Hey! I am so in love with this story that I shall update! Haha! Enjoy!

By the way! This chappy is dedicated to the wonderful omgpink, because she gives me lots of inspiration and her reviews are superb. You should check out her KyoyaOC fic called Pirouettes on Cloud Nine. It is actually amazing. And then… there's one fic I'm kind of co-writing with her called The Player and his Bunny. TakeshiOC. That one is actually really good too. So there are a few recommended reads. On with the story!

Chapter 3

"Aoi…?"

The said girl practically jumped at the sound of his voice, turning to face the one and only Yamamoto Takeshi. She recognised it so easily. She didn't expect him to be home so early. She didn't want him to see her in this state. This sorry, pitiful state. Shit.

"Oh, Takeshi?" Aoi acknowledged. Her voice was trembling, her knees were trembling, her arms were trembling, her eyes were trembling. Everything about her was shaking so badly it looked as if she was about to break apart. About to fall into a million unrecognisable pieces.

"A-Are you alright?" Takeshi asked, worry filling his eyes. He hadn't seen someone so scared in years. Not since what had happened to his mother.

"I-I'm fine. It's o-okay." Aoi tried to act calm. Collected. Cool. The usual Aoi. She could barely control herself; her knees were almost banging into each other. The rain soaked man standing in front of her was looking at her with so much concern. But all she could do was stop herself from breaking down in front of him.

Takeshi tried to force a smile onto his face, only making it come up with uneasiness, "You don't look so good."

He tried to reach a hand forward, to comfort her but she only backed away. Every inch of him was covered in water, dripping on the floor with a soft calming sound. The supposed tranquil sound was only serving to make her even more terrified.

"I-I'm sorry but please don't c-come near me like that. P-Please." She was clutching herself so hard. What could make her so fearful?

"Okay." Takeshi had finally put the pieces together. He was idiot but when it came to his friends he could understand almost anything, "You go up first. I'll take a shower."

"Thank you." Aoi muttered before running up the stairs to their room. He could see how much she was forcing herself not to fall apart. She didn't want him to worry. She didn't want him to get distracted by her. Aoi was strangely caring.

"Jeez, Kyoya! You know, you could have told me it was going to rain before telling me to go home." Hanabara Emiko was hardly pleased. Even with the umbrella over her head she was upset that the prefect had forgottento mention there were rain clouds in the direction of her home.

Kyoya ignored her lecture. She was always like this. He had actually bothered to put an umbrella over her and save her from getting completely soaked and she was angry. Why did he even try? This girl was hardly worth it. Oh, that's right. She was one of the only people worth biting to death.

"Kyoya, are you listening?" Emiko reprimanded, the said boy in fact did have a rather deadpanned, aloof look on his face, "But, thanks. I don't know what Lal-oba-san would have done if I ruined my school uniform again." Emiko looked up into the dark coloured umbrella, Kyoya had been holding it over them for the last fifteen minutes.

"Do you need me to carry the umbrella? Your arm must be tired."

"You're too short." Short, quick and very insulting answer.

"I'm not that short!" Emiko exclaimed. Her height was an extremelysensitive topic, "It's not like you're the tallest guy in Namimori!"

"My height amongst other students is irrelevant. You're shorter than me. Twenty centimetres shorter than me." Kyoya retorted, referring to his infinitely superior height.

"Okay! I get it!" Emiko scoffed, turning her head away from him.

A smirk fell upon Kyoya's handsome features. Stubborn, slightly short-tempered, quite cheerful and damn fun to bite to death. Hanabara Emiko was one of the only people out there that could satisfy him. The only others being that baby Reborn and Rokudo Mukuro. Balancing the umbrella in his other hand he grabbed her limp palm. That caused a satisfactory reaction. She gasped, cheeks coming to a lovely shade of scarlet.

"K-Kyoya!" Emiko could barely understand this man, "What's with you? You're acting strange! You didn't use to touch me like this before!"

Using his hand he pulled her closer before leaning down, lips poised beside her ear, "Didn't I tell you during the fight with Rokudo Mukuro? You are mine. I can do with you as I please."

Emiko recalled the fight in Kokuyo Land. It was only a little while ago. Bandages had been wrapped around her arms for a week. Lal hadn't been too pleased. Mukuro had used dirty tricks against her and hurt Kyoya badly. During that last fight, Kyoya had spoken to her, softly and strangely in a gentle voice. His body was beaten and battered but he tried to protect her. She never expected it and at that point in time she was well and truly shocked.

"You are mine, Emiko."

"No other man can do what they like with my possessions. I'll bite to death any that even try."

"I'll protect you as you're mine."

Was that what caused the change in him? Was that why he was suddenly touching her? Was this like those fairytales where the prince would protect his princess?

But Kyoya was no prince.

And she was no princess.

Not anymore.

With their entwined hands, Emiko could feel the calluses on his palm. His hands were rough and hardened, with years of fighting. She always knew someone like him wouldn't have smooth hands. She herself didn't have smooth hands. Scars decorated her hands like fireworks in the sky. It felt weird though. Two hands, coarse and tough, held together felt soft. Milky and soft.

When was the last time someone held her hand? Was it back with papà (1) and mamma (2)? Or was it with Ojii-sama (3)? Back then, their hands were nice. Now, two worn out hands were together and it felt even better.

She rubbed her thumb against his knuckles, feeling a fresh scratch.

"Have you been biting people to death when I haven't been looking?"

She had to pull herself together. Just the sound of the rain was making her want to curl into a ball. She wasn't even facing a window. She was holding onto the edge of the desk in their room, back facing the rain smashing against the window. The sound was unnaturally loud to her ears. It almost sounded like it was pounding.

Louder and louder.

Heavier and heavier.

She could barely stand. Takeshi was going to come out of the shower soon. She couldn't let him see her like this. Why was she trying to hide it though? They were living together. Both him and Tsuyoshi would eventually find out, right? Was she going to hide it from them forever?

The door of the bathroom opened, and Takeshi stepped out. A towel was strung around his neck and water dripped off the ends of his hair. His eyes found Aoi easily. Her back was facing the only window in their room and her knuckles were turning white from clutching the wooden edge of their desk so tightly.

Aoi turned her head slowly to him, knowing he was now looking at her in such a state. She tried to force a less frightened expression onto her face but it only made her look even more petrified. She didn't look so scared looking at him anymore but she was still shaking.

"Listen, Takeshi. If you ever see one of your friends upset, you should hold them. Being alone when you're upset is something nobody wants."

Without skipping a beat Takeshi was behind her, arms wrapping around her shoulders and neck. When was the last time someone had given her a hug like this? Emiko's hugs felt so different from Takeshi's. She didn't flinch as much as she expected she would. His presence was calming. The feeling of his arms around her gave her the warmth she had longed for.

"Takeshi, what are you doing?" Aoi asked, her voice sounding slightly more Aoi-like. Only slightly.

"You don't like it when people touch you, right?" Takeshi said, his voice sounding normal now, his usual cheer slowly coming back. He felt Aoi nod her head, "But you always look so lonely, like you want someone to come closer to you. Do you hate this?"

"I… I don't hate it." Aoi admitted. How could she say that she hated the warmth that bubbled in her chest the moment he embraced her?

"You're scared of rain, aren't you?"

"I'm not." Aoi said simply, her voice was starting to tremble once again, "It's not just rain."

Her unstable hands found their way up to his arms that were around her. She grasped them with unusual gentleness. Takeshi was honestly surprised by her actions. So far, the only people he'd seen her be gentle with was Emiko. Perhaps a tiny percentage of tenderness was to his dad. And an even smaller percentage to Takeshi himself. He was even more shocked when she rested her head on his arms.

She looked so pained.

So scared.

Had the rain broken the barrier she had placed? Had the rain managed to invade the ice she used to protect her heart? The frozen mirrors that were her eyes seemed to be bursting. Cracked and hurt. The ice wasn't melting. It was just being penetrated. It was almost like the rain was darting through the ice she had carefully built over her heart.

"I told you yesterday, correct? My parents and my lover died." Aoi tightened her grip on him, "I… I don't know if I should tell you. I haven't even told Emiko. You don't even remember me." Her tone was bitter and distasteful, "And then I couldn't help it. I didn't want to get near anyone. I didn't want to get hurt. Yet I didn't want to be alone! Everything became darker. Colder. But I couldn't break away from it!"

Her breath hitched in her throat. What had just happened? Did she just spill her feelings to him?

"Maa. Maa. You aren't alone, right?" Takeshi smiled at her even though she couldn't see it, "You have Hanabara-senpai, Tsuna, my old man and…" Takeshi paused a short moment. Was he sure he wanted to say it? "and… me."

"Then…"

What was she thinking? Was it the rain? Was it him? What was making her speak words she didn't even speak to Emiko? Why could he make her feel so warm? Feel like she wasn't alone? She hadn't felt like this since before the incident.

"Then can you break me away from this nightmare?"

When Aoi felt him gasp slightly in bewilderment she pushed herself away from him. She didn't mean to say it. She didn't want to say it. Ever since this whole ordeal she didn't want anyone to listen to it. People had their own lives. Hers was nothing special. Everyone had something sad in their lives. She was no exception. Koizumi Aoi was not one to make people worry about her.

"Sorry. I said something weird. Please, forget about what I told you."

It was when she forced herself out of his hold that he noticed. She wasn't shaking anymore. The frozen layer over her eyes wasn't repairing itself but it looked like she wasn't so terrified anymore. Had the advice he received so long ago helped her? Just looking at her though… She looked so confused, unsure… She was suffering.

Why did his arms want to so badly reach out to her? Why did he want to help her so much? What was this force that urged him to take care of her? There was no reason for him to be like this. Yamamoto Takeshi was a nice guy. Not this nice though. He had only met her yesterday.

Why did he feel like he knew her his whole life?

Then as if on instinct he raced to her, enveloping her once again in his arms. Her long burgundy locks had been freed from their restraints, cascading freely down her back. One of his hands entangled itself in the soft slightly curly hair on her head, pushing her head closer to him. The other found its way around her waist, pulling her into him.

She fit perfectly into his frame. Aoi was a tall girl. Takeshi was a tall boy. And it was almost like they were moulded to fit together. He barely noticed but she had stripped herself of her glasses. Now that he had pressed her against himself he couldn't feel the thick frames.

"T-Takeshi? W-Why?"

"Who knows?" Takeshi said care freely, he himself didn't even know, "But I can't help it! I just want to help you."

"You're… an idiot." Aoi muttered, letting herself fall into the embrace. She easily slipped into her English tongue, "A real idiot."

"I get that a lot!" Takeshi chuckled and Aoi could feel his chest vibrate with their close proximity.

Aoi reached her still weak arms to grasp the back of his shirt, effectively returning his embrace, "Grazie, Takeshi. Thank you."

"You're welcome!" Perhaps Takeshi's cheer was contagious, "If you want you can wait for me when I have baseball practice. Then we can walk home together."

Aoi pulled back slightly. The meaning was there but the utter randomness of Yamamoto Takeshi only made the conversation weird. She sent him a slightly deadpanned look, as if trying to say 'what do you think?' Her ice blue eyes glared at him. All fear disappeared.

"I…" Aoi thought for a short while before deciding to say it, "I don't want to get a tan though."

Takeshi laughed at her simple reply. She really didn't seem like the type to not want to tan. But now that he noticed, her skin was rather fair. Did she avoid the sun like the plague? He couldn't help but laugh even more at the thought.

"It's not funny. It's a habit. Back when I was dancing in America my teacher didn't let us tan." Aoi said coolly, not flustered or embarrassed in any way like most people would be.

"Maa. Maa. I was just wondering since you don't seem to want to go home by yourself." Takeshi commented, "Huh? You dance? For how long?"

"Ballet, for nine years. Five times a week. Eleven hours a week, including solo training and excluding rehearsals." Aoi answered, it was almost like she'd said it almost a million times, "I really love it. I must have gotten really inflexible. And fat." (4)

Wow. She was passionate. "You must be really good."

"I'm not. I actually really suck. My arabesque and extensions were really low. I was the fattest in my ballet class. I was so turned in. My pirouettes were always so unstable. I only started going competition this year…" It was almost as if she could go on forever.

"Don't be so hard on yourself. You're really passionate, I can tell. It's like dance to you is like baseball to me." Takeshi said positively. Leave it to him to say something like this. He hadn't met someone this committed. Who put so much into something, "And you're not fat."

"You don't know how many times I've heard that, Takeshi. I would say 'thank you' but you can't really say that until you actually see me dance though. Then you'll see." She was still so negative, "I eat a lot, too. My teacher always told me to stop eating chips, chocolate and ice cream…" She paused for a moment, "…and cake."

"You exercised a lot though! You don't need to control your diet." Takeshi smiled, his optimism was still not fazing her.

"I don't control my diet. That was the problem." Aoi said blatantly. It was only then that Aoi felt it. She wasn't scared anymore. Her heart was beating one hundred miles an hour. She wasn't shaking. The sound of rain wasn't throbbing in her ears. "Takeshi, is it still raining?"

"Yeah. It's pelting out there." Takeshi said, not even looking back. With just those words he felt her hands clench around his shirt. The sound of the rain was starting to invade her once more as she became aware. Why couldn't she hear it before? Why could he? The rain always was so loud and clear.

"It's weird. For just a few moments it was like the rain stopped. Even with Emiko, she could never make it go away." Aoi sighed, holding Takeshi even closer, "Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

"About what you said earlier… Can I wait for you? I would… like to." Aoi said. She was finding her confidence again.

"Sure! If you don't mind waiting for a while." Takeshi said sheepishly. It was a bit awkward. He had neverbeen this intimate with a girl. It had finally just hit him.

"Takeshi… I don't know if I can tell you everything but can you wait for me?" Aoi asked seriously. Her voice was unsure. Did she think he would reject her?

"Of course." Takeshi replied, his grip on her tightening.

"This is a lot to ask… I'm sorry, Takeshi."

"No problem, Aoi."

"I… I'm a very selfish person, aren't I?" Aoi said, the words were negative but her voice slightly optimistic, "But I want to ask you for one more favour." She took a deep breath, "Can you stay with me until the rain stops? If you leave I don't know what'll happen."

Takeshi took one step backward before sitting down on the chair available in his room, taking Aoi with him. This was something absolutely new to him and he had no clue what he was doing. This girl seemed so familiar. So incredibly familiar. As embarrassing as it should have been, to him it wasn't. It seemed that whatever she asked of him, he was more than happy to comply.

Aoi was a little more than surprised when she found herself being pulled down by Takeshi. Less than a second later she found herself placed on Takeshi's lap. She thought she would be flustered, annoyed, angry… something along those lines. She wasn't though… she was…

What was she feeling? Happy? Grateful? Whatever it was, it felt right.

"Thanks, Kyoya. Even if it is all your fault that I was caught in the rain, having Lal-oba-chan make me stretch is worse." Emiko smiled as Kyoya stopped just outside the cover of her condominium.

"Are you asking for me to get angry?" Kyoya asked, his voice dangerously low.

"No." Emiko said playfully, "When Kyoya gets angry it's very scary. He gets very perverted." Without a word, Kyoya swung his tonfa, which Emiko ducked from, "It's true though!"

She laughed at the irritated look on the boy's face. She almost doubled over in laughter when she caught her reflection in the water at their feet. Straight brown hair. Blue-green eyes. Her own features were staring back at her. Lies wound around her, suffocating her, just by looking at her reflection in the water.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why did long yellow ringlets of hair appear over her brown hair in her mind's reflection? Why did her mind create amber eyes over her blue-green ones? Why did it seem like another girl was staring back at her?

Was she sick of the lies? Was she finally sick of all the lies around her? Was she sick of the lies she was telling? Was she sick of living a lie? Was she sick of looking at a different person every time she walked past a mirror?

Emiko squatted on the wet floor, her reflection showing who she was now. She let out a sad smile, the water replicating it perfectly.

"Hey, Kyoya…" Emiko said softly, a rare thing, "Can we stay like this forever?" Kyoya looked at the girl squatting at his feet, she looked so distant, "What am I asking? I'm being so weird."

"As long as you're mine, you will never leave my side. Just like now." Kyoya said unexpectedly. She wasn't expecting that. She was so happy, yet so sad, because of his words.

"Even if I'm not who you think I am?" Emiko's smile only saddened. She brushed her hand against the water, distorting her reflection, "What if I turned out to be someone no one could recognise? Someone you couldn't recognise?"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Kyoya cut in sharply, he crouched down to face her eye-to-eye, "Emiko will always be Emiko." His hand landed gently on her head, coarse fingers running through her hair, "Even if you're not the Emiko I see now, the Emiko in my memories exists." His hand trailed down from her hair to touch her face, "Therefore, Emiko is still Emiko. And Hanabara Emiko is mine.

"Y-Yeah, you're right. I was being stupid." Emiko said, his words meant a lot. So why didn't she look happier? Why wasn't she happy? "Thanks, Kyoya. I'd better get going."

With that, Emiko released herself from his touch and went inside the building. She used all her might to keep her smile on until she reached her room. She tried her best to not cry her heart out as she finally collapsed on her bed. She hugged one of her pillows with all her might, trying to keep all of her emotions in check, all her tears. She could barely breathe. She was concentrating so hard as to not let a single tear escape. She was so glad Lal was not home yet. She vaguely remembered Lal telling her Colonello was in town. That must've been the reason.

She couldn't take it anymore.

Gokudera-kun…

Yamamoto-kun…

Tsuna-kun…

Aoi-chan…

…

Kyoya…

They only knew Hanabara Emiko.

She yelled with all her might, crying out from the bottom of her heart.

"What if Emiko is not Emiko!"

Strange.

Whenever Tsuyoshi came back, Yamamoto would greet him cheerfully. Where was that boy? He needed help. He was dripping head to toe; the storm had taken him by surprise. Luckily, the ingredients were safe. As he placed the fresh products on the counter he looked around. Almost waiting for his son to burst out of nowhere.

He sighed and decided to take a look upstairs. Maybe he was doing his homework…? Fat chance but it was worth a try.

Now this was strange.

When Tsuyoshi had slid open the door to his son's room he was definitely not expecting the scene in front of him. He couldn't say he would have neverthought they would get intimate. It was just that it seemed a bit too early. It kind of reminded him of them back then. They were always together even though they claimed their relationship was strictly professional. Aoi's body sitting on Takeshi's, both sleeping soundly. Holding each other like they would be separated if they let go.

It made him remember those good old times.

Alice-Belle Vera Anderson. Koizumi Senri. Those two said they weren't romantically involved. They were too prideful, too confident, too cool to admit it. Just like the girl sitting on his son's lap. If only… If only he had taken that chance. When they had the biggest fight in their entire relationship. Maybe then Alice-Belle wouldn't have stopped at sitting in his lap. Maybe she would've fallen for him. Not Senri.

No. He couldn't be thinking that now. If Senri and Alice didn't fall in love then the wonderful red-head in front of him wouldn't be there. And his cheerful son wouldn't be there either. They wouldn't have the relationship they had.

Rei. Yamamoto Rei. He smiled bitterly at the thought. He could never return the love she had given him. He could never repay her for the joy she gave him. Never repay her for the pain she took away. Never repay her for the son he had. All he could give her was pain. But she looked so happy.

Even until her last day with him.

"Aoi-chan!"

And then, the said girl was tackled. It was just before first period and Aoi was seated at her desk. Her face didn't show any signs of shock when Emiko had wrapped her arms tightly around her. This was quite normal. For them at least.

"Hey, Emiko."

"I have a present for you!" Emiko exclaimed.

"Present? Why?"

"Because…" Emiko said slowly, stressing every syllable.

With those words she sliced the hair tie holding Aoi's plait together with a needle hidden in her watch and snatched her glasses away, crushing them in her hand.

"Don't!" Even with such panicked words, her voice was calm. Aoi slapped her hands over her eyes hiding their blueness.

"But Aoi-chan is so pretty! You shouldn't hide it!" Emiko tried to pry Aoi's hands away but to no avail, "You didn't mind in America!"

"Back in America people died their hair on a regular basis."

"Like Tia who died her hair pink and Mary wore purple contacts! It's okay!"

"No, it's not. Japan is… No one in Japan looks like this. Even Emiko looks ordinary."

"It doesn't matter. Aoi-chan is really cute. You shouldn't hide it. Right, Tsuna-kun? Gokudera-kun? Yamamoto-kun?" Emiko sent the three boys a smile that said 'you better say something nice'.

"Eh? Er…" Tsuna stumbled. He didn't want Kyoko to think he liked Aoi that way but Emiko was very scary when she wanted to be, "She looks nicer without her glasses… I think."

"Che… If the Tenth thinks so, then she's not ugly." Hayato muttered, if his boss thought so then he didn't mind.

"Yeah! Aoi is super cute!" Takeshi naivety was finally kicking in; he didn't seem to notice the many girls glaring at Aoi in annoyance.

"You see! You are cute!" Emiko said cheerfully, "Even Gokudera-kun thinks so!"

"Oi, don't use me as an 'even'!" Hayato growled. However, he was thoroughly ignored.

"I…"

Emiko ran her fingers through Aoi's tresses before twisting it and pulling it up, securing it with a large black clip. The ends of her hair sprouted at the top of her head and fell around her face.

"Aoi-chan, whether you like it or not… Alice-san, your mother, was American, that's where you got your eyes. Your father was Japanese, born with hair like yours. So it's not a surprise you look like that." Emiko sighed, she pried her friend's hands away from her face, blue eyes staring back in confusion. Emiko smiled before beginning to walk out of the room, class was about to start and a certain prefect was about to get mad if she didn't arrive. She stopped at the doorway, looking back at the class, "It can't be helped that you're pretty either. Alice-san was a model."

Wait. What?

There we go. Nice? No? The TakeshixAoi scene was really long because I thought that Takeshi and Aoi didn't get enough love the last chapter. Who liked it? Teehee. Who was expecting Alice to be a model? Anyone guess how Alice and Senri met? Haha. Have fun thinking.

Until next time~ and leave your reviews please!

(1): Dad in Italian.

(2): Mum in Italian

(3): Grandfather in Japanese, don't get mixed up with what she called Reborn in chapter 2 because that is Oji-sama which means uncle. Same with Lal, Oba-san means Aunt whilst Obaa-san means grandmother. Forgot to add that in last time.

(4): This is true. I do ballet and the hours and times and years is based off my own training and the thinking. Yes, ballerinas are not allowed to tan and we have to control our eating and constantly think we are fat. But we don't go anorexic. We love eating.

See ya next chappie!

Ai Angel

Beta-read by omgpink