Wow, I actually didn't think I'd be writing another Chiaki/Kotoha story for quite some time, but this just randomly came into my head and only took a couple of hours to write.

This just takes place after episode 20.

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Sentai Shinkenger. It belongs to Toei.

Always For You

The sun was beginning to set as she stood in the doorway leading out onto the veranda, watching him as he sat a couple of feet away from on the edge of the wooden platform. She had left the others inside to continue enjoying her birthday party. Today had been a long and tiring day and though she had been unconscious for most of it, she still felt as physically drained as if she too had been out battling the Ayakashi, as well as already being emotionally shattered by the events of the day.

She bit her lip nervously as she watched him play with his Kuma Origami, throwing it up into the air before catching again. She was worried that he might damage the Origami until she noticed that the small bear would fold in on itself just before he caught it. He seemed lost in thought and she didn't want to disturb him, but she wanted to know. She wanted to know if he would have gone through it, if he would have become a Gedou because of her, for her. She took a tentative step forward, her footstep causing the floorboard to creak just as he threw his Origami into the air. He caught it before turning around, surprised to see her standing on the veranda, a few steps away from him. He hadn't heard her until then.

"Kotoha," he said, standing up and facing her. "You should be resting."

She shook her head. "I'm fine."

He didn't look convinced, frowning at her, but nodded his head. He put his Origami in his pocket.

She bit her lip again as the two stood in silence, watching each other. His frown began to turn into a look of confusion as he wondered what she had to say to him and why she looked so nervous.

"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked her, breaking the silence.

She nodded her head furiously. "Yes," she replied. She continued to bite her lip. Why was it so hard to ask him?

"Why aren't you inside enjoying your party?"

"I–" This was the perfect opportunity for her to ask him, but she couldn't get the words to form. "Why aren't you?" she asked instead, wincing as her tone came out harsher and more accusingly then she had intended.

He looked at her, surprised at her tone. "I just needed some time to think," he replied.

"Oh." She already knew that, but she thought it best to pretend that she didn't.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Uh…" Once again, she had the perfect opportunity to ask him. She needed to know. Why, why would he throw his life away for her, to save her? She just had to know. But again, the words wouldn't form. "I just came to see if you were alright," she said, rubbing her arms against the cold breeze that was beginning to form with the dying light.

"Oh." He turned away from her and looked out across the garden. "I'm fine," he replied. He then turned back around to look at her, his head lowered slightly. "But, I'm glad that you're alright."

She tilted her head in response. "Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms tightly around her but not due to the cold, more for comfort, she thought.

They stood in a nervous silence once more, Kotoha looking at the wooden floorboards between the two whilst he looked down at his feet. Every few moments, her eyes would flicker towards him, while his kept focused on his feet. She took a breath. She was going to ask him. Now. But the words still wouldn't form. She couldn't understand why. Why couldn't she just ask him? She inwardly groaned and closed her eyes. She knew exactly what she wanted to say, but why was it so hard to ask him? She heard footsteps on the veranda walking past her and she opened her eyes, turning to see that he was heading inside. "Would you have done it?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Her eyes widened as she realised that the words had flown seamlessly out of her mouth.

"What?" He stopped and slowly turned so that he was facing her.

"Would you have done it?" she repeated, slightly louder. Her lips pursed as she waited for his response. She found her gaze fixed on him, unable to tear her eyes away, though she noticed that his eyes flitted from side to side, as his mouth opened and closed a few times and she assumed that he was unsure of how to respond.

"Who told you?" His eyes were unable to meet hers and he determinedly looked down at his feet again.

"Mako," she replied. "She told me everything that happened."

She heard let out a small groan, though she couldn't tell if it was from frustration or embarrassment. "Trust Nee-san," he muttered to himself. "She shouldn't have told you anything," he said to Kotoha.

"Maybe," she replied. "But would you still have done it?"

"Why are you asking me?" He still wouldn't look at her. "Does it matter? You're here. Nothing happened in the end."

"It does matter," she replied. "It matters because I need to know. Please, Chiaki, tell me."

He took a breath and slowly lifted his head to look at her. "I don't know," he said. "When I said that I would become a Gedou to go down to the Sanzu River to get that Ayakashi, all I wanted to do was save you. You didn't deserve to die like that and," he thought for a moment, "you're a part of this team. We couldn't go without you."

"Oh." She felt her heart sink slightly. So that was it, the only reason was because they, he, needed her, not for her, but as a Shinkenger. Nothing more. She nodded sadly. "Okay." She looked down. She didn't want him to see that his revelation had hurt her.

Chiaki looked at her with a look of melancholy. He hadn't wanted to lie to her, but he couldn't tell her the real reason why he had threatened to become a Gedou to save her. Saying that he had done it because she was part of the team was more believable. He would have done it for any of the others – they would have all done it for each other, it was just a case that this time, he got there first, though he did, himself, wonder if there was more to it. More as to why he was so determined. He remembered how she had briefly awoken and said that she was glad that it had been her that had had her soul removed. It had angered him that she would think so little of herself, that out of all of them, she was the expendable one, but at the same time, he was distraught at the thought of losing her. She was more than just a Samurai, she was him friend, a part of the family and he wasn't about to let some low-life Ayakashi take her life away like that. He hadn't wanted to lose her or the relationship that they had built and as he watched her, he realised that he hadn't conveyed this. All he had said was that he had done it because she was part of the team and he inwardly groaned at his stupidity. "Look," he began.

"Would you have done it for anyone else?" she asked, still refusing to look at him.

"Yes," he replied without hesitation. He knew that he would have done it for any of the others without a second thought.

She nodded sadly. "Okay," she said softly. "That was all I wanted to know." She lifted her head to look at him and he noticed that behind the small smile that she was giving him, there was a sadness cast over her. She began to walk towards the door when he grabbed her wrist, stopping her.

"There's more to it though," he said and she looked at him with a look of puzzlement. "Yes, I would have done it for any of the others," he swallowed, "but with you it was different."

"Different?" Her eyebrows rose slightly and she kept her eyes fixed on him.

He nodded. "You said that you were glad it was you that got attacked and I got angry. You shouldn't have felt or even thought that."

"But it's true. Out of all of us I'm the one that–"

He furiously shook his head, stopping her from continuing. "No. You are a part of this team. You're an intricate part and without you, we would fall apart. I didn't want to become a Gedou and save you because you're a Shinkenger. I wanted to save you."

Her eyes widened, her mouth open slightly as she tried to comprehend what he had confessed. He had wanted to save her not because she was a Shinkenger, but for her and who she was? "What?" Her voice came out breathless.

He groaned as he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't want to say it again; the first time had been bad enough. "When that Ayakashi stole your soul, all I could think about was how to defeat him and get it back and when Juzo told us that the only way to get to the Sanzu River was by becoming a Gedou, I knew what I had to do. I didn't want you to suffer and you didn't deserve to die like that, it wasn't right. You're a good person. You're smart, focused, determined, loyal and I wanted to prove that to you. That you are valued and that I – we – all need you. You're a great friend and I didn't want to lose you, so I decided that I was going to risk it. I was going to sacrifice myself for you, to save you."

She listened intently, unable to believe what she was hearing. She had never heard him speak about something so passionately before and she couldn't believe that they were talking about saving her. She had also never expected him to admit everything about what he had been feeling to her like that. "You'd give up your humanity, do the unspeakable for me?"

His expression softened and he moved his hand from her wrist, capturing her hand instead, clasping it between both of his, feeling the coldness of her skin against the warmth of him own. "Always," he said. "I'd always do it for you."

She kept her gaze fixed on him. She still couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't think that it was possible for him to willingly sacrifice his life in order to save her, that he would become a Gedou just to save her. "But what if the others hadn't stopped you? What if Gen-san hadn't been able to awaken Ebizou? Would you still have done it?"

He looked down at their clasped hands for a brief moment. "Kotoha," he began, looking back up at her, "I would have done whatever it took. If it meant becoming a Gedou then I would have done it and not looked back. Your life was worth it. You were worth it."

She shook her head, her eyes beginning to brim with tears as the full impact of the implication of Chiaki's words began to take their toll on her. "But I don't understand. Why would you do it? Why would you try and save me?"

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and she felt a shiver run through her as he gave her a small unguarded smile. "Because you're you. Because I need you. Because without you, being a Shinkenger, it just wouldn't have felt right, not without you."

She nodded, understanding that, to him at least, she was valued. She was needed. "Okay," she said, wiping away the threatening tears. "I need you too, you know," she then told him, smiling.

He stared at her in surprise before scratching the back of his head, letting out a nervous laugh. "Yeah well, I did also do it to beat Takeru," he added.

She let out a little giggle, her head lowered slightly. "Thank you though," she said, her voice serious and he stopped laughing as she took a step closer and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you for saving me."

He let out a sigh as he mimicked her action and put his arms around her. "You're welcome," he said, unable to keep the smile from his face. "I'll always be there for you."