_____________________Chapter viii: What, Who, Where?_______________________
Her eyes fluttered as it was met by a dazzle of sunlight.

Stretching a bit, she inhaled deeply. The oh-so familiar vanilla scent of her room had been replaced by a strange concoction of strong cologne. Warily checking her surroundings, she couldn't recall anything.
Out of hobby, she blinked a few times and pressed on her face with her hands. Is this a dream? Half-hoping she would be transported back to her room, she separated her fingers and peeked. Nothing changed.

The room still had blue carpeting, the wall was covered with a classic theme of wood brown and creme which accentuated the full-length glass-door windows and all the stuff weren't hers. Turning her attention to the bed, she had only realized how soft it was. She felt weightless on it. It was white. Just plain white.

Everything had intrigued her, she sat up to get a clearer view of things. There was a big wooden dresser in the corner, and a study table and a lamp in the other. It almost looked like an ordinary bedroom. Almost. You wouldn't have a fancy diamond chandelier hanging in your room, nor an enormous "22 flat screen plastered on the wall, nor would it be like a 100 sq. meters, now would it?

Maybe. If you were some big hot-shot, I guess. Nope. I still think it's a dream.

Once again she blinked a few times and pressed on her face with her hands. It's a dream. Half-hoping again she would be transported back to her room; she separated her fingers and slowly peeked.

"That's odd. New game?" A figure came into view. He had messy blonde hair, which strangely made him look hot and not gross. Maybe it was because he was half-naked. Or maybe it was because of his perfectly toned body which made his muscles well-defined. There was no mistaking it.

"S-Shissou!" Suddenly flinging her hands away from her face, she directed her attention to the man coming out from a newly-discovered hallway leading to who knows where.

A deep blush crept on her face. Last night! Hiding her face in the covers, she looked at her body. She wasn't wearing her jeans and a plain blue shirt anymore. It was a pink night gown.

"Get dressed, we're going somewhere." Kent's muffled tones reached her from under the covers.

"A-an..."

"Don't worry, Cloe will help you get ready. I'll send her in shortly."

After hearing a ring of a bell, there were footsteps quickly approaching. Then, some whispers before another set of footsteps shuffled out of earshot.

"Ms. Sawako, I shall be of your assistance today.

"E-Eh?" she peered from the covers to the girl standing near her.
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"No!"

Outstretched arms blocked the doorway.

"B-but..."

"No means NO!" she scowled as she forcibly pushed him in and slammed the door shut.

"We've been through this eight times already, can't you control yourself?" she continued to input the child-lock on the security lock.

"Child Lock? Aw, are you kidding me?" He said in a very don't-you-think-I-know-how-to-override-that-thing tone.

Turning around she gave him an I'd-like-to-see-you-try glare, "You need rest, not another reason to get sick."

Acting childishly, he rolled his eyes and made a small scowl.

"Fine. Have a good day at work. Whatever you do." I'll just sneak out when you leave. It's simpler that way. Plainly giving out words and admitting defeat was the best way out of this now. For now.

The familiar click of the door gave him the mental idea of her coming back later just to find he had gone AOL.

He chuckled to himself. I guess it is a good thing that this house is just like the one back home. Turning on the switch for the TV, he sunk to the couch. Might as well wait a while though.

NBA was on in the sports channel so he just dropped it there. The game was on over time already. San Antonio versus Phoenix. But it didn't excite him. His mind was definitely on other things right now.

This is the exact same design on the house, even some of the things are in the same places. I guess it can't be helped... its design was the most efficient and the things were the best so far.

He looked at the screen again. Still, no one had a successful basket. He took the RC and turned it off. Maybe the kitchen will get my mind straight.

With eyes half-open, he dragged himself to the adjacent room. Well, this brings back memories.

"Ohayo..." he mused with himself. Maybe I'm getting a bit loony.

After five minutes in the kitchen, there was eggs and toast on the table. Finding himself humming, his mind had a flurry of images.

Every morning there she was in the kitchen, cooking for him. She would wait for him there and greet her good morning. Then, they would talk about absolutely anything. Other times, they would be playing with Maru in the back yard.

"H..here...Maru..." he whispered to the air. Those thoughts had been recurring, and it made him realize that those memories were some he didn't want to lose. He had loved her, and she him. But now...this! If only I wasn't careless enough as to direct a hit in her direction, this would never happen. Clenching his fist tightly and grinding his teeth a bit, he started to inhale more rapidly.

Rage, sorrow, envy. He couldn't place what he was feeling. What he was supposed to be feeling. All he knew was it's something he doesn't want to feel. He put a hand to cover his eyes. Giving a small shake of the head he thought, "I messed up...but is this really my price to pay?"

*FLASH!

"Hm...'Ad: Heartbroken? We can help!'" she smiled as she stood in the doorway, waving the camera.

"Don't you have anything else better to do? Like your job? Seriously..." slumping onto the table, he pushed the plates away from him.

"Ehhh?" prolonging the sound, she walked a bit towards him.

"What do you think my job is?" she inquired him.

"..." he was dumbstruck. What was her job? Nothing came to his mind. Maybe a business woman? She was sporting a black suit with a blue scarf anyway. It would fit her. He looked at her, caught by her query.

Just like the night before, she just let her wavy brown hair down. The length was long enough to say 'pretty' and it was short enough to say 'smart'. She looked as if she barely had make-up on but she still looked stunning. She was tall and was wearing some pretty high heels.

"Model?"

In hysterics, she was rocking back and forth while standing. "You really are funny, y'know." After a while, she said again, "Guess again."

"Hnn?" Deep in thought, he put his fist under his jaw and furrowed his eyes.

"Well?" she smiled at him, imitating his action.

Strangely, it made him chuckle a bit, so he leaned back to the chair and said, "Alright. I don't know, Al." Rolling his eyes a bit, he looked back at her and returned a smirk.

Giving a toothy grin, she let out, "I'm a-" but was interrupted by a door bell ring.

*RING RING

"Oh, they're here!" she almost jumped from her position. "Come here," she tugged on his arm, "Kazehaya-san, I'd like you to meet some people!"

"E-EH!"