Author's Note: I am SO proud of how this turned out. I recently (re)watched the new Sukitte ii na yo. OVA, "Dareka ga," and the scene with Kai talking to Megumi at the bus stop inspired me to write this fanfic. I mean, Kai x Megumi has to happen, amirite?

Oh, and the title for this fic is based on a song title (like all of my fics). The song for this fic is "With or Without You," performed by Boyce Avenue. The original song was performed by U2. It kind of fits their feelings toward each other, don't you think?

I hope you enjoy my fic, and I'd love a review too if you'd like!

Special thanks to my best friend/cut-throat proofreader for helping me out and improving the flow of this story!

I handed the gawking young man behind the register 200 yen and snatched my liter of milk from the counter. I knew that the sour expression I had contorted my face into probably made me seem like the new poster child for the emotion "fury," but I really wasn't in the mood to give the guy any warm words of reassurance. Creepy store clerks freaking out about my height, I could handle; three creepy little bitches loitering and glaring at me from outside of the store, I could not.

"Thanks." I turned on my heel and made my way through the door, fully prepared to ignore those sorry excuses for young women, and just head home. I wasn't surprised at all when I didn't even hear the guy give me the typical obligatory "Please come again!" I tended to have that effect on people sometimes.

As I stalked through the humid night air toward the cross walk (I really just wanted to get away from these girls, and I would've even gone out of my way to do it), I felt a hand squeeze around my forearm. I stopped and turned around. My face didn't look angry any more; I had simply wiped it of all emotion except for cold condescension. Nothing pissed people off more than that.

"Excuse me? What do you want?" I asked coolly. She let go of my arm now that she had my attention.

"It's obvious what I want, you slut. I want you to just die already and make the world a better place!" Her voice reminded me of a badly tuned violin, or hundreds of coins falling onto a metal pole.

I turned around to face her. She had pretty black hair and brown eyes, but such an ugly expression on her face. "With that line of logic," I began mercilessly. "Shouldn't someone like you die too?"

"Shut up!" Her friend with the frizzy blond dye-job butted in. "You have no right to talk to Mayu like that!"

The other friend with curly red hair chimed in as well. "Yeah! You don't have the right after what you caused! We're gonna make you feel just as ugly as Mayu felt!" Out of nowhere, Red pulled out a switchblade and Blondie pulled a steely looking bottle from beneath her jacket. Was this what I thought it was?

"First of all, what are you bimbos talking about? And secondly, are you willing to commit a crime in order to 'settle' it?" I used air quotes. These girls were really starting to piss me off.

I dimly registered the sound of the convenience store door opening and closing, but I naturally pushed it to the back of my mind as the girl with the black hair who had grabbed me was responding to my questioning. "You… You bitch…" She had tears streaming down her cheeks. "You only think of yourself, but in reality, you're ruining everyone's lives! Just disappear. I hate you – we all hate you!" I looked at her with unmasked disgust. Did she even hear herself?

"I ruined your life? Isn't that only something you can do?" I wondered. The girl was trembling through her sobs now; I must've really struck a nerve.

Her response was venomous. "You whore. You just see yourself as Little Miss Perfect, don't you? And you get everyone else to believe that too! Even my boyfriend believes it! That's why he broke up with me! We were so perfect together," her voice shook. "But you took that away. So I'm going to ruin your life like you ruined mine."

No sooner than she had finished with her little speech, the friend with the red hair stepped toward me, brandishing her knife with blood lust in her eyes. "Hey Mayu, can I go first?"

The other girl popped the lid off of the metal bottle. "So selfish," she chided. "Besides, it's not like we have to be gentle with her, so let's just get it over with before someone sees."

"That would be me."

As if punctuating those words, the heavy humidity erupted into a fierce shower of rain. It drenched us all in the mere seconds that it lasted, but the girls were holding their ground and so did I. Besides, I didn't care about the rain because I was too busy gasping and whipping my head back toward the entrance of the convenience store. Leaning against the wall under the shadows was someone I knew. He had sandy shaven hair and a face and voice and even a mere presence that made my skin crawl, yet I had never been more grateful to see a person in my life.

It was Takemura Kai, and he was stepping forward to face those girls so I wouldn't have to. The sentiment made me want to barf, but I really was in no position to protest.

The girl with the blond hair shrieked her reaction. "Who the hell are you? Just mind your own business!" Takemura had a dangerous look on his face. He finally stopped in front of the two girls, successfully blocking their access to me. He was standing with his back very close to my face, and I was pretty sure he was invading their personal space too. I took an exaggerated step back.

I could almost feel the tension in the cooled-off air, but what Takemura did next just made me want to laugh.

He had been holding some bags of his own from the store, and he simply raised the one that had a half-liter of orange juice in it, twisted the cap off of the bottle, and dumped its entirety over the two angry girls. "There," he said. "That's better. Might sweeten you ladies up a bit." He splashed what little juice remained in the bottle at the ringleader, the girl with the black hair whose life I had supposedly "ruined." I covered my mouth and let out a little snicker, while the girls just stood there in shock. "Come on, Kitagawa Megumi." He suddenly grabbed me by the shoulders and ushered me across the street.

It had been a quick squall and the rain had stopped falling already, but it was enough for the fluorescent light of the street lamps to pick up a thin layer of water on the road.

Once we were a safe distance away from the group of hateful girls, Takemura called out to them. "I wouldn't try that again if I were you, trust me."

I looked at him in disbelief and quietly hissed, "And what exactly are you gonna do if they decide not to listen, stupid?"

As the girls were making their ways down the street and looking deliciously disgruntled and defeated, he whispered back, "I dunno, it's called BSing. It's surprisingly effective."

I scoffed. "Whatever."

Refusing to put up with this insanely annoying Takemura Kai any longer than I had to, I began to walk in the opposite direction the group of girls had gone. I was only going to the bus stop, but he didn't have to know that. "Where are you going?" He asked my back. "You don't even live over here. Why are you shopping for groceries here, anyway?"

I didn't even legitimate his questioning by stopping; I spoke to him as I walked. "Bus stop," I said simply, sticking my nose in the air. That was all I said, because I wasn't about to divulge that I was on this side of town because I had wanted some fresh air and somehow ended up on a bus, headed nowhere in particular. It would've given him some insight, and I didn't want to give him that.

"What?" He sounded considerably puzzled. "Didn't you know that the buses stop running over here at 9:00? It's like, 9:30."

"Um… what?"

I stepped out of Takemura's shower with a measure of indignation, a thick towel wrapped around my body and another one wrapped around my head. While I used the towel to dry my hair, I stared at what I could see of my face in the fogged-up mirror. I laid the towel down, folded, on the bathroom counter and drew an 'X' in the fog over where my face would be. "That's what you get for letting Takemura Kai save you and have the upper hand," I mumbled to myself.

I folded and laid the other towel on the counter as well, and slipped into the guy-ish red band tee, plaid boxers (ew, but at least they were clean, dry, and something to wear as underwear), and dark grey shorts Takemura had given me to change into. Surprisingly, they didn't smell musty or stale, like the average guy's clothes would. They actually fit me well.

I walked into Takemura Kai's living room barefoot and stood. Like hell I'd let him degrade me any further by making myself at home on his furniture. I saw that my wet clothes were hanging over an open bedroom door. "Don't you have parents?" It was too quiet in the small apartment, so I had to ask.

He replied from the sofa, his eyes on the TV. "They're at work."

"Both of them?"

"Yep."

I sighed and just barely perched my bottom on his low kitchen counter. Honestly, he had to be the most difficult person to talk to. We pretended to be interested in the stupid variety show on the television for a good few minutes, before Takemura decided to ask, "So how are you getting home?"

I rolled my eyes. "The bus," I spat sarcastically.

"Text your friend, what's-her-face," he offered. "She'll probably be willing to give you a ride."

I grabbed my purse, which was next to me on the counter, and rummaged for my phone. I felt dumb. "Her name is Momo," I retorted spitefully as I entered the text, and then sent it. I snapped the phone shut and put it on the counter. "There."

No more than 30 seconds later, I heard the phone vibrate. I picked it up, and read the message.

whaaaa? youre at takemura-kun's house? ◕▽◕

but I cant come get you megu… no ones home!

Im sorry~ ಥ^ಥ

Thanks a lot, Momo-chan.

What was I going to do now? I couldn't stay at Takemura Kai's house all night! I slammed the useless phone down on the counter and stared at the floor. "She can't come," he said, rather than asked. I guess my face gave it away.

"Nope," I said in a light voice. "I'm walking home. Return my clothes to me discreetly at school." I gathered up my purse and phone, and made my way for the door.

I felt a hand close around my forearm for the second time that night, but this time it was warm. "Damn girl, why do you have to act so irrational? It's dark outside, and your house is probably a good ways away. Just stay here until the buses start running again; it's not like I'm gonna rape you or something, but that's what you'd be risking by walking around out there."

I snatched my arm away from him violently and whirled around, facing him off. "Then don't touch me!" I reproached him lividly. "Stop trying to act like a hero and just screw off!"

"What the hell is your problem?" He sounded sort of pissed, but that was his problem. "I just saved you from a serious injury, possibly major permanent disfiguration, and I gave you a hot shower and dry clothes to make sure your ungrateful ass didn't catch a cold, and you still can't just give me a simple 'thank you?'"

"Why should I thank you for always butting in?" I was shouting at this point. "Just leave me alone! I don't need you!"

Takemura's eyes widened. "All right, then get the fuck out."

I threw the door open and felt satisfaction when it banged loudly against the wall. "Fine," I managed haughtily.

"Fine," he mimicked. "Good night, Kitagawa Megumi-san." I heard the door slam behind me and felt the building shake. He could go to hell. I moved to walk down the stairs to street-level, and it started pouring again. This time, it wasn't light like before. I groaned miserably and stepped back onto Takemura's balcony.

I sullenly watched the rain fall for a good ten minutes before I finally sat down, cross-legged, and leaned my head against the rough wall. What now? I wondered. I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths, and when I opened them, there he was.

He was next to me, laying his head on his knees. "So you're just as trapped as you were before, huh? Kitagawa Megumi." A soft rumble of thunder sounded and my heart began to thud in my chest sporadically; this was a situation I had never wanted or intended to be in. Never ever. I tried to scoot away from him without being too obvious about it, but I didn't get very far.

"Takemura," I spoke his name softly. I think that this was the first time that I didn't tack the "Kai" on at the end. And I regretted deciding not to do so; speaking to him as a peer and not an enemy made me feel open, vulnerable, and weak. I hated that feeling with my entire being. "Why do you continue to hang around me?" I asked. "All we end up doing is screaming at each other. It's obvious to anyone that we don't like each other at all."

"Is it really? I know of tons of people who bicker all the time and it doesn't mean they hate each other. I think you just want it to be like that, so you tell yourself over and over that we can never have anything more than that."

I snorted and focused on the scene of rain coming down on the tops of the trees. "Who says I think of you, anyway?"

It was quiet for another few minutes aside from the pitter-patter of raindrops against the metal gutter. I think I almost fell asleep. How late was it now, anyway? "Kitagawa," I heard Takemura say in a low voice.

"What?" I snapped open my eyes.

"Just tell me one thing and I'll leave you alone forever," he said. He wasn't looking at me, and I could barely hear him over the latest crack of thunder.

"And what would that be?" I asked in reply.

"If I kissed you right now, would you see Yamato's face?"

I gasped audibly. "Huh? What the–? Where the hell did that come from?" I gaped at him in total shock. What was he trying to pull this time?

"Just tell me…" He leaned in, probably less than five centimeters from my face. I held my breath. "Who do you see when I do this?" When our lips met, my eyes widened and then slid shut. In that moment, it was like I had lost all control and sense of self because I was kissing him back. Him. Takemura Kai, the guy I hated most.

His mouth was soft and warm, and it contrasted the biting chill of the wind coming in from outside the balcony. I found myself grabbing at his shoulder and the soft cotton of his shirt, positioning myself closer to him and his warmth. I was always a selfish girl by nature, and I constantly wanted more – more of this, more of that. I couldn't help it, though. I really couldn't, and this time it would be my downfall.

And he was grabbing at me, too. He was so clumsy; it was obvious that he was more nervous than he let on. He had shifted onto his knees and was gripping anything and everything – my hips, my ass, the small of my back, my chest. It was like he was on overload and he wanted them all at once, but knew that it wasn't possible.

Trembling, I started to take a more active role in the kiss and slid my tongue into his open mouth. I could feel the heat radiating from his body. It made me think of a balmy summer day and not the harsh autumn night that we were dealing with.

We were both on our knees at this point, and I was probably scraping the very legs I was obligated to keep in perfect condition for modeling, but I didn't care. I grabbed Takemura's shirt with both hands and roughly positioned his body between myself and the wall, and then straddled one of his legs. Grinding my hips against his, I successfully deepened the kiss.

"K-Kitagawa," he breathed, clearly turned on. The problem was that I was turned on too. And logically, there was only one way that a situation like this could end.

Amazing even myself, I ruthlessly broke the kiss. Takemura's breathing was so loud and heavy and confused that it took everything I had to keep myself from jumping back on top of him. And I hated myself for that. I wanted to get out of here so badly, but it was still raining just as hard as it had been when I first came outside. Instead, I began to speak tremulously.

"To answer your question–"

A loud crack of thunder drowned me out.

"What?" He uttered; it was hard to determine the emotion in his voice.

"To answer your question, Takemura Kai," I began again, more firmly this time. "I saw you doing something you'll never even entertain the idea of attempting to do again, because I really will hate you if you do."

With that, cell phone and purse in tow, I stood up and marched toward the door of his apartment. As I was turning the doorknob, I swear I heard him say, "Good enough," but I really couldn't be sure, nor could I bother myself with caring about it.

I went inside and plopped down on his couch, expecting him to follow shortly after. However, on his balcony was the last place I would see Takemura Kai that night. The TV was still playing – this time, it was some gossipy tabloid news show – and I found myself lying down and nodding off. And that was when, like clockwork, my phone vibrated.

I slid open the phone and caught sight of the clock in the corner of the screen (was it really only 10:45?) before I read the text message. It was from Momo.

meguuu~ did you still need a ride? my mom just came home! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ

I couldn't help but smile sleepily. Momo really was a good friend. Still, my reply was like a reflex:

Naaaah, don't worry about it momochan! It's already too late! (=∀=)

A few minutes later, my phone buzzed. Momo's reply contained no words, but the message was enough to cause my cheeks to flare up with embarrassment.

(ヽ≧▽≦)╯*