richi continued to observe the melting ice, contemplating an explanation. He watched, and thought, and looked again and finally…sighed.

"It a heater vent," a female voice suddenly chirped.

The brunette blinked in surprise before turning towards the direction the comment had come from. Chestnuts soon met with a light blue sky as he stared at a girl who was apparently standing behind him.

"W-what are you talking about?" he stuttered, by force of habit.

"You were looking at that melting Popsicle crystal, weren't you?" she asked, pointing to the icicle.

'Popsicle crystal?' Richi's mind echoed. 'That's an interesting way to put in…' Raising an eyebrow, he nodded."Um…yeah I was."

"Well look at the building beside it," she gestured helpfully.

Curiously, Richi did as he was told. Sure enough, there was a heat ventilator on the adjacent building, situated right across from the newly proclaimed Popsicle crystal.

"Pretty cool, huh?" the girl laughed lightly. "I guess sometimes you just have to look harder to find what you're looking for. It's the same thing with people, don't you think?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, turning back to face her.

"Hmm…well let's see if I can say this right…" she began thoughtfully, putting a hand on her chin. "Well, the icicle is like people who are overall just difficult to deal with. You know like pricks, hotheads, anti-socials, you name it! The heat that comes out of the air duct is like the kindness others show these difficult people. Think about it this way, even though you didn't really see the heat coming out of the vent, it was still melting the ice, right?"

Richi bobbed his head.

The girl grinned before continuing. "So, even though you can't always tell, the compassion we show others actually does have an affect on them. You just have to look hard enough. Personally, I think that the 'heat' drives the Popsicle people even crazier because they usually don't know what's changing them," she added with a wink.

'Holy chicken…this is kind of strange, it's almost like she knows what's been happening to me,' Richi thought to himself.

With a glint of amusement in her sky eyes, the girl suddenly grabbed Richi's arm and dragged him back to the front of the hotel doors, beneath the mini-roof.

"Ah! Much better," she announced, brushing off the light layer of snow that collected on her orange hood and jacket. She turned to Richi who was looking at her as if she was a chicken adorned with flowers. "What? You really think I was just gonna let you stand out here in the snow without a jacket?"

The brunette looked down and seemed to realize for the first time that he was actually in short-sleeved top. "Oh…I didn't even notice that…I was sort of-"

"Distracted?" she finished his sentence. "Probably thinking about a girl, huh?"

'Okay, now this is officially freaky,' he inwardly proclaimed, eyes widening.

Stifling laughter, she looked down at the sidewalk before meeting his my-chicken-just-got-up-and-started-walking-before-I-could-eat-it look. 'You haven't changed a single bit,' she thought to herself happily, holding in another giggle. 'And I can't believe you don't remember me either! Heh, well that's okay. I'm sure you'll figure it out soon enough anyway.'

"H-how did you know that?" he questioned.

"It's written all over your face," she stated matter-of-factly. "It's so obvious! Anyone can tell."

"They can?!" he exclaimed, surprised at the thought of being read so easily.

She couldn't help but smirk. "I'm kidding! Well, sort of," she added in a bantering tone.

"Sort of?" he probed on, raising an eyebrow.

The orange-hooded girl nodded. "I mean to me, it is pretty obvious, but on the other hand, I am bias since I got a little help from someone."

"Help? From who?"

"Your friend inside," she replied, pointing at the hotel. "The one in the café. I was just talking to him a few minutes ago."

The chocolate haired teen immediately put on a confused mask. She sighed, figuring that he was probably oblivious to anyone else's existence when he was beside the fountain.

"You were really into that water back then, huh?" she teased, earning her the Richi confused look times two. She rolled her eyes, casually folding her arms. "Nevermind. Anyway, I'm talking about that guy with black hair! You know, he kind of looks like a kitty with fangs."

"You mean a tiger."

"I prefer kitty with fangs."

"Err…okay…if you say so…"

"Oh it doesn't matter," she said dismissively, "but you know who I'm talking about, right?"

Richi nodded. Of course he did. How many people in the hotel could be described as "a kitty with fangs"?

"Well yeah, I was talking to him a bit earlier," she began to explain.

"Hey don't get me wrong!" she shot back defensively. "I'm not saying that you're not like a babe magnet or something. In fact, you're pretty hot, especially with the fangs and all. A lot of girls probably do come up to you. All I'm trying to say is that it might help your game even more if you didn't look so...well, intimidating."

Ray rolled his eyes. This was just so absurd. "Well that's your opinion."

"Are you mad at me?" she laughed. "It was just a comment, and a helpful comment, if I do say so myself."

"Whatever," he mumbled. 'Damn, I think I'm beginning to sound like Kai,' he realized.

The girl sighed. "Look, I didn't mean to offend you, but do you want all the girls that come up to you to all be on a sugar high?" she asked, earning her a curious look from Ray. "I mean, like I said, you're kind of intimidating and unapproachable. Most girls would need some major guts to be able to come up to you. And if they don't have the guts, there's always sugar or caffeine to help them. Of course, caffeine and sugar aren't scientifically proven to make people hyper, but hey, it still seems to work for some reason."

Ray stared at her. It all seemed to make so much sense now. All those girls acted as if they were on a sugar high because…well, they probably were on a sugar high!

"You get it now, right?" she poked him. "If you just loosen up a bit, I'm sure some nice girl will come up to you and the next thing you know, you'll be in her pants."

"W-W-WHAT?!" he immediately burst out, practically jumping a foot away from her.

"Kidding!" she laughed at his reaction. "Well then, kitty, I should be on my way. It was nice meeting you. Oh and by the way, why was your friend by the fountain sulking?"

"How did you-"

"I'm not blind. I saw you glance at him when I asked you to sit with me."

"And why should I tell you?"

"Girl problem?"

Silence.

"Thought so, but thanks for verifying. I probably would of looked like such a ditz if I tried to talk to him and I wasn't right," she grinned, heading to the café exit. "By the way, I will give you credit for one thing about you that is loose, your jeans," she laughed, pushing open the door. "Nice boxers," she winked, quickly departing.

Ray blazed as she left. Damn those girls in Spain who insisted that he should wear baggy pants!

"You said that to Ray?!" exclaimed Richi, about ready to burst into laughter.

"Ray?" she repeated. "Is that kitty's name?"

The brunette nodded. "Yah."

"Oh," she replied softly. "Well I still think that-OH MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" she suddenly shrieked, making Richi jump in surprise. She glanced at the building and slapped her head. "HOLY MOLY! GAH! They are so gonna kill me!" she wailed, roughly picking up the duffel bag beside her feet. "How could I be so stupid? Gah, I've gotta go Richi. I just realized something, sorry," she said quickly, abruptly taking off in some random direction. "Hopefully I'll see you again soon!" she yelled back before increasing her speed ten folds.

Richi blinked. Now that had to be one of the strangest things that had ever happened to him. As sudden as the orange-hooded girl appeared, she was gone. Who was she anyway? Then, another thing clicked in his mind. Did he even tell her his name?

Dude! Who is this new girl and how does she know who Richi is? And what about Ray? Will he learn how to loosen up something more that just his jeans? Tune in next time for the next chapter of Star Horizons!