Update my lovelies. :)

A/N: So here we are for the second first part of this series. I've already come to decide what the thread connecting them would be and I hope you'd get a glimpse of it here in this short chapie. Well it's up to you how you see it but I've already laid it out for you somehow...hehe. Now off to this new chap!

Enjoy. :D

Disclaimer: Only the story is mine and Kubo-sensei has officially redeemed his awesomeness with the new manga chap. :X

Part Two

-Her Golden Boy-

(side A)

"I take it that it's your natural hair color?" she asked in sudden curiosity making him look up in surprise to finally hear the sound of her voice. It was low and soft and utterly beguiling.

He ran a hand through his hair with his eye twitching in annoyance. "Yeah…you got a problem with bright hair or something?" he didn't mean to be a smart ass but it just came out and partly because he wanted to hear her speak again. The moment the words left his mouth though he quickly glanced down at his feet and re-arranged the scowl on his face in case she happened to look at him.

She didn't say anything though and for a few seconds there was just silence between them. The wind was starting to pick up and the sky was slowly tinting yellow gold. He looked up and found she was staring fixedly over the horizon with an almost thoughtful expression on her face, her large eyes were a shade of indigo now as they reflected the bright light.

She was really beautiful. In a sad and enigmatic way that made him catch his breath.

She stayed like that for a while, momentarily forgetting she had company seemingly absorbed in a reverie.

"It's such an unnatural color…" she was speaking again and he was just staring dazed eyed making her frown lightly up at him before she glanced back at the same direction she'd been staring at making his frown deepen.

She was silent again, not really waiting for an answer nor bothered by his presence. She was so lost in thought that she didn't notice him approaching her on the merry-go-round until he plopped down on the space beside her making her start.

"Waiting for something or…?" someone. He raised a leg and lazily placed an arm over his bent knee as he leaned back on the red rail letting his head rest on the cold metal.

"Not really…just thinking." She replied flippantly, as though her answer was of no importance whatever it might be. A small smile was playing on her lips and he couldn't look away but it was sad as she had been all this time they've been talking.

"Oh…" he replied distractedly as he hastily looked away again, cheeks slightly flushed in sudden embarrassment he rarely feels most especially around girls. He looked around them, at the desolate little play ground that had been abandoned and left to decay under nature's mercy. Everything was worn and rusting, some of the chains of the swings were broken and the seats were swaying back and forth against the sand and dirt. The only thing that was in a useable state was the merry-go-round they were sitting on. Though it creaked everytime they moved it was still pretty sturdy to have been able to take on his weight. Hers was not a problem since she was so small but he was tall and he had to cram his limbs in just right so he won't get cramped.

He observed the shrubbery and the cherry trees lining the play ground, the patches of grass and the brown dirt. It looked pathetic. Everywhere he looked, everything was in ruins or falling apart. Strangely it made him smile. He found it comforting this derelict place.

He glanced at the girl beside him again who was riveted in watching the sunset now evident over the horizon, right at the spot she's been staring at. He let out a soft chuckle but she barely seem to even remember he was there.

It was a beautiful sunset. The sky was a perfect gold and orange but only for a bit as splashes of red were already starting to tint the sky.

So she was waiting for the sunset and maybe just maybe she also felt comforted by this rundown place. Maybe she too could feel the companionship of being somewhere that reflected something hidden, a secret place kept inside. An ugly place no one was allowed to step into.

His hands were starting to shake again, the cold was creeping up slowly. It was too soon, always too soon.

Out of the corner of his eye he stole a glance at her again but she was too busy watching the last vestiges of light over the now inky horizon to notice him. Or again maybe not. Her eyes slowly moved towards him but she did not turn her head. There was a slight crease between her brows now but she did not say anything.

Slowly her hand closed around his but she had trained her gaze forward again. Her small hand felt warm against his and soft. But his hand was still shaking badly and she only tightened her grip, her tiny hand barely able to hold his larger one properly but still she held on.

After a while when he finally calmed down some she finally let go of his hand and rummaged inside her jacket pocket. A second later she was offering him a cigarette as she deftly placed one between her lips. He accepted one with a weak smile of thanks and they both lit up.

They didn't talk much after that just inhaled and blew smoke up in the air as evening grew around them.

It was already turning into one of those days that finally announced summer's presence as the air became oppressively hot. The cicadas were beginning their serenade and they were nearly out of cigarette from her stash since he had nothing with him but his house key and a few bills in his jeans' pocket.

Darkness covered them and still they sat there. He was pushing his foot against the ground to make the merry-go-round spin with a loud and grating creak as its rusted joints were set to motion.

He wanted to hear her voice again, he wanted to be there for as long as the night lasted. For the first time for a very long time he actually wanted to be somewhere with someone.

This mysterious girl who did not ask him a single thing, who did not ask what was wrong with him. Who did not ask why he had come to this lonely place. Who did not ask why his hand was shaking so much. Who did not ask why he felt so cold to the touch.

This person who did not even ask who he was. He wanted to spend a little more time with her just like this, in companionable and comfortable silence.

He wanted to be there a little longer while he can. To stay in this moment while he still had a bit of time left.

The street lights flickered to life, dimly bathing their bodies and surroundings with fluorescent white. So dim that it cast more shadows than light. He was feeling restless again but he was steady, no tremors this time. Her cool hand was entwined in his making him smile slightly.

He wondered suddenly if she was just another figment of his imagination. Maybe she wasn't really there. Maybe he was really all alone. But she was smiling at him too and her amethyst eyes were bright with a mischievous light and he was captivated with it. This shred of hope.

We'll find out more about this in the next chap. I've decided to cut it like this...because I just found it better to just let it stand alone as a single chap by itself that's why. hehe. To just highlight a bit of their beginnings or something like that. And more importantly because I have a huge bias on IchiRuki! Hahaha! That's why. *insert big grin*

Tell me what you think and if you like it or not. :)

All comments, reviews, constructive criticism are very much appreciated.

Thanks for reading!

See ya all soon. :)