A/N: OOOooo…I come back from the graaaaave…lol, just kidding. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I would've done it faster if I didn't have that essay to do over the summer (Those of you who read my other Kiro fic have already heard this story). The sad part is, I did the essay for nothing, because it was for World Literature 2, not 1 T.T

Wahh I did an EVIL essay for nothing TwT

Disclaimer: I own…drumroll absotivly posolutly nothing.

Joy.

And, here we go!

Yuki sat there, dumbfounded, as Shuichi continued to cry into his back. What the hell was Shuichi doing here? How had he found him? He looked over to the unconscious mass that was Ryuichi. How the hell had he ended up like that?

Oh no…

"No more, Yuki! Oh God, I'm so sorry…" Shuichi sobbed.

'No more, Yuki?' The blond thought. His eyes continued to focus on the green haired pop idol. Slowly, Yuki raised a hand in front of his face, turning it about to examine it. There was a red blotch on his knuckles, and it was dripping. It was blood. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what must've happened.

"Shuichi…" he said softly. The singer looked up from behind him. Tears still running down his face, Shuichi managed to go from behind his lover to directly in front of him. The singer watched as his Yuki fell backwards onto his bottom from his kneeling position. He immediately followed.

"Yuki, I'm here!" he said, holding Yuki's cheek, "Don't hurt Ryuichi anymore! If there's anyone you should be angry at, it's me! This is all my fault…"

"Shuichi, are they in there?" Shouted a familiar voice. Kyra burst through the doorway, magnum in hand, Tohma and a few paramedics close on her heals. She quickly looked around and spotted the three men on the right hand side of the room. Immediately, stretcher completely ready, the paramedics made their way to the unconscious form of Ryuichi Sakuma and placed him on it. They were very delicate when they shifted him onto it, so as not to further his injuries. Tohma rushed to Yuki's side.

"Eiri, what the hell happened?" he asked. It was then that he noticed the blood on Yuki's hand. Tohma's body began to quiver. "Eiri, please… tell me you didn't…"

"Sir!" Interrupted Kyra, as the two paramedics took the stretcher out of the room, "They're going to take Ryuichi to the hospital. I think it would be better if you went with him. We're going to need someone to convince the personnel to keep this event on the down low."

Tohma growled. "Yes, I'm aware of that." He clenched his fists into tight balls, almost to the point where he tore his skin. He turned his attention Shuichi, who was still looking at his lover with pleading eyes, ones that begged for forgiveness.

"Shuichi." He said sharply. The singer's head shot in his direction. "I'm going to trust you to calm Eiri down and get him back to a normal state of mind. It's obvious he's not himself right now. Can you do that?"

Shuichi looked from Tohma, to Yuki, then back to Tohma. All he managed to do was nod.

This was all the confirmation Tohma needed. He then turned to Kyra. "Alright, let's get going. If that ambulance is still there, we'll hitch a ride, if not, get a car ready."

The teen answered with a firm "Yes!" and bolted out of the room. The president took an extra second to look down at Yuki, who was staring into space, his mind clearly somewhere else. He looked at Shuichi, who looked back.

"Help him. He needs you." he said shortly. He darted out of the room.

The singer turned his attention from the recently vacated space back to the writer. Placing his hands on Yuki's shoulders, he tried to break him from the trance by looking into his eyes. "Yuki?" Shuichi asked, his eyes filling with tears again. "Yuki, listen to me…I'm sorry…it's all my fault."

The novelist felt completely cold as Shuichi pulled him into an embrace. By now, the back of his jacket had been soaked with the boy's tears, and soon, his shoulder would be too. However, it wasn't the dampness that made his body feel like ice. It was what Shuichi had just said.

"It's…it's not your fault…" he said faintly.

Shuichi reared back a little to look into his lover's eyes again. "What are you talking about? Of course it's my fault!"

"No…no it's not…" he said. Though his voice was soft, inside, he was filled with rage. 'I'm the one who did this…' he thought, 'I'm the one who keeps making mistakes…'

However, Shuichi wasn't having it. "Stop it! If I'd told Ryuichi to back off before things got too serious, we wouldn't be here right now! You and I would still be home, in bed, sleeping happily, without a care in the world! How can you possibly say that this isn't because of me??"

That was it. It pushed him over the edge."Because it isn't!" Yuki screamed. He placed his hands on Shuichi's shoulders and shoved him into the ground. The singer gave a small yelp from pain as Yuki pinned him to the floor.

"Yuki…" he said, wincing at the new pain in his back.

"I said it's not your goddamned fault, Shuichi!" he yelled. He kept the singer pushed down so that there was no way he could escape. He trapped his legs between his own, and didn't allow him to move. A small amount of water began to spill over from his eyes, which in turn dropped onto Shuichi's cheeks. "It's my fault, got it?! I'm the one that did all this! I'm the one who couldn't protect you from Ryuichi, I'm the one who killed Yuki, I'm the reason Kaneda tried to kill you! Don't you see the fucking pattern yet?! Everything bad that happens to you is connected to me!"

The older man continued to cry as his tears dropped onto Shuichi's face, or the ground near him. The singer was still crying himself, but managed to bring a hand up and wipe away the tears from his lover's face.

"Yuki…" he said quietly. He slowly took his head into his hands and brought Yuki's mouth down to his own. Yuki savored the kiss. It was so soft, and Yuki could taste remorse on Shuichi's lips. Why didn't he listen? It wasn't his fault!

Yuki pulled back, releasing himself from the younger boy's grasp. Confused, Shuichi tried to bring him back down again, but Yuki didn't let him. "No!" He said firmly. "Shuichi, we can't keep going on like this!"

Shuichi felt a new set of tears making their way behind his eyes. "Like what?" he begged.

"You getting hurt for everything I do wrong!" he said. He scanned Shuichi's face for any signal of understanding, but found none. Angrily, he ripped himself from over Shuichi and stood up. The singer followed shortly.

"Yuki, none of this is your fault!" Shuichi protested. He reached out and put a hand on Yuki's shoulder. "Everything that's happened is because of me! Why do you think it's your burden? Tell me, Yuki! I want to help you!"

He took his hand off the writer's shoulder and proceeded to embrace him from behind. "I want you to be happy."

Yuki felt as though he was being stabbed. Why was it so hard to get through to him? Why did Shuichi always want to stick by him, no matter what? How was it possible that love could be this strong? Yuki had never felt this kind of affection from anyone before. It felt so amazing to be the most important person in someone else's life, and yet, so painful to be the one causing that same person so much heartache and grief.

"Why?" he asked openly. He felt the younger man shift his head. Yuki guessed he'd moved his head to look up. Yuki removed Shuichi from him and turned around so he could look in his lover's eyes. "Why is it that even though I can't protect you, or take care of you, you choose to stay with me? Do you like getting hurt?"

Shuichi tried to smile. "I love being with you, Yuki. I love everything about you! If I didn't, I would've stayed away just like you told me to."

A sad smile still on his lips, Shuichi reached out for Yuki's hand and held it in his own. He then purposefully stroked the small metal band that was around Yuki's ring finger. Shuichi then covered Yuki's hand with his own. "Remember these?" he asked, showing off the ring that wound itself around his finger as well."Do you remember what happened on the day you gave this to me?"

The novelist watched the younger man rub his hand. The little band glinted in the light. "Don't even joke about that." He said shortly. "Of course I remember when I gave that to you."

'It's the day all of this should have ended.' He thought sadly. Why didn't you just let that car hit me and saved us both some misery, he wanted to ask.

"Well, then, you remember how I wanted you to stay with me, because I didn't blame you for the accident at all. And what about this?" he asked, bringing Yuki's hand beneath his shirt so he could feel the scar left by Kaneda's bullet in his stomach. "Do you remember this?"

Yuki cringed. That day still haunted his dreams. Nowadays, it wasn't uncommon for him to wake up in the middle of the night in a panic, thinking that Shuichi really had been taken from him. He didn't answer his lover's question.

"I didn't blame you for this either, did I?" Shuichi asked calmly. "Because I was the one who chose to stay with Kaneda and give him my trust, even after you told me not to."

He put a hand on Yuki's cheek. "So if I didn't blame you for the first time I got hurt, or the second time, why would I blame you for something that happened between me and Ryuichi? For heaven sakes, at least the first two times you were remotely related to the problem, but this time…" his voice was coated in shame, "This time it was my own weakness that got the best of me."

Yuki was completely silent as Shuichi continued to pour his heart out. He was unconsciously holding his breath.

"So please…" he said, "No matter what Ryuichi might have said, no matter what you might think, none of this is because of you, Yuki. I haven't lost any faith in you at all. I know that you can protect me. I mean, look. All three times, you've come to my aid, haven't you? All three times, you've been there to suffer with me, and every time, we always end up better lovers because of it, don't we?"

The novelist's gaze had at some point shifted to the floor. He was relieved, to say the least, that Shuichi was still trying to save their relationship; but he was engrossed in sadness at the same time, because he wanted to find a way to make it up to him. Anything at all that would assure him that starting right now, Yuki would never doubt their bond again. He was broken from his thoughts as he felt a tug coming from his hand. He looked up to see why Shuichi was pulling him away.

"Let's go home." He said softly. "It's too early in the morning for this drama, don't you think?" A forced smile on his lips, Shuichi pulled Yuki again, hoping that by now the novelist would get the message that he was ready to leave and put this behind them, as they had done with so many other things.

Instead, a quick turn of the wrist switched their positions, and now Yuki was the one pulling Shuichi into him. He yanked the singer from the air and brought him into a deep kiss.

He pulled away from Shuichi's lips and proceeded to plant another kiss on the singer's forehead. "I love you," He said, looking him in the eye. He ran a hand through his lover's pink locks. "I love you more than anything." He repeated.

Shuichi's once forced smile easily became genuine as he heard Yuki speak these words with such ease, an ease with which Yuki had never spoken before. It was almost enough to bring the tears back to his eyes.

"I love you, too." Shuichi said. He brought his lover into one more kiss, to which Yuki happily responded.

"Nakano-san!" Ayaka exclaimed in happiness as she witnessed Hiro emerge from the apartment building. She waved childishly to him, looking just like the excited little girl she was. Hiro, who had been far from expecting such a hearty welcome, turned a light shade of red. He waved back to her as she invited him to come closer and into the car being driven by her chauffeur.

As he continued to approach her, Hiro couldn't help but feel empty on the inside. Something was missing. The eagerness that had overwhelmed him when Ayaka had told him she'd be coming had faded into a dark abyss, or rather, his enthusiasm had shifted to a different person. Though, this wasn't really worth feeling since obviously, he wasn't good enough for that person to even stay in the country. Any emotion that may have started to form for that person in Hiro's heart would now have to be locked away. There was no use for those feelings of desire right now, especially while he was on a date with someone else.

Now standing in front of Ayaka, the first thing Hiro did was smile. "Hey Ayaka-chan. How are you?" he asked casually. He sounded dull and tired.

Either Hiro's tone flew over her head, or she chose to ignore it, because Ayaka kept her same happy-go-lucky attitude and didn't bother to ask why or if Hiro was in a mood. "I'm doing great!" she said. "But I'm starving! Let's go get something to eat, ok?"

Hiro nodded and opened the door of the car so she could enter first.

They didn't go anywhere fancy, just a small western diner Ayaka had wanted to visit last time she was in town. Hiro had no objections to this of course; his mind was too full to contradict trivial things today. Saying 'yes' took so much less energy.

When they arrived, Ayaka bid farewell to the driver of her car, telling him that if she needed him, she'd call, and until then, he could use the time as he pleased. They were seated quickly into a booth with yellow backs on the seats. The waitress arrived quickly and took their orders. While Ayaka ordered steak and eggs, Hiro merely asked for a cup of coffee and a couple of slices of toast. 'Coffee makes everything better,' he thought.

"Wow Nakano-san, are you on a diet or something? Why didn't you order more food? Are you low on cash?" she asked.

"What? Oh no, it's nothing like that, Ayaka-chan," he reassured her, "I just don't have much of an appetite these days. I think I'm working too hard." He tried his best to give her a smile, but that proved to be quite the task. This wasn't fair! Hiro should be focusing on Ayaka right now, but the only person his mind even cared about at the moment was K!

"Aww, poor Nakano-san, working so hard. Well, then I'm glad today the only thing we'll be doing is relaxing. Don't you think?"

Hiro nodded and gave a small 'hmm', before shifting his gaze permanently to the window.

It became ridiculously quiet between the two of them. Neither said anything to the other, but in some ways, that was a good thing, because each person was wrapped into their own thoughts. Hiro did wonder what Ayaka was thinking about, but this was just a fleeting thought that appeared every once in a while. His main focus was remembering the dream from last night.

What the hell had gotten into his brain last night, anyway? Sure, it wasn't the first time he'd had a sex dream, but it was definitely the first one involving him with another man. And of course, not just any man, but K, the one who'd been trying to seduce him for the past few days. What was going on with him anyway? Where had K's sudden lust for Hiro's body come from? And was it really just lust?

Hiro recalled the previous night. He blushed, remembering the fact that he had indeed tried to kiss K. What if he hadn't passed out at that very moment? How much farther would things have progressed? So many questions rattled in his head, and his heart ached as he realized that they would never be answered.

"Nakano-san, there's something troubling you, is there not?" she asked calmly. Hiro looked back to Ayaka, seeing her now suddenly emotionless eyes. Normally, he'd expect her to be upset when asking something like that, but Ayaka didn't look like anything, except maybe a robot.

"Oh! I'm sorry about that Ayaka-chan, I didn't mean to become so distant. I was sick last night, so my head just feels a little heavy today." He explained. Suddenly reminded of the fever, Hiro was happy to realize that it had broken. At least, he felt as though it had. Ayaka merely shook her head.

"No Nakano-san, I think there's something else, something you don't want to tell me."

He swallowed clumsily. "What gives you that idea?" he asked.

Ayaka played with the salt shaker as she balanced it on one side of the bottom to the other. "I don't know. It seems like you're too distant. I think you've got something else on your mind."

She raised her head to meet his eyes. "Nakano-san, if there's something bothering you, you could talk about it with me! I mean, I'd like to help you in any way that I can." She extended a hand out to cover Hiro's that was already resting on the table.

She lightly clutched his hand, trying to show him that she was there for him, trying to comfort him. Unfortunately, this did quite the opposite. Hiro lowered his eyes to look at Ayaka's hand. 'I should squeeze back,' he thought, 'that'll tell her that I'm fine.'

However, for some reason, Hiro couldn't bring himself to move. In his head, he was giving the command, but something was stopping him. He couldn't quite tell what it was, but as soon as he tried to do it, he felt a searing pain in his body, like something was sucking the life out of him.

Why? Why couldn't he do this one simple gesture to let Ayaka know that everything was fine? To show her that there was no need to worry about him today, and that they should just have fun.

If he did return the favor, then that's exactly what would happen. He and Ayaka would go on for the rest of the day on their date, enjoying each other's company, not a care in the world. No stress, no angst, no K.

The thought of 'no K' was almost enough to bring Hiro to tears. The hurt must've become evident on his face because Ayaka suddenly started to worry again.

"Nakano-san?" she asked. She shook him a little, "Please, I want to help you! I want to make you happy."

'That's it, isn't it?' he thought sadly, 'I can't do it. I can't forget about him.' He continued to watch their hands. Hiro realized that if he had returned the squeeze, then he was fully accepting the fact that K was leaving and not coming back; that there was no time to pursue what they had just barely started.

"Nakano-san?" she asked again.

Just then, there was a small buzzing noise. Reluctantly, Ayaka sighed and reached for her phone that was sitting in her bag. She ripped it out and glared at the caller ID. It started to vibrate again. Ayaka looked from the phone, then to Hiro, then back. "It's my father…I have to take this. Please excuse me." She said. She then proceeded to get up and go outside to take the call, so as not to disturb the rest of the customers.

When she stepped out the door, the first thing that Hiro reached for was the letter in his pocket. All of these thoughts made him yearn to hear K's voice again, and right now, the closest thing he had was the letter. He started to read where he left off.

I've decided that I'm going back to Judy and Michael. I think it would be the best thing for me to do. There's no good reason for me to stay in Japan.

Rereading these words hurt, but this time, that didn't stop Hiro from reading.

The only reason I even stayed in Japan this long after Judy called me was because of you. Ever since that kiss back in the hospital, I've had this craving for something sweet, yet no matter what I did, I couldn't satisfy it. For a long time, I settled it with strawberries, but recently, my little makeshift cure hasn't been working. Then, when I kissed you again a few days ago, my craving went away! The thing that I'd needed for so long was you!

Hiro read the same few lines over again, blushing a little. Was that why K had pilfered all that pocky the other day? He put this thought aside and continued to read.

Once I figured that out, it wasn't long after that I realized I'd fallen in love with you, Hiro. I don't want you to think that I'm just saying that because I'm filled with lust or something, because I'm not. I know what it feels like to be in love, and what I'm feeling right now is a million times stronger than that.

I know you don't feel anything for me, but that's ok. I understand if you don't want to see me off, but I want you to know that I'm leaving tomorrow. I'm going to get a flight out of Japan from Tohma's private jet around three o'clock. It would mean the world to me if you came to say goodbye. I'll be at my house until about two.

-K

Like a déjà vu of the morning, a lone tear spilled over Hiro's left eye. Today? K was leaving today? He quickly looked up at a clock in the diner, located in the corner of the room, near the entrance. It read quarter to one.

'I've still got time!' He exclaimed to himself! He knew K's house was about an hour away on foot, and that was when you were running. Hiro knew he'd be cutting it close, but he had to catch K before he left. He'd meet K there and beg him to stay. He'd say that he'd be willing to give a real relationship a shot, even if his feelings weren't as completely sorted out as K's.

He quickly dug through his pockets and put out some change, enough to cover the coffee and toast he'd ordered. The waitress, who was about to bring their food, watched him with a questioning look as he fumbled to get up and out of the booth.

"Sir, don't you want your coffee?" she asked, motioning to the tray in her hand with her head.

Hiro smiled and shook his head. "No. I have somewhere to go! Thanks anyway!" he said. Then, he headed to the exit, where he ran into Ayaka, who was just coming back to the table.

"Nakano-san, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Ayaka-chan, I'm sorry, but right now, there's something I need to do. Please forgive me!"

Before she had time to ask another question, Hiro was already out the door.

"Is that the last of it?" asked Maku, one of the moving men. He was standing in the back of the moving truck and had just loaded the last of K's boxes back into the back. K, who was helping the other men, looked back to where the rest of the boxes and items used to lay. The area was now vacant.

"Yeah, that's it!" he said, giving Maku a thumbs up. "Let's get these babies out of here." He said. Maku nodded his especially round head and motioned to his partner, Pika (short for Pikachu, the nickname given to him for his obsession with Pokémon) that it was time to leave. Pika acknowledged him and headed for the front of the truck.

"Thanks for helping out, K-san." Said Maku as he closed the back of the vehicle and walked beside K to the passenger seats.

"No problem," replied K, wiping some sweat from his brow, "It's the least I could do. After all, it turns out I had you guys come and pack up my stuff for nothing."

"Don't worry about it," Maku said, "I got paid anyway."

They both gave a hearty laugh. Maku, who was about as tall as K, reached up to the door of the vehicle and allowed K to enter before himself. The American thanked him and stepped up and in.

"So," asked Pika, who was sitting behind the wheel, "why are you taking all your stuff back to your house again?" he asked. He started the truck and shifted the gears, pulling away from the NG building.

K couldn't help but smile. "Let's just say there was a sudden alteration to my schedule."

"Oh, really?" asked Maku, "Why the change of plans?"

"Turns out my wife was cheating on me." He said evenly. There was no sadness in his voice, as one might think, which came as a surprise to both of the other men.

"Oh, sorry man." Pika said, "I didn't mean to bring up a tough subject."

"On the contrary," K answered, a little giggle in his voice, "I couldn't be happier. I was cheating on her too."

Pika and Maku both stared at K, which almost caused them to run into a red Toyota. "What?" they said together.

"Yep. She started sleeping with her body guard, and me? I fell in love with the guitarist of the band I manage."

"Damn." Said Maku, "I'd think you'd be a little sad."

"I am." K reassured. "I mean, someone else is being a father to my son, and the marriage I've been part of for ten years is about to end. Right now though, I'm just focusing on the first thing I'm going to do when I get back to my house."

"Let me guess," said Pika, "You're going to ask the guitarist chick to marry you?"

K smirked. "Actually, I'm going to ask him if he wants to be with me in the first place."

There was a small pause. Maku and Pika couldn't think of anything to say, after all, they certainly weren't expecting a reply like that. K just sat there, smiling idly as he became lost in his thoughts of Hiro.

"Him?" asked Pika after a while.

"Yeah!" K said, "Is there something wrong with that?" he asked calmly, his tone completely changing from cheerful to what sounded like murderous intent.

"No, of course not." Maku answered, "You just don't seem like you swing that way, you know?"

"Oh. Well, I guess that's because I don't." K said casually.

"What?" the men asked simultaneously. This American really needed to get his story straight. "But you just said…"

"Nope. You could call me bi, I suppose, but even that wouldn't be true. I'm not really attracted to men, just Hiro. He's special, if you know what I mean."

They came to a halt at a red light.

K took this opportunity to check the time. He looked down at his watch and sighed harshly. "Aw damnit all." He said, "This took a lot longer than I thought. I really hope Hiro didn't show up while I was gone."

"Is he supposed to be at your house?" asked Maku

"I told him to meet me there to say goodbye if he wanted to see me again. See, we're not really together. I'm totally in love with him, but I'm still not sure about how he feels about me."

"Well, why didn't you say you were in a hurry?" asked Maku. "We can get you there fast and easy. Pika-kun, let's take the speed up a notch."

K looked from Maku over to Pika. The Poke'-freak's eyes lit up. His blondish brown hair seemed to glow, as did the rest of his face. "You mean…we get to…?" the smile on his face grew to an unimaginable size.

K looked back to Maku, who smirked in his partner's direction. "Oh yeah. Thunder shock time."

A huge grin crossed the American's face. He didn't know what 'thunder shock' time meant, but it sounded dangerous, life-threatening, and a hell lot of fun. "You know, I have a feeling that us three are going to be great friends." He said.

"Ready Pika?"

"Hell yeah." He said. He started to switch gears. The light was going to change soon. "Pi…"

He started to press the gas pedal and rev the motor. "Ka…"

The light turned green and he slammed his foot down, causing the truck to speed off.

"CHUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!"

"SHIT!" Hiro cursed. The man he'd stopped to ask for the time was taken aback by Hiro's sudden outburst. 'I only have fifteen minutes!' he thought, 'I'm really going to have to run!'

"Are you ok, sir?" asked the business man.

Hiro had no time to answer his question. He merely thanked him and shot off in the direction of K's house.

'Only fifteen minutes…' he thought worriedly. Could he really make it in time? He started to run even faster, at a speed that he never knew he could run. 'Please, K, if you really love me you'll give me some extra time!'

He turned a corner, almost tripping, but quickly catching his balance, he continued on his way. As his shoes hit the pavement, Hiro's head was racked with thoughts. What would he say to K when he got there? Would K really stay if he asked?

Did he really mean what he wrote in his letter?

All these things and more kept Hiro going, making him go even faster. It was getting harder and harder for him to keep his footing. Another corner came along, and Hiro tried to take it like the last one. Unfortunately, things didn't go as smoothly as before.

He tripped over himself and cut his leg on a sharp rock that was as sharp as a dagger. He yelped in pain as the cut started to bleed. The rock had cut him along his thigh, and straight through his jeans. He sat there, on the ground, hugging his leg close to himself.

"Damnit! I don't have time for this!" he said out loud. Hiro didn't know how much longer he had to get to K's house. What he did know was that he was wasting valuable time sitting there on the ground. For now, he'd just have to suck it up.

Wincing at the pain, Hiro managed himself up and started to run again. Obviously, now he was running much slower, but that didn't stop him from trying. He was going to make it, he knew he was! That was how these kinds of stories ended, right?

'K, I'm on my way! Don't give up on me just yet!'

It took at least ten more minutes to get to K's house. Hiro sighed with relief as the home came into view. He started to go a little faster, despite the pain, and made it to the front step.

"I can't believe I made it here." Hiro said to himself. "K, you better be inside."

He walked up to the door and started to bang on the door. "K? K, are you in there?"

He put his ear to the door to listen for a sound. The guitarist's heart sank when he didn't hear anything. "K?" he repeated a little more urgently. He hit the door again, with a little more force each time.

There was still no reply.

Desperately, Hiro started to jiggle the handle of the western style house. It opened with ease. Hiro threw open the door. It slammed against the wall behind it, making a large sound that rang throughout the house.

The empty house.

"No…" Hiro whispered.

Blood dripping down his leg, Hiro started to dart in and out of each room in the house, calling the American's name.

In the kitchen?

No.

The bathroom?

No.

The guest bedroom?

No!

Hiro panicked as he realized that he'd checked the entire first floor. He came back to the entrance and looked down the hall to the stairwell that led upstairs. From what K had told him, the only rooms upstairs were K's bedroom and a storage room.

"Please…" he begged, "please let him be sleeping up there!"

Hiro managed himself up the stairs (which was a lot harder than the running, surprisingly) and checked what he assumed was the storage room first. He opened the door and glanced around the room.

It was completely empty , aside from an old trunk and some dust bunnies. Hiro cursed under his breath. He pulled the door shut. Slowly, Hiro turned around to look at the other room. The door was closed.

The guitarist swallowed hard as he walked to it and reached out for the handle. With great care, he grabbed it, but didn't dare turn it.

'What if he's not here?' he thought, 'What if he's left already? What if I'm too late?'

Hiro didn't know how long he stood there, holding the knob, just staring at the door. He had come to grip it with such force it was close to falling out of the socket.

Every horrible scenario possible started to run through Hiro's head. He didn't want to open the door. He didn't want to know whether or not K was there. If he wasn't, then Hiro was too late. There was no time to run over NG. By the time Hiro got there, it would be past three.

Tears flowed freely from Hiro's eyes, quickly rolling down his cheeks and onto the floor. The water mixed with the small drops of blood that were still falling from his leg. At least the bleeding was coming to a stop. The cut was really starting to hurt, but it was nothing compared to the pain that his heart and soul were going through.

"K…" he cried aloud. As painful as it was, Hiro fell to his knees, still holding the golden knob. He barely had enough room in the narrow hallway to be in a kneeling position, but he didn't have enough room in his head to focus on that fact at the moment.

"K…" he said again. He choked a little at the end, and soon started to sob completely. His cries echoed through the hallway and down the stair well, only making him feel worse, reminding him how empty the halls were.

As he leaned against the door, he involuntarily turned the handle. Slowly, the door creaked open and allowed Hiro to fall onto the floor. Crying into his arms, Hiro managed to look up.

The room was void except for a single cot. The wooden walls were bare, the ground seemingly dusty, a few spots where furniture once stood was visible, noticeably cleaner than the rest of the floor. The one thing that did occupy the floor, aside from the cot, was a small digital clock. It read two ten.

"DAMNIT!" he yelled. "I lost him…" he choked. Why didn't he go straight to NG? Why wasn't he careful when he was running so that he wouldn't trip? Why didn't he realize that K meant so much to him before?

Hiro wanted to die. He wanted to shrivel up and disappear from the world. The one thing in this world that he needed was now gone, and there was nothing he could do.

Mustering all of his strength, Hiro pulled himself up and walked over to the cot. He laid down on it, begging that there was at least some sort of scent left over from K's body still residing there.

He took a long whiff of the fabric. It irritated his nose, making him sneeze. It didn't smell of K at all. It smelled of dust and mothballs. This was probably a spare bed he'd kept. This was the guest room, not the bedroom.

Never the less, Hiro clutched the mattress with ferocity, as though it was the only thing keeping him alive. He felt his body go numb. His head and his heart were on so much pain, then without warning, he suddenly got a hot flash.

'Damnit...' he thought, 'I wonder if I'm still sick...' This idea only made him long for the American more, long for him to come nurse him again, long for his touch.

"K…" he mouthed.

"K, why's you're door open?" he heard someone call.

Hiro's half lidded, bloodshot eyes widened. That voice wasn't K's, but it was talking to him! Hiro propped himself up on an elbow and managed himself out of the bed.

"Yeah, I thought we…holy shit, there's blood on your floor!" shouted another voice.

Hiro did his best to run from the room, down the narrow corridor and straight to the stairwell.

"Blood? Why would there be blood?"

He knew that voice. He'd know it anywhere!

K's voice was like a shot of adrenaline. Hiro sprinted down the stairs, taking it two steps at a time. He landed on the ground floor with a thud, almost falling over.

"Hey! Who are you?" said the first voice. It came from a man with short blondish hair. Hiro didn't have time to pay attention to that man. He barely took notice of the other man either. The only thing he could focus on was the image of the one he'd been longing for, standing in the doorway, staring right back at him, complete surprise washing over his face.

"Hiro…" K said, dumbfounded. Hiro watched at the American's eyes scanned him up and down, probing his body for traces of evidence, proving that he was real. The eyes eventually stopped wandering when they found the red circle of blood that stained Hiro's jeans.

"Oh, God, Hiro, what happened?" K asked, pointing to the blood that stained his pants.

The red head barely heard what K said. He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that K was even here. His mind was becoming cloudy, and it was getting harder to think coherently.

"You're here…" he said softly.

Another wave of heat suddenly came over Hiro's body, his brain pounding in his head. He started to sway. 'Not again...' he thought, as the urge to faint started to over power him.

"Hiro!" he heard K yell. At least, that's what Hiro thought he heard. His mind was having trouble taking in information. Suddenly, Hiro felt his world fall to the right. Everything got darker, and the last thing he saw was K darting towards him, trying to break the fall.

A/N: FINALLY. Lol. I had no idea how to end this chapter (could you tell?...don't answer that XD) And, as usual, I'm sick of rereading this thing, so if you see any mistakes, please let me know so I can fix it before too many people notice!

I've honestly been working on this little piece o' work ever since I posted the last chapter, so you know…stupid evil school and all…

Oh! By the way, you remember how last chapter I said there'd by only, like, two more chapters? Well, turns out I MAY have lied Xd. I had a brain spark the other day, and I thought 'Hey, that would be a fun way to add some extra chapters!'

So…y'know…you're going to have to wait on that totally awesome epilogue we all love…

Anyway, 10 reviews please! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go have some toast

Mmmmmm….toast….

Ja ne!