Me: Sorry for the long wait! T.T

Kashino: Seriously? After so long, you came up with this?

Me: Yeah. -.- This chapter is really bad. I promise to update a decent chapter sometime in the next thousand years, okay? :)

Kashino: *Rolls eyes* I'll be waiting...

Me: Anyways, hope it's not too bad~!

Stay With Me Forever

Chapter 4: Kashigo Island?

"Kashino! WAKE UP!"

The blonde jolted up in bed. "Amano? What happened?"

Ichigo pushed aside the vines at the mouth of the cave. "See? It's morning!"

The blonde groaned, shielding his eyes at the sunlight's sudden change of intensity. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant thing to his eyes. To tell the truth, it was... well... blinding.

Kashino stepped outside. "Come on, Amano. Let's go pick some Sky Peaches."

Ichigo nodded, taking his hand.

Kashino looked down at their intervened hands, his face turning crimson. It actually felt kind of nice being with her. He didn't know. Maybe he had just gotten used to being with her. Maybe it was all normal.

But there was always a voice inside him that knew it wasn't. He hated to admit it, he kind of... liked her.

It had all happened so fast. Falling for a clumsy idiot like her was the last thing the blonde had expected. And he was scared. What if she didn't like him back? What if... what if she didn't like him at all?

"Um, Kashino? Why are you staring into space?" The brunette blinked.

Kashino looked away, his cheeks turning a fierce red. "Oh, that? I was... thinking."

"Thinking? About what?"

And of course, she just had to ask that question.

"T-Things." Kashino averted her gaze, hurriedly changing the subject. "Come on, walk faster. We'll never get there at this speed."

Ichigo nodded, quickening her pace to catch up to him. "H-Hai!"

The trip to the trees of Sky Peaches was almost a half hour walk. They had barely walked for 10 minutes when Ichigo stopped.

"Amano, what are you doing? We're not there yet!" Kashino muttered.

But Ichigo didn't hear him. She was busy examining a tall violet stalk.

Kashino glanced up at the plant. It looked slightly like bamboo, but colored a vivid purple. Kashino's eyes widened. "If I'm not mistaken, this is..."

Ichigo ran her fingers over the smooth amethyst. "I... I don't know. And there's only one way we can find out..." She knelt down onto the ground and broke off one of the thinner stalks.

Kashino's eyes widened when he realized what she was doing. "Amano! Baka, that could be poisonous-"

But before he could finish his sentence, Ichigo had the long stem in her mouth. She paused for a moment, then smiled widely. "Kashino! It's a sugar cane, it really is!"

The blonde hesitated. Then cautiously, he took a stalk in his own hand and tasted it. Suddenly, he felt himself overcome with a strange sweetness.

She was right.

Kashino rolled his eyes. "You're really lucky that was a sugar cane and not something else, you know?"

Ichigo merely laughed. "I have you here, don't I? You grew up in a family of doctors." Her voice softened. "I... I know you'll always be here to save me."

Kashino turned red. "Oi Amano, don't expect too much from me!"

Ichigo smiled, leaning in closer to him. So close that he could almost . "What's life without risks?" She laughed at his expression. "Well, I suppose you know how to change a sugar cane into sugar..."

Long story short, the blonde ended up with a strange mixture that didn't have the slightest resemblance of sugar.

He stared at it in distaste and sighed. "Sorry, Amano. It was the best I could do." Kashino looked away. "I guess I'm a decent Pâtissier, but I'm really useless at things like this."

"You never know unless you try it, right?" Ichigo took a leaf and scooped up a little bit of the sugar, placing it in her mouth. Instantly, her eyes brightened. "Kashino, I love it!"

Kashino's eyes widened. "You... you what?"

"It's delicious!" Ichigo sighed contentedly. "It feels like I'm back in Japan again, eating sweets..." She pulled him into a warm embrace. "Thank you, Kashino!"

The blonde felt his cheeks heat up. "I-Idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

Ichigo grinned. "What, I'm not allowed to hug you?"

Kashino turned redder. "I didn't mean that-"

"Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I did this." Ichigo smiled, wrapping her arms around him again.

Kashino almost died blushing.

She had insisted they watch the sunset.

To tell the truth, Kashino had better things to do than watch the sun melt into the ocean. Like sleep. But really, who could say no to those pleading chocolate brown eyes of hers?

So the blonde had brought her down to the ocean where there was a perfect view of the disappearing sun. And he had to admit, it was pretty.

The sun had already set. The ocean sparkled with millions of stars, moonlight illuminating the darkness with a milky white. But still, the two remained gazing silently at the ocean waters.

Finally, Ichigo broke the silence. "Kashino?"

"What?" Kashino replied simply.

Ichigo let a handful of sand slip through her fingers. "Since this is our island, we should give it a name."

"Okay, sure." Kashino rolled his eyes. "Just make sure it's not something stupid like 'Sky Peaches'."

Ichigo laughed. She turned her gaze up to the stars, thinking. "...Chocolate Strawberry Island?"

"There isn't any chocolate or strawberries on this island." Kashino muttered.

Ichigo sat for a moment in contemplation. Then she tried again. "Kashino Ichigo Island?"

"Too long."

Ichigo pouted. "Then why don't you think of one?"

"Who suggested this island had a name anyways?" Kashino rolled his eyes. "It definitely wasn't me."

The brunette remained gazing up at the night sky, lost in thought. Then she smiled. "How about... Kashigo Island?"

Kashino paused. Then slowly, very slowly, he nodded. "I... I like that."

Ichigo smiled. "Yeah. Me, too."

For a moment, Kashino stared into her eyes. His breath caught in his throat. He had never really noticed how beautiful they were. They were almost brighter than the stars.

When he finally realized what he was doing, he forced himself to look away. W-What am I thinking? It's not like I like her... His cheeks were getting redder by the second.

"Kashino... I'm tired." Ichigo leaned onto the blonde's shoulder, closing her eyes.

The blonde felt his cheeks heat up. "A-Amano..."

But the brunette was already asleep, her head rested on his shoulder. Kashino smiled. He kind of liked her presence. It gave him this warm feeling that he couldn't describe.

Kashino stood up, carrying her back to the cave. He pushed aside the vines and stepped inside, lying down next to her.

"Kashino..." Ichigo murmured. She moved her arms around him, unconscious of her movements.

Kashino froze. Then he smiled. "Amano..."

And for the first time, Kashino fell asleep hugging her back.

Ichigo: Wow, you actually know about being stuck on a deserted island?

Kashino: If she did, this story would be a lot better.

Me: Well, it's not like YOU write fanfics!

Kashino: Well, I can! :P See? Once upon a time, there was an annoying idiot named Elise. All her stories were very, very stupid. Then one day, she died. The end.

Me: I... died? WHAT?

Kashino: Well, you made ME die in Don't Leave Me!

Me: But in the end, I saved you!

Kashino: Fine! Then Elise turned into a strawberry tart and got eaten by Amano. Happy? :P

Me: How... creative. -.- Anyways, please review! Thanks to all of you out there for reading this, you guys are awesome! ^_^ And my five reviewers... I'm so happy! :'D