A/N: Here's the White Day chapter to this story.

I had to re-edit some (but luckily not a lot) after reading Crystal Blue Montana's, but hopefully, they're still different enough for you to enjoy this ^_^

Act II: Wherever You Will Go

Chiaki sat on the steps outside the Hanaori household. Neither Kotoha nor her sister, Mitsuba, were home. Kotoha, he had guessed, was still at school and he was unsure of where Mitsuba was, hence the reason he was sitting on the wooden steps.

It was a month after Valentine's Day, making that day White Day, and Chiaki had thought long and hard as what to get Kotoha in return for the home-made honmei chocolates she had given him. He had eventually, with some help from Takeru, who was also buying a present, had decided upon a four leaf clover pendant and had had it personalised with her Shinkenger emblem of Earth on one side and his Wood one of the other. He had also brought her a matching charm bracelet. The charms on it alternated between their respective symbols, a four leaf clover and a flute. The gift was now in a small box in his pocket, along with something else that he was nervous about giving her.

He sighed as he leaned back, resting on his hands as he looked up at the clear blue sky. He was glad that he had the week off from university and was looking forward to spending another week with Kotoha. His mind drifted back to previous month when she had surprised him by showing up at his school and then Mako surprising the both of them by arranging a date for the two of them. He had beaten himself up about it afterwards for having realised that he should have arranged it, but he knew that Kotoha didn't care. As long as she was with him, she was happy. They had spent the next couple of days together, even though he had classes which he had to attend, she came to see him during his breaks and in the evening they tried to have as much alone time as possible, something that was difficult since both she and Mako were staying at the Shiba mansion and the five of them were constantly together, catching up.

Kotoha had returned to Kyoto a couple of days later, whist Mako remained in Tokyo. Chiaki had escorted her to the train station and both of them were teary-eyed as they said goodbye. He had kissed her, reminding her that she would seem him the following month. She had held him tightly and was filled with regret when she had to board her train.

The sound of footsteps approaching startled him and he lifted his head to see Kotoha approaching, dressed in her uniform, her head lowered. He sat up; concerned that she appeared to be depressed. As she approached the house, she slowly lifted her head and stopped, letting out a gasp of surprise to see Chiaki sitting on the steps.

"Ch-Chiaki!" she cried running over to him, throwing her arms around him. He held her tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," he replied, stroking the back of her head, breathing her in. After a couple more moments, he pushed her back and kissed her. Once they'd broken apart, he reached into his pocket and took out a small box. "Happy White Day," he said, handing it to her as she sat next to him on the steps.

She looked up at him, smiling as she took it. "Thank you," she said as she opened it. She gasped as she lifted the pendent out by its chain and then looked at the charm bracelet. "They're so beautiful."

"But not as beautiful as you," he replied and she blushed as her smile widened. "Here." Chiaki took the pendent from her and she turned away from him, lifting her hair out of the way as she did so. He clasped the necklace around her neck and she let out a gentle sigh as she felt his fingertips ghost along the base of her neck, sending shivers down her spine and she resisted the temptation to groan out loud when she felt him gently kiss the nook of her neck. She then turned back around to face him, staring at the necklace between her fingers.

"It's so beautiful," she said again. She then looked up at him with a serious expression. "But it must have cost you a lot."

He shook his head. "No," he said quietly, "you're worth it." He wrapped the bracelet around her wrist. His fingers brushed the smooth, soft skin under her wrist. She sighed again, closing her eyes as he tenderly massaged her wrist, gently pressing down on her pressure points. It was moments like these that made her realise how in love with him she was. She let out another soft sigh before opening her eyes to see him smiling contentedly at her.

She reached up and cradled his face in her hands as she stared into his eyes. "Thank you," she whispered before gently, yet passionately pressing her lips against his. He returned the kiss, pulling her closer to him.

They broke apart and she rested her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her, holding her tightly against him, taking his other hand holding onto hers, their fingers entwined together.

"Have you heard from Mako?" Chiaki quietly asked her.

Kotoha nodded. "She said that she'd received a gift from Tono-sama, but that she was going to wait until today to open it."

"I still can't believe those two got together," he replied, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"I'm happy for her, for them," she said. "After everything they've done for us, it's about time they had some happiness."

"Yeah." He sighed and looked up at the sky, watching it redden as the sun began to set. "It really is beautiful here."

"You get used to it," she replied sadly and he frowned at her change of tone and remembered her expression when she had arrived.

"Hey, Kotoha," he began; she lifted her head to look at him, "why did you look sad when you arrived back here?"

"It doesn't matter," she responded, lowering her head.

"It matters to me." He stood up, stepping off of the steps and crouched down in front of her, he didn't notice the small box that had fallen out of his pocket. "It matters to me," he repeated in a softer tone and she slowly lifted her head. He was surprised to see that her eyes were brimmed with tears. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She shook her head. "It's stupid."

"Tell me." He reached out, taking both of her hands in his, holding them gently.

She sighed and lowered her head again, biting her lip. "Most of the girls in my class were teasing me with their gifts. They said that I wouldn't be getting anything. I told them that you were coming down, but they didn't believe me. They said that you'd have found someone else, that you didn't love me." She slowly looked back up at him. "It really got to me, what they said. It got me scared that you wouldn't be coming."

Chiaki sighed and placed one of his hands of the side of her face, his fingers running through her hair as he did so. "I would always come," he replied, keeping his eyes fixed on hers, before holding her tightly against him. "I love you." He knew that having a long distance relationship was hard for her. It was hard for both of them. His thoughts drifted to the other gift in his pocket and continued his debate as to whether or not to give it to her. If he gave it to her now, it would keep her mind at ease that he would always be with her, but then again, it might be a step in their relationship that she wasn't ready for or didn't want. He suddenly felt Kotoha shiver against him, bringing back his focus.

"Chiaki," she said quietly, looking up at him, "I think we should go inside."

He nodded in response, standing up and holding his hand out to her. He felt disappointed in the way things were turning out. He didn't like to see her sad and depressed. It wasn't right.

Kotoha led him up the steps, but she soon stopped and knelt down.

"What is it?" he asked, crouching next to her.

Kotoha picked up the small box that had been in his pocket earlier, she looked at the tag and realised that it was for her. "I thought you'd given me my gift," she said to him, curiously staring at the box.

Chiaki's heartbeat sped up as he swallowed nervously. He hadn't realised that he'd dropped it and he knew he couldn't stop her from opening it. He watched as she slowly opened it. It was another jewellery box. She prised the lid open and let out a gasp, her head quickly shooting up to look at him, a look of shock and amazement written in her features.

"Chiaki," she gasped, now at a loss for words as she looked at him.

"I-uh-I..." He didn't know what to say as they looked at each other. She continued to stare at him and he eventually cleared his throat. "I, I know that this hasn't been easy for you, me being in Tokyo and you here, and I've been thinking about it for a while now and um..." He watched as her eyes flickered back to the box before up at his and he saw the shock disappear from her face, only to be replaced by anticipation as her eyes widened even more. "It's not like I'm asking you to marry me, because I'm not." He saw disappointment fill her eyes and he quickly continued, "Yet. But," he took the box from her and took the simple silver ring from it, holding it out to her. Her eyes began to sparkle with hope and she felt tears begin to form as she raised her hand to her mouth. "But I wanted to give you this so that you know that I love you and that I'll wait for you."

Kotoha let out a small laugh as her face lit up with happiness at his words. She held her hand out to him and he placed the ring on her finger.

"I will always wait for you," he said, leaning in and kissing her.

"Chiaki," she whispered, once they had separated. She looked at the ring before looking up at him. "Does this mean...?"

"It's a promise ring," he said. "It means that no matter what I'll always love you and be with you and hopefully, one day, when we've both finished with school, we could get married." He said the last sentence nervously.

Kotoha let out a giggle at his tone, before leaning up and cupping his face. "Definitely," she said.

He stared at her, eyes wide with surprise that she had agreed to marry him in the future. Her smile widened as she watched him as he overcame his shock and she let out another giggle. He then lifted his hands, touching her face as he brought her closer to him. They both smiled happily before they kissed once more.

Hope you enjoyed it.

Happy White Day.

And on another note, my thoughts, prayers and wishes are with the people of Japan and all those affected by the earthquake and tsunami.

Song: Wherever You Will Go

Artist: The Calling