Chapter 4

It smelled so sweet. That door made ever so perfectly out of smooth cherry wood, whose texture burned dazzlingly with rich colors of crimson, burgundy and a touch a pink. It stood tall acting on its own; intimidating the young boy who stood before it. How could he gather enough courage to even reach to knock against its perfection? It was true, even something as mundane as a door suited his personality perfectly.

The boy then made a stance as if to leave, but stopped as the sound as the deadbolt turning hit his eyes.

"Akaya? What a pleasant surprise. It's been awhile. It's so good to see you." There he stood in all of his perfection. It was as if he was left unchanged, only he got even more beautiful if that was even possible. His middle length navy blue hair fell so effortlessly framing his face and the calming stare in his eyes still remained. In the moment he first laid his eyes on him all sense of anxiety disappeared.

"I was just about to go out, but do you want to come in? It isn't every day I get to caught up with an old teammate." Yukimura said with a smile as he gestured the younger male into his home.

"Uh, y-yes! Thank you very much, Yukimura-buchou!" The flustered devil cried bowing to his former captain, being a bit too forceful as a stray curl fell into his eyes.

Yukimura slightly giggled, hiding his laughter behind a fair complexioned hand; thin and beautiful fingers with nails the color of cherry blossoms.

"You don't have to be so polite. I'm not your captain anymore."

"No way! You'll always be Buchou to me!" At that Yukimura couldn't help but smile. It's been so long since he's heard anyone call him that. Having Akaya there brought back such blissful times.

On his invitation Akaya followed Yukimura into his apartment, everything suited the navy haired beauty's taste perfectly. The living room was scarcely furnished, but everything had a place. The walls were an off pink color and the sofa where Akaya took a seat was golden with intricate patterns. It was a comfortable place, stylish and tasteful. Not at all excessive, but still elegant.

"Would you like some tea?" Yukimura offered.

"N-No! That's all right." The navy haired beauty smiled again. Seeing Akaya so flustered with his cheeks turning hot and his fingers trembling uncontrollably was something too cute to resist. The urge to reach forward and pet soft ebony ringlets consumed the slight elder for a moment, but he thought he should probably show a little self control if Akaya was still adamant on acting as if he were still his captain; the child of god.

"Actually Yukimura-Buchou the reason I came over today was because I ran into Sanada-Fukubuchou recently," the young mini devils eyes drooped down as the words passed his lips. He regretted the fact that he had to came to Yukimura and trouble him unnecessarily with his problems, but if anyone knew what was going on with Sanada it would be him.

"Oh?" Yukimura perked up once he heard Sanada's name, still he raised a curious eyebrow suspiciously. "How is he?"

"What? You don't know? Yukimura-buchou I thought that you and he were still...you know..." Akaya deliberately avoided using the word 'dating'. It wasn't as if he had a problem with it, he supported all of his captain's and vice-captain's decisions. Still, it was a bit awkward for him to actually speak openly about the matter.

That moment the entire room became embraced by melancholy. Yukimura fell silent and the look in his eyes matched Akaya's. Hesitantly, he let his body guide him toward the chair that sat opposite to the sofa where his subordinate resigned and sat down. He could barely remember taking the steps.

"Genichirou and I...broke up a few days ago." Having finally said those bitter words out loud to another living being. Inwardly he could feel his heart ache. It took all of his self restraint to keep himself from trembling and revealing his vulnerable, weak side to the naive, innocence before him. However, before he was even able to stop himself his eyes had already revealed the hurt and pain he was currently going through just from hearing the name of his beloved ex-lover.

Akaya didn't move, watching as his captain's demeanor changed. He couldn't believe that the downtrodden man before him really was the Yukimura Seiichi that he knew. He held his tongue, but not because he didn't know what to say, because the shock he felt left him without the knowledge to even form words. Patiently, the two sat with each other. The room was unnerving quiet, but the comfort of the other softened the hurt.

And then it hit him. It was the brake up that made Sanada get so blind drunk, and it was because he was drunk that he didn't remember anything that happened when they met up. Not even...the kiss. It all made sense now. Akaya wasn't as big an idiot that everyone thought he was. Still, now having this knowledge it didn't help solve the problem as to why he had come here in the first place. Worrying about Sanada was wrong, he knew that, but he couldn't help but feel inclined. And bitterly now knowing that his kiss was just a drunken mistake hurt him more than he thought it would. It's not like the kiss meant anything to him anyway-right?

"Now then. Was that all you came here to tell me, Akaya?" The silence broke once Yukimura found his bearings to speak again, a fake smile painfully forced onto his face. Akaya still couldn't find the nerve to speak. How could he tell him that Sanada virtually broke down all because of him? He could tell that Yukimura himself was in pain so why did they break up if they both love each other so painfully much? So much so that one cannot even function without the other.

"Yukimura-buchou if you don't mind my asking, why did you and Fukubuchou break up?" The words were spoken, but void of conviction.

"That is a question for another time, Akaya." Yukimura replied evenly, but then his voice dropped to a low murmur when he saw how serious Akaya was taking this. "This is a plight all my own. Genichirou is not the one to blame, I'm at fault. I promise to tell you the truth behind my actions when the time is right."

"All right, Yukimura-buchou." Truth be told Akaya didn't want to end the conversation there with such a vague answer but he could see that having come this far had already wore Yukimura along with himself out, so he kept quiet and continued his visit with his captain in false contentment.

Authors Note: I was on the fence about making this chapter so short, but I wanted to focus on this scene between Akaya and Yukimura. The next chapters I will try to make them longer and upload more frequently. I'm really glad so many people are enjoying my story and I hope you will continue to enjoy it! Thank you very much.