Disclamer: I do not own Maison Ikkoku or any of the characters. Maison Ikkoku is a manga/anime series that belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I am just doing this for fun.

Never waking up

This was her senior year, but graduation was still along time away, and her mother promised that after that she is free to marry Mr. Godai (Ibuki has absolutely no idea that her mother was just tricking her into coming back home and that Mr. Godai still refuses to think of her like that).

During class, Ibuki is daydreaming instead of paying attention to the 's another male student teacher, but Ibuki didn't care, the only student teacher she wanted was Mr. Godai, as she was the only one she focused with (Focusing ON HIM, but not was he is teaching).

For most of the lesson, Ibuki barely payed attention, she figured she could copy notes from one of her friends later, and she was still top of the class so she wasn't worried.

During class she was thinking about Mr. Godai and there future together. Ibuki is almost 18 and she is well in her marrying age and she knew it, heck by law of Japan, you can be sixteen years old and still get married, as long as it's with parental consent, that's what always got her mad, if her dad wasn't such as jerk and if Mr. Godai would take her seriously, they probably would be married right now. But, Ibuki knew she had to be patient and persistent, once she reaches age 20, she, by law of Japan, she is an adult and then her father wouldn't be able to do anything anymore, until then she has to be smart and patient with her dad, and in the mean time, get Mr. Godai to see her as a woman and as his future wife, rather than the high school girl he thinks she is.

Once class was over, Ibuki contemplated in whether to just go home or stay for a bit longer, she decided she still had time before curfew, and she decided to take the scenic route threw the park.

It was a beautiful, autumn evening, the park was full of of so many tree that were turning into their autumn forms in such a beautiful way, the flowers were still out and still pretty and the regular animals were either in the trees or on the terrain.

Autumn really was one of her favorite times of year, besides summer break of course, merely for moments like this. But nature wasn't the only thing there. There were still a lot of people in the park, there were a group of small kids playing, there were some teenagers around her age going on with there business, there were some adults talking, some elders still playing go or talking about life and among each group there were couples everywhere, from young and old, the parents of the little kids were near by watching them and sitting together, some smitten teenagers making out by the trees, a man and a woman snuggling by the flowers and an old couple on the bench holding hands together.

It upsets Ibuki a little bit, why can't Mr. Godai do these things with her?.Ibuki decide to get out of here, but on her way out she found one of her favorite sights. It was a man and a woman, obviously married and in love, pushing a stroller threw the park. Ibuki really couldn't resist, so she decided to check it out.

She walked to the couple with the stroller and saw a baby boy there, likely less than a year old and really cute.

"Awww~ He's so cute"...Ibuki squealed in her cute high school girl tone

"Thank you"..The mother said happily.

"Hello there"...Ibuki said in baby talk, which caused the baby to giggle and gurgle, it made Ibuki smile.

"Oh, how rude of me, I'm Ibuki, nice to meet you"...Ibuki said in a polite tone of voice.

"Good afternood Ibuki, my name is Sakura Hachibea and this is my husband Kenji"...Sakura said and gestured to her husband

"How's it going?"…. Kenji greeted

"And this little bundle is our little Seiji-chan"...Sakura said smiling to her son

"He's really cute, you must be happy"...Ibuki said with a smile, though deep down she felt a pang of...longing

"Of course"…. Sakura said with a smile on her face

"It was nice to meet you Ibuki-san"…. Sakura waved off and she and her husband and baby went on with there personal business.

Ibuki leaned back on a tree, thinking about the baby and the married couple. How long until that will be her and Mr. Godai with their baby?, she wondered. For a little bit Ibuki had a day dream about her and Mr, Godai walking together in the park, with a cute bundled baby in her arms, a baby girl that was obviously hers and Godai's. His Godai's arm wrapped around her, his eyes never leaving her and there special bundle of love and joy. Ibuki had to repress a squeal out of the desire to not draw attention to herself.

After exiting the park, Ibuki found herself on a familiar block and then a though flicked across in her mind.

Ibuki went to the one place she knew just as well as her own home address: Maison Ikkoku, more exactly one street from the place, she hid behind a building making it impossible for the residents to see her. There she saw her true love walk up to the horrid establishment with a gloomy look on his face.

Oh, my poor Godai, what has happened to you? Why won't you let me help you? Ibuki thought dramatically, her heart fluttering at the thought of embracing her melancholy love and helping him through his troubled times.

Ibuki sighed but still...she couldn't look away, she was hypnotized by the way Mr. Godai moved, how he walked and smiled

Ibuki rummaged through her backpack and took out her favorite camera, she saved for moments like this.

So she lifted up her camera and started to take some pictures of Mr. Godai, not that the Maison Ikkoku resident noticed. Before he entered the building, Ibuki saw her former teacher and one true love kneel down, petting the big white dog whose name she forgot at the moment. The dog began to lick him and Godai started to laugh and smile, it make Ibuki's heart flutter and burn.

'He's so wonderful!' Ibuki stopped taking pictures and just gazed at her laughing love, he really had such an amazing smile…..

But her daze had to come at an end, when that "old widow" Kyoko Otonashi came walking out of the boarding house. She was talking to Godai and he was gazing dreamily at her. Ibuki was furious

Ibuki's perfectly shaped eyebrows scowled, how dare 'that widow'. Standing so close to her future husband.

What's so great about her, I'm better looking! She growled in her mind, he is supposed to look at me likem that, not HER, JUST ME!

Even though Ibuki was unable to pick up what they were saying, she didn't like the way they were acting with each other. Before she can contemplate anymore, both Mr. Godai and the widow entered the apartment building and she would be unable to get any more pictures for the time being.

With a huff, but momentary satisfaction at the fact that she managed to get some pictures, Ibuki would have gone to the apartment to visit Mr. Godai but it's getting late and ever since her last stay at Maison Ikkoku, her dad put this stupid curfew on her that she either has to be home by dinner time or call home if she was planning to going to a "classmates" house, her father knew that if he said "friend", she would go to Mr. Godai's and for once he was right.

With a huff and a puff, Ibuki went home.

Once home, everything was the same as it always was, her mother was in the kitchen putting the finishing touches on dinner and her father was on his recliner reading the newspaper, typically what you'd expect to see in a Japanese household at this time.

While it seemed typical and normal, everyone knew it wasn't, there was an unspoken tension between the family, specifically with the patriarch and the youthful girl.

While it was normal for fathers to get overprotective when their daughter's take an interest in boys, Ibuki felt that her father was being unfair and a big jerk about it. Why couldn't he see that Mr. Godai was the perfect man for her?

Mr. Godai was the perfect man for her, but even perfect men have flaws, but to Ibuki that just made him even better.

Mr. Godai was her life, her future and her destiny.

She knew since the moment she saw his tear filled eyes in the library from looking in that year book, no doubt crying over loosing someone so close to him, she knew she was a part of his destiny as much as he was a part of hers.

Mr. Godai needed her and she needed him, they were like two halves of the same coin, they needed each other in order to be of any value.

Not that Mr. Godai wasn't valuable, far from it, he was so loyal, devoted and hardworking, not to mention handsome and sweet, he would make any woman very lucky, and Ibuki was determined to be that woman.

He just needed a little help, he had gone through so much in his life, Ibuki knew he was capable of being a wonderful husband and provider for her and if her dad wasn't such a big jerk he'd realized that.

Her mother wasn't any better, she insisted that she'd remained neutral of the situation but Ibuki couldn't help but feel that deep down she sided with her dad, but she reminded herself that couldn't be the case, after all she was the one that promised that once she was out of high school she could get married, so maybe her mother did understand.

Dinner was basically the same as always, her mother made a decent meal so they didn't starve and they ate just for an excuse as not to talk to each other, or at least that's what Ibuki did, her father however, always had ask the same damn questions everything single day. At first he would ask normal questions like "how was your day?/How was school?" before turning into an interrogation about her seeing her beloved Mr. Godai

"You didn't go to that rat hole of a boarding house again did you?…. Mr. Yagami would interoggated but Ibuki remained silent just to agitate him.

"You better not have went to see that ronin Godai again"...He would demand not long after the first one.

So what if I did, it's none of your business"….Ibuki would shout at him.

"What have I told you about this?!"….He would shout while her mother would try and calm him down

With each and each of these accusing questions, Ibuki grew angrier and yelled louder when she told her father

"Mr. Godai is a wonderful man ,you jerk!"….She would screamed at the top of her lungs

Her father grew angrier and yelled that she knew she was forbidden of going to that place, that Mr. Godai was too old for her and not good enough for her and that she should stop dreaming and WAKE UP

Ibuki's mother tried to be the mediator again and calm both sides down but it was no use, yells, insults and hurtful words were thrown from daughter to father, each one more painfully stinging than the last.

As usual it ended with Mr. Yagami yelling at his daughter to go to her room, and as always Ibuki was already in the process of leaving her half eaten dinner and her stupid father and mortified mother behind.

Ibuki then yelled that she hated her father before slamming her door in anger, once locking it she ran to her bed and cried into her pillow, bemoaning how no one understood her, how her own father was nothing but a huge jerk, about how her own mother refused to back her up and worse was how she bemoaned how Mr. Godai still didn't understand how much he needed her and her love.

Ibuki didn't know how much time has passed since she stopped crying but she didn't care, but from the looks of outside it was getting late.

She heard a knock on her door but ignored it, it was either her mother wanting to "console her" or her father to dump more on her. Judging from the sound of the knocking, Ibuki knew it was her father, since her mother's knock was much gentler and had a little rymth, unlike her father's loud banging against the door. Ibuki turned off the lights and pretended to be asleep, in no mood to deal with her father anymore tonight.

After 5 minutes the knocking and her father's calls stopped and Ibuki could feel his presence quickly leaving

Once Ibuki was sure her dad was far away from her room, either to go to sleep or get drunk, or both, Ibuki honestly didn't care. She returned to what she was about to do. The one thing that always made her feel better after her father made her feel worse.

Ibuki got on her knees and searched under her bed until she found what she was looking for: A photo album.

Not just any photo album : her love album, as she called it.

Inside it was nothing but pictures of Mr. Godai everywhere, from back when he was a student teacher, at Maison Ikkoku (which she discreetly managed to take while she was there), around town, and there were even some photos of Mr. Godai and her together, either "coincidentally" taken and doctored. There were even some drawings about her and Mr. Godai together, holding hands, kissing, dancing and one of her top favorites: her personal sketch of them getting married and starting a family

Ibuki fluttered at the memories and what she was positive will come in the near future. After all she's not going to be a high school student forever, and after that Mr. Godai will have no choice but to treat her like an adult, and once that happens, he'll finally see her as a woman..

"And when that happens he'll realize I'm the one meant for him and he'll finally stop going after that old widow"... Ibuki squealed in excitement.

It was already 10:30 and she had to get to sleep, so she closed the album and hid it back under her bed, feeling a little comfort in looking at the past and the possible future yet to come.

"Someday soon, my name will be Ibuki Godai, I swear it", Ibuki said before drifting off to sleep, dreaming of her beloved Mr. Godai, and their hopeful future together.

It was nice to dream, but what young Miss Ibuki Yagami didn't understand that even the nicest of dreams can become a nightmare if you refused to wake up from it.

If not the dream, then the person who dreamed it would be.

Remember to read and review and any criticism is welcome.