A/N: Chapter 7 is up! The plot will now take a turn for the more dramatic side. You guys should definitely look up «Last regrets» by Lia. (Wow, once again I base my stories off songs… Godt jobbet, Senpai's Boo XD) It's really beautiful and fits the plot very well! PLZ ENJOY ;3

For God's sake Ayumi…! I kinda wanted to just shake her violently awake and immediately ask her why she pushed herself again. She lied. She wasn't okay. She had never gotten better. All she wanted, was to just not make us worry anymore. That sounds like a reasonable explanation, doesn't it?

I carefully stroked her hair as she slept in peace in the futon beside my bed. She looks so at ease… I'm glad. «There's no need to be restless in your dreams,» I whispered and kissed her on the forehead. Oh… her cheeks are getting red. Thank god she's still concious, in a way. My gaze fell on her small, supple lips. My breath hitched at my crazy idea and I got so restless. It was hard to resist, unless I thought about Ayumi's feelings. I would hate to steal her first without her knowing it, and maybe not even wanting it. «Don't worry, Ayumi… I'll take these feelings to the grave,» I said and chuckled to myself.

Both Miki and mom were sitting by the table, very depressed and in deep thought. Miki looked up at me and asked: «Has she woken up yet?» I shook my head. «It makes me so upset… She's really good at covering her suffering. Puh… As if that's a good point,» I muttered and frustradely ran my hand through my hair. «I'll go and watch over her,» Miki said. Both me and mom nodded at her before she went upstairs, so I took Miki's place.

«That Ayumi… How troublesome can she be?» mom sighed out and crossed her arms. «Yeah… But she just wants to stop being a nuisance,» I said. «Dear, how could she ever become a nuisance? She's lived here for almost a month! I already see her as a daughter,» mom said warmly. «Heh… You really were born to be a mother, weren't you?» I mumbled and breathed out a laugh.

Huh? W-Why is she staring at me like that? Mom gently touched her red bottom lip with her thumb and said: «Isao said the same thing… right before we split up.» My heart dropped down to my belly when I heard dad's name. From the time I went back here, it felt like I was sucked up in another world. Now it just feels sad to think about my life before this town.

«Was that why you divorced? Come to think of it, you never gave me a real explanation. Neither did dad. You just said that you wanted to end it before you ended up with bruises and cuts,» I said. Wow, I still remember that. Do you think I believed that? They were never arguing, even. They always, always agreed on everything. Even at a young age, I could tell that they wanted to seperate peacefully for both Miki and me.

Mom sighed and smiled bitterly. «It's true as you say… I was scared to tell you the real reason,» she said. I nodded at her, telling her to continue.

«Your father and I cared about one another. I was his classmate in college, and we pretty much just clicked right away. We were happy. Butt hen after we got married and had two wonderful kids… It's like the legobricks were getting too big to fit. Do you know what I mean?»

I shrugged. I did know what she meant by that metaphore, but I didn't get how that helped her explanation. «Isao felt that too. He didn't feel like a husband. He felt like a father, and only a father. We did care about each other, but not enough to remain as lovers. It's quite a lesson that I need to teach both you and Miki about, actually. Whenever you start dating someone, you never have to do it out of sympathy or just liking the person; you need to truly love the person.»

Mom swallowed down her tears and said: «Unfortunately, the two of us discovered that way too late. "The kids will be okay. I know that, because you were born to be a mother, Ayako", he said to me.» I stroked mom's shoulder, just wanting to push all of her sorrow away. She may have feelings for him still, but that doesn't make her weak. Not at all.

«I love you, mom,» I said. I know now, it was really out of the blue. But the thing is… I had never really said that straight up. I was afraid that she wasn't aware of it. I was afraid that she thought I looked at her as a horrible mother. If only I could remove all of those thoughts with just those three words… Or maybe she already knew all this? Is that why she smiled at me? «I know, Yoshiki. I love you too,» mom said and gave me a small hug. Can I just bring mom and Miki home with me?

«Onii-san,» I suddenly heard Miki say from upstairs. I looked at her and almost jumped up at the empty look in her eyes. Just a plain expression… I had never seen that look on the always smiling Miki. «Yeah?» I said. «She's calling for you,» Miki said, her bangs covering her face as she walked downstairs. Something happened, eh? Don't tell me she's gotten even worse…

I don't know why I suddenly felt nervous before I opened the door to my room. Thanks to Miki's reaction, I was prepared for the worst. As I pushed the door, Ayumi immediately smiled at me from the futon. Huh…? She seems completely normal. «Hey…» I said and sat down by her, stroking her hair. She just kept smiling and eventually whispered out: «Yo… shiki.» Why did she suddenly start speaking so wierdly?

«You okay?» I asked. «Mm…» she replied, squirming under my touch. «Ayumi… Don't ever lie like that again,» I said, going straight to the point. She didn't like that one bit. Her smile disappeared and her eyes started to sparkle. Fuck, now I'm getting all… Fuck! «How can you even… Ayumi, don't ever do that to me!» I suddenly yelled out.

I was mad. Frustrated, because just a simple girl made me feel like that. When she was angry, I yelled with her. When she was in pain, I would hurt too. When she laughed… I would smile with her. I just want to hold her tight to my chest and always be there for her. I want to take her wherever I want to go, no matter how much she lost. Her health, her ability to move and her ability to speak properly. I wanted to tell her all this, but…

«Yoshiki… Yoshiki… Sorry...!» Ayumi whimpered out, her tears overflowing. Her eyes were clenched together and covered her mouth with her hand. «You were doing it for our sake, right? All we want is for you to smile again, Ayumi,» I said, gently wiping her tears away. She nodded, but her tears wouldn't stop pouring down. Just wiping them won't help anything…

«Hey, I know what'll cheer you up,» I said. She unsteadily stuck her head up from the duvet and looked questioningly at me. I grabbed the music box from the drawer and opened it, spreading the lovely melody in our room again. As I expected, she didn't move a muscle and just listened to the song.

«Haaa… song…» Ayumi sighed out. «It's "Last Regrets", remember?» I said. Ayumi breathed out a laugh and closed her eyes. She's so fragile and innocent… I've been reflecting on several reasons why Ayumi just got worse. The only one that made a little sense, was that the more memories she recovered, she would lose more and more abilities. But like I said, that only made a little sense. Not enough for me to believe it.

«Yoshiki… Story… Please…» Ayumi begged me. With that pleading look in her eyes I couldn't say no. I put my face just a few inches away from hers and asked sweetly: «Want me to tell you about The Beauty and The Beast?»

«And they lived happily ever after,» I finished, smiling at the fascinated Ayumi. I was so glad to see her this interested in my story-telling. Just seeing Ayumi smile like that, was enough of a motivation for me. A hope also.

«M-…Marry…» Ayumi mumbled. «Yup. They married happily, because she loved him even though he was a beast on the outside. Now, they will always stay together,» I said. Ayumi looked up at me with bleary eyes and red cheeks.

«I… I want us to always stay together…!» Ayumi whined out. She almost sounded jealous at the Beauty and the Beast. My heart pounded against my chest. Was that… a confession? «Ayumi…» I could only call out her name. I was at a loss for words. With her hand shaking, she took a hold of mine and whispered: «I want… to marry Yoshiki…»

Had a girl like Ayumi ever made me feel like this? Had someone like her ever made me so crazy because of simply saying that? Had someone liker her brought tears to my eyes…?

«Ayumi… I'll always stay with you…! Always…!» I hissed out through my tears. Even if my sight was blurry because of them, I still saw Ayumi unsteadily sitting up from her futon and putting her arms around me. Her body was warm, but it was easy to tell that it wasn't from a fever. It was from kindness, honesty… Love. I held her tightly, as if trying to press my feelings for her into her body. Making sure that she wouldn't forget. Never forget.

«I'll always be with you. Till the end of time, Ayumi…» I whispered and kissed her cheek, way more passionate than I'd kissed her forehead. Even now… It's impossible to imagine a life here without Ayumi being with me.

«Yoshiki…» Ayumi whispered. She sounded like she did before she lost some of her speaking abilities.

«…Thank you.»

«And so, that regualar chinese girl had suddenly saved entire China. Do you know how she could? She was brave and stubborn.» I proudly told her the story about Mulan, as if Mulan was somehow related to me. The fox had looked so fascinated at me as I told the entire story with the song playing in the back ground. I gently rubbed her head and asked: «It's amazing, isn't it? Mulan was an awesome girl. Just like you are an awesome baby fox!» «Auu…» she mewled and snuggled around in my lap. Was it weird of me to get this connected to an animal? Even as we cuddled in the garden for several hours, I didn't close the music box beside me.

I let the melody play. Over… and over… and over…

Why was I holding something non-existent? I wasn't. I definitely wasn't. Just a second ago, I was holding a girl I felt so strongly far. What happened? Could have all of it been a dream? A dream that had lasted for an eternity? No, of course not. The memories of her are way too vivid. But if that's the case…

… Then why wasn't Ayumi no longer in my arms when I opened my eyes?

A/N: O.O hope u enjoyed plz review until next time ;3