This fanfic is a bonus story based on chapter 39 of volume 9 (when Itsuki says farewell to Maika). What bothered me most was the formality used by Itsuki. He still calls Maika as just Maika while he calls Ryouka as Ryouka-san. Obviously, Itsuki still loves Maika and if she didnt fall in love with Kazuhito, he probably wouldve gone back to her. It infuriated me more when Itsuki silently bids his soul mate Maika goodbye. I thought it really wasnt fair to Ryouka.

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Soul Mate

Chapter One

"Ryouka-chan, what are you having for lunch today?"

"…"

"Ryouka-chan?"

"…"

"Ryouka-channn!"

The girl with the pigtails snapped back to reality. "Oh! I'm sorry, Noriko-chan. What did you say?"

Noriko set her eyes in the direction that preoccupied Ryouka's mind. Far into the distance near the school's court yard, was the Emperor of the student council, Itsuki Otomiya and Maika Rikyuu. They were standing under a huge tree together, talking and laughing.

"So you were looking at Itsuki-sama?"

Ryouka felt her face grow hot, which made it all the more obvious that it was true.

"Did you know that there are rumours going around the school lately? That Itsuki-sama and Maika-san are lovers?"

Ryouka looked down at her feet almost dejectedly, her auburn hair dangling over her eyes and casting a deep long shadow.

"Yes."

"Don't you think Maika-san is lucky? She's beautiful and she's got herself the most handsome guy in the entire school. Not only that, he happens to be the Emperor too!"

"Yes."

"No girl in this school can compare to him other than her, don't you think?"

"Yes."

"They definitely suit each other," Noriko concluded as she began walking off.

"Yes," Ryouka replied, more to herself as she began to follow her friend to the cafeteria.

0-0-0-0-0

Ryouka didn't realize her hands were shaking until she reached back to take the apron off. She just couldn't concentrate on doing any household chores. As hard as she tried, she failed miserably. She was a nervous wreck and the anxiety was simply killing her. Ryouka ran her shaky hand over her disheveled hair. Usually, she would style it but today, she left it down her shoulders in gentle waves.

Itsuki had been gone for a little over an hour after he received thatonephone call. His expression turned grave when he first answered it. Ryouka didn't know who that mysterious caller could be and for some unusual reason, she feared to ask Itsuki about the caller. It wasn't until he was about to leave the house that he mentioned it to her. "It's the Kamiyas. I'll be back soon," he assured her.

Was it Kazuhito-sama? Or Maika-sama? Ryouka didn't know. But somehow, she had an ominous feeling that the phone call foreshadowed something about their marriage. Was it over already? If so, how would Itsuki break it to her when he returns home? Would he simply tell her that he reconciled with Maika-sama and request a divorce? What should she do from then on?

Suddenly, Ryouka heard the car pull up to the household followed by the sound of the car door closing. Without thinking, she hurried for the door and swung it open just as her husband planted a foot on the front step.

"Ryouka-san!" he cried, taken aback. "What's wrong?!"

She flushed. "Um…I…," she began hesitantly, "I used to admire Maika-sama very much."

It was an unusual greeting at the front door and Itsuki was indeed puzzled.

"A lot of people in school knew of the rumour…that you and her were lovers…both of you had a kind, gentle aura…you suited each other perfectly…I…I really admired her," Ryouka confessed. "…So…"

"So…?" Itsuki asked as he was still confused about where this was leading to.

Tears were welling up in her eyes and they finally slid down her soft cheeks. "I thought…you would never come back to me," she admitted softly.

Itsuki stood there in a daze and at a lost for words. Seeing this beautiful, teary-eyed woman make such a heart-warming confession made him smile. He started up the steps towards her.

"I was able to go because you are here," Itsuki finally replied as he took her in his arms and held her close. "Of course…I'd come back to you," he admitted as he stooped down to kiss Ryouka deeply on the lips.

'Goodbye, Maika…

…My soul mate.'

0-0-0-0-0

That night, Ryouka couldn't sleep. There were too many things on her mind, which she couldn't keep count of. One of them that troubled her the most was whether Itsuki really loved her. Maika-sama still clung strongly to his heart, barely making space for her. At the thought of that, her eyes began to sting with tears again. She sat up in bed and watched her husband sleep, while contemplating. Ryouka didn't know how long she had been staring at him for but after a long moment of consideration, she finally settled on that one decision.

0-0-0-0-0

The next morning, Itsuki awoke from his alarm clock. He jerked up in bed and quickly shut the alarm off. It was extremely rare that the alarm would even go on. Usually, Ryouka would wake him up for work. Where was she? Itsuki got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to wash up. Perhaps, his wife was too preoccupied with making breakfast in the kitchen for him and the kids.

"Good morning, Itsuki-san!" Haine greeted happily as her foster father stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning," Kusame greeted as well.

They were dressed for school and were sitting by the kitchen table eating breakfast. Something didn't look right though. Ryouka was missing. Where was she?

"Good morning," Itsuki smiled. "Where's Ryouka-san?" he asked curiously.

"That's what we wanted to ask you!" Haine frowned. "When we came down, there were food on the table but Ryouka-san wasn't there to greet us like she does every morning."

"Yeah," Kusame chirped in after a sip of his tea. "Usually, Okasan would be busy preparing your bento around this time."

Itsuki felt his heart skip a beat at the thought of Ryouka being missing. Something definitely wasn't right. But he didn't want the kids worrying.

"Oh…I remember now. Yesterday, Ryouka-san told me she had some errands to run this morning," Itsuki lied. "Not sure what they were but maybe it's a surprise?" he joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"That explains everything then," Kusame sighed in relief.

"I guess we'll find out what it is when we come home from school!" Haine smiled.

'Maybe I shouldn't have lied to them,' he thought.

When Itsuki was finally alone in the house, he called in to his company to notify his associates about his absence for the day. He spent the whole morning calling Ryouka's cell phone. However, he could only reach her voicemail.

'Ryouka-san…where are you?!'

Itsuki called her cell phone again. Voicemail.

He called again. Voicemail. And again! Voicemail. Why wasn't she picking up?! Did something urgent come up and she just didn't have time to contact him?

In the afternoon, Itsuki rushed out and drove around the areas that Ryouka would usually frequent during the day. He checked the sidewalks as he drove by each area. He had been driving around for hours, hoping to reunite with his wife. However, his efforts were all futile. He still couldn't find her.

Itsuki finally drove back, hoping that Ryouka might have returned home while he was out searching for her. He was wrong. She wasn't home to greet him as he stepped into the house. Itsuki stood by the front window for a very long time, keeping a watchful eye out for his wife. When there were still no sign of her, he couldn't stand it anymore. He swung the front door open, stood by the front steps and did what the majority would think was crazy.

"RYOUKA-SAAAAANNNNN!!!!"

0-0-0-0-0

"Eh…? What's with the police officers?" Kusame indicated to Haine as they walked up to the Otomiya mansion.

Haine literally went pale as fear overwhelmed her. "Itsuki-san and Ryouka-san! Are they alright?!"

Before Kusame could even utter another word, the older sibling had already made a mad dash towards the mansion. He ran after her at full speed.

Itsuki was standing by the front steps as two officers got out of their vehicles and approached him. They pulled out a notepad and pen from their jacket. He gave a nervous laugh as the officers said something to him.

"Itsuki-san!" Haine cried as she ran up to her foster father's side with Kusame.

"Haine-chan!"

"What happened? Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," he laughed embarrassedly.

"How come there are police officers here?" Kusame asked, puzzled by their presence.

"We received a complaint that someone from this area was causing neighbourhood disruption," the first officer responded.

"We found your father to be the source of the noise," the second officer explained, shaking his head.

Haine and Kusame exchanged glances. "What noise?" they asked in unison.

"The complaint we received was that a man, which is Mr. Otomiya here," continued the second officer, "had been screaming for one hour straight for someone named Ry– "

'They would be worried sick if they found out Ryouka-san's missing!'

"RYOU!!!" Itsuki hollered as loudly as he could over the officer's voice.

The kids looked utterly confused now. "Who's Ryou?" they happened to ask in unison again.

"Alright, there's no point in hiding it now," Itsuki sighed as he improvised, "I got you two a puppy today but when I brought him home, he jumped out of my arms and ran off. I was just calling him back."

Haine was teary-eyed. "Really, Itsuki-san?"

"Yes. So that's what happened, officers…"

"I see," the first officer replied as he jotted down some notes on his notepad. "We must issue a warning though. If we receive another complaint like this next time, you will be penalized."

"Yes sir!" Itsuki saluted.

0-0-0-0-0

'Hi, you have reached the voicemail of Ryouka Otomiya. I'm sorry to have missed your call. Please leave your name, your number, and a brief message and I will return your call as soon as I am able to. Thank you!'

Itsuki had probably left over a hundred voicemails to his wife. Most of the messages weren't exactly "brief". Some were so long that he got cut off from the amount of time that was allowed for a message.

It was night time already and there were still no sign of his wife. He lied to the kids again, saying Ryouka-san was staying at her friend's place, taking care of her because she was sick. They were both curious at first but eventually, they nodded in understanding. Itsuki just hoped that the kids bought that lame excuse.

Itsuki scanned the sidewalks as he drove cautiously through the streets within the downtown core. He snuck out not long after the kids went to their rooms after dinner. It was almost ten. The streets were still busy around this time but he didn't see Ryouka walking in them.

Could something have happened to Ryouka when she went grocery shopping in the morning? Like coming upon some thugs or even…rapists?! Fear was crawling up his spine now. At that bizarre thought, Itsuki whipped out his cell phone again, about to call the police to report his wife missing (even though it wasn't twenty-four hours yet)…when he realized there was mail in his inbox.

He pulled the car over to the side and stopped with the emergency lights on.

Itsuki's heart nearly sank as he read the message. It was from Ryouka.

Itsuki-san,

Please don't trouble yourself in looking for me. I'm in a safe place right now and doing quite well. Thank you for all the kind words yesterday. However, I know that in truth, you still love Maika-sama very much. I know that you would probably return to her instead of me if she told you that she still loves you. I understand that. I really do. Itsuki-san…forgive me…I can't give you the happiness that you desire. Thank you for all your kindness to me. Goodbye.

- Ryouka

Itsuki didn't realize the tears until they trickled down his cheeks. Shielding his face with a hand, he doubled over and cried relentlessly. Overcome with so much emotion that he was even unaware of the traffic control officer standing by his car, writing him a ticket for illegal parking.