A/N: WOW! How long has it been! I'm sorry everyone! I just have had such a busy year and I guess part of me gave up, but I DID miss writing. Thank you for your continued support so as a thank you, here is the latest chapter for you all to enjoy!

Chapter 4 – Re-Match

An evident breeze flew pass him, autumn was near as leaves began to fall. He zipped up his jacket all the way and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Cold air escaped his lips as he took a deep breath and walked down a lonely street right behind his apartment. It's been a few days, almost a week since their big argument. Koboshi was avoiding him at all cost, even taking earlier shifts for work so she wouldn't bump into him. She seemed to know his schedule, because she was very good at not seeing him by working late when he worked late and going out somewhere in the morning as he got up in the days he had morning shifts. He knew she was stubborn and she wanted him to apologize first before she did. In a way, Takashi knew it was his fault for being jealous, but he could see right through Hiroshi that he was trying to take her away from him.

It was working.

He sighed and instead of going straight to the apartment, he took a turn towards the one place he knew Koboshi would usually go if they had an argument. Her cousin, Hinari, her husband and their 1 year old child were now living in her Aunt Minako's brick house. Hinari loved western designs, but the garden her mother cherished dearly, stayed in the front and back lawns to magnify the beauty surrounding the house. Takashi stood in the front and peeked inside. No one seemed to be home, but it's possible that they were in the backyard, probably having tea and biscuits.

"Hi, Ayanokouji-sama!"

Takashi turned his head and saw Kaoru standing there with a big smile on her face. He nodded, smiling back at her. "Hey, Kaoru. What brings you here?"

Kaoru tilted her head in curiosity and glanced at the house they were standing in front of. "I was going to ask you the same thing. My former music teacher lives here and she asked me to come over and have some tea and biscuits with her."

"Your former music teacher is Hinari-san?"

Kaoru smiled and nodded. "Yes!"

"Oh! Kaoru-chan!"

Both Takashi and Kaoru turned their heads to where the voice was coming from. Hinari, a woman in her 30's came around from the back, holding a little girl's hand. Behind her stood her husband, a tall dark haired man, Koboshi and another familiar young man.

"Hiroshi...What the hell is HE doing here?" he thought.

Koboshi was surprised to see Takashi standing there with Kaoru. She frowned, feeling a little jealous. But she wasn't going to show that in front of Takashi. He was the one who decided to embarrass her in front of everyone. And really, Hiroshi meant no harm.

Takashi could feel his hands clenching with annoyance. This wasn't going to be easy talking with Koboshi. He knew Hiroshi would stand in the way. Hiroshi was always competitive with everything he did and now, he was doing exactly what Takashi was doing with Hiroshi when they were in middle school. Show off the prize underneath a bright spotlight.

"Why don't you two come in? I'm so glad you're all here!" Hinari ignored the tension surrounding Takashi and Koboshi. Her young cousin had told her everything that had happened between them. In a way, she should be taking Koboshi's side, but it's possible that the truth could be hidden somewhere and stories might have been twisted around, so she chooses not to take anyone's side right now. She dearly cares for Takashi and he was a perfect fit for her stubborn cousin.

"Thank you very much, Hinari-san!" Kaoru replied in a sing-song voice. To add more tension, she linked arms with Takashi as they followed the group to the back. Koboshi's face turned red in frustration as she was the only one who had seen it, ignoring Hiroshi as he went on to talk about the business he was going to take over after his father passed on. She turned away and walked back to the backyard in silence.

The gathering became more of a lesson than any kind of reunion. Hinari spoke the whole time with Kaoru about their music lessons together, while her husband played with their 1 year old daughter nearby. Koboshi sat, her arms folded across from her and glaring towards Kaoru sitting beside her boyfriend. Takashi sat there, feeling a little awkward and didn't know how to break off sitting with Kaoru so he could talk to his girlfriend. Hiroshi continued on with his conversation, (mostly to himself) with Koboshi.

"Come on, Takashi. You can do this. Remove your pride and be with the one you love." He said to himself. He couldn't take it anymore. It was already almost a week and he couldn't stand not being able to talk to her. Before he could even make a decision to talk with Koboshi, she stood up to join her cousin-in-law to play with her little niece, Hana. Hiroshi also joined her and Takashi watched as the both of them played with Hana, a mental image suddenly playing in his head that they looked to be a perfect family at that moment. His eyes widened in fear and he quickly stood up, walking up to them.

"Koboshi, I need to talk to you," he said.

Koboshi ignored him.

"Please."

Takashi was patient and Koboshi knew that he CAN be very patient. He could stand there all day if he had to and he can be very persistent with his requests. Sighing, Koboshi stood up and the two of them went inside the living room to talk.


"HEY!"

Kaoru was startled almost out of her seat.

Hinari stopped in the middle of their conversation and looked at her curiously. "Is something wrong?"

The purple haired girl looked around. She was so engulfed in their conversation that she forgot about Takashi. Kaoru looked around and saw no sign of Takashi OR Koboshi. Her older brother was too occupied to do his part by distracting Koboshi and before she could even get a chance to look for her Ayanokouji-sama, the sliding door that led to the kitchen opened. Koboshi came out, followed by Takashi and both of them had dishevelled hair. Takashi was buttoning his polo shirt closed, while Koboshi was straightening her blouse, clearing her throat and with a smile on both their faces.

Hinari had also seen their appearances after coming out of the kitchen. "I see you've made up?" she said with a smile on her face.

"Tsk! Tsk! Another failure, eh?" Drake stood beside Kaoru, watching as the two lovebirds rejoined them around the table. "Come on, Kaoru, you have to think outside of the box if you want to break these two up!"

Kaoru ignored him. She knew he was right though. She had to think of something else better than to get Koboshi's cousin involved. Kaoru had overlooked the fact that Koboshi was her music teacher's cousin and with Koboshi and Ayanokouji-sama dating, chances are, Hinari-san would take a liking to Takashi. She would have to up her game more so Koboshi wouldn't be able to stand a chance against her.

There was only one way, but she wasn't ready yet. It would have to take lots of preparations.

Kaoru stood up. "I really enjoyed my time with you, Hinari-san, but I think it's time for me and my brother to get going."

"Oh really?" Hinari had a disappointed tone in her voice. She really was enjoying her conversation with her former student. She was quite proud of Kaoru's accomplishments in music. "Perhaps the next time we have this, you think I could hear you sing once again? I truly enjoy your beautiful voice!"

Kaoru smiled. "Of course!" Perhaps she COULD make a use out of Hinari-san after all. She bowed. "Arigatou-gozaimasu, Hinari-san! Thank you, for your hospitality. To the both of you and your husband."

Hinari stood up and gave her a hug. "It was really nice seeing you and your brother again, Kaoru-chan! Come visit us any time you are free to do so, okay?"

"Hai! Let's go, Oniichan! Have a good day to you, Ayanokouji-sama!" Without a thought of everyone around them, she leaned over and gave Takashi a kiss on the cheek. Koboshi's eyes widened and quickly pulled Takashi slightly away from Kaoru. Kaoru gave her a smile. "And to you too, Koboshi-chan." She turned and left, followed by Hiroshi.


It was taking such a long time. His prospect wasn't doing very well as he thought she would. However, Drake was confident that Kaoru was getting close and the more she thought of a plot to break up the two, the more he felt he was graded higher than anticipated. The more Kaoru thought of ways to make Koboshi jealous, the more Drake continued to run her thoughts with deceptive pleasures. Kaoru was still very young, but Koboshi and Takashi were more of a challenge than Kaoru was. There was just something that protected them from having any kind of strain in their relationship. Sure, Kaoru HAD been successful in getting Takashi jealous with the help of her brother, but twice in a row, it still ended up a failure. He was just missing something.

Drake made his way to the library, glancing around with a look of disgust in his face. He hated reading, but he was too eager to ignore the reasons of Kaoru's failures. Perhaps it was the lack of Kaoru's "sex-appeal" that dragged his grades down or...He ran his fingers against the bindings of the books on the shelves and came upon a book titled: "Reasons why breaking up is hard to do," by Unknown Author. Drake paused and pulled the book out. He flipped through the pages quickly, noticing that most of the things written in the book were about why relationships, either through marriage or dating could not work out. He sat down, looking around to make sure no one was watching him and began reading it from the beginning.

As he read through it, a smile began to form on his face. He had found the missing piece and he knew this was the answer to all his failures. They've been going at it wrong, and Drake knew where to start. Kaoru would have to be ready, but he knew she was going to be from what was to come.


It felt as though they've been gone for a year, but they've only been away on vacation for two months. Misha stretched her arms high in the air and gave a big yawn as she joined Kotarou on the couch. After being away from home and vacationing in Spain to visit her parents in Barcelona, all they wanted to do was sit on their couch comfortably without two adults looking over them as they spend time alone. "You think Koboshi-chan and Ten-chan, missed us?"

Kotarou chuckled. "You think THOSE two would miss us? Nah, I think they're all right." He grabbed Misha's hand and kissed the back of it. "You think your parents liked me?" He had to ask, because he wasn't sure how her parents reacted to the news that their daughter had decided to become human instead of continuing her education as an angel. Barcelona was a nice place, filled with beautiful ancient Spanish style cathedrals, homes and markets. Misha's parents weren't there on vacation, however. They were important Archangels that were assigned by God to watch over Spain for the duration of a hundred years in each city. This time, they were in Barcelona and they specifically told Misha to come to that city when they heard the news of her being a mortal from their eldest daughter. At first, Kotarou wasn't too keen on the idea of going all the way to Spain just so he could introduce himself, but Misha had begged him until he finally gave in. He had no regrets though, because he had a great time there with Misha right by his side.

Misha laid her head on his shoulder. "I think my parents LOVED you," she replied without Kotarou even saying a word. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it gently. She gave him a kiss on the cheek and suddenly stood up. "BUT...I have to go visit Koboshi-chan and Ten-chan! They're our best friends and I think Koboshi-chan would be excited to get the chocolates I got for her from Spain. Let's go!" She took Kotarou's hands and helped him up on his feet.

"All right, all right, let's go." He followed Misha towards the door and was suddenly stopped in his tracks when he noticed Misha shivering. "Misha? Are you all right?" He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Misha turned, her face turning white and her mouth turning into a sad frown.

Kotarou had a look of concern on his face. "What is it? What's the matter?"

"I'm cold. There's something wrong. It's...it's Koboshi-chan and Ten-chan and...Kaoru-chan?"

"Kaoru? But she's in Australia, isn't she?"

She shook her head. "No. She's back with Hiroshi-kun. We have to go to them, quickly!" Misha grabbed Kotarou's hand hastily and dragged him out the door.


A/N: Uh oh! I wonder what this big thing Drake is planning to do to break up the couple. And I'm actually quite glad I brought Misha and Kotarou back here, because I DO have plans for them, don't worry! But this WILL stay as Takashi/Koboshi story (obviously). Stay tuned for the next chapter! Love you all!