Kaichō wa Maid-sama! 2005 © Fujiwara Hiro

Lala Magazine under Hakusensha Publishing


WARNING: Major OOC and One-Sided ToraXMisa.


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Chapter 09: Stay and Hold My Hand

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"I'm coming over and that's final," Usui announced over the phone.

Misaki's eyes widened. "Hey, w-wait-" beep beep beep.She pulled the iPhone off her ear and stared at the device like it had just insulted her.

"What the fuck...?" she muttered, closing her eyes and holding her head to keep it from exploding.

The stupid, perverted alien was on his way there. That didn't go as expected, damn it. And she currently looked like hell!

"Ugh," Misaki forced herself to sit up, still holding her spinning head. She had chills the night before. Her body ached like she'd just gotten out of a bloody battlefield. Every joint in her bone structure was screaming and her muscles felt like lead. Her stomach was still upset from yesterday's session but thankfully, her nausea and vomiting subsided a little.

She almost crawled to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. With some difficulty, she tied her wild raven hair in a messy bun. She didn't want to scare the shit out of Usui when he sees her looking like an otherworldly creature.

Misaki dragged her feet back to her room and collapsed on the bed. She reached for the thermometer on the side table and put it under her tongue.

After a few minutes, it beeped. It showed a whooping thirty-nine point three degree Celsius. It hardly came down from last night's thirty-nine point eight.

Tora will kill me, she thought.

The doorbell rang.

And here comes the perverted alien, she added in her mind miserably. She did a weird acrobat to heave herself up from the bed and slowly walked towards the door, borrowing support to whatever her hands touched. She felt like a crippled idiot.

Usui Takumi silently drummed his fingers on the mahogany door while he waited. He heard the lock undone and the doorknob turned. Unaware, his lips tugged a crooked smile as he laid his eyes upon the girl he missed so much.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey..." Misaki opened the door wider to let him in. She didn't have any choice, did she?

Usui stepped inside. He scanned her apartment briefly. It looked big, much too big for someone living alone. But it was nice and cozy.

He turned to her. His eyes softened and he smiled. She was still in her pastel pink button-down pajamas that matched her socks. It made her look like a seriously cute kid. Her hair was pulled back, revealing her pale face with the exception to her cheeks which was beautifully tainted red.

"I'm sorry you have to see me like this," Misaki mumbled shyly. Then she jerked slightly as she remembered that he'd seen everything in her. She mentally face-palmed; God, why did /that/ thought suddenly popped in her head now, of all times?

"It's fine. You look pretty cute, actually," he smirked.

Somebody just kill me now, she begged. And as if granting her wish, she swayed unsteadily and desperately held on to the doorknob.

"Whoa," Usui caught her just before her knees gave in. He was surprised on how hot her skin was.

"S-sorry. I don't think I can..." she rasped out, holding on to his shirt.

"Don't worry, I got you," he whispered as he gathered her in his arms. He carried her like a princess. She's so light, was the first thing that came into his mind.

Misaki didn't have any strength to complain or worry. All she wanted was to lie down, curl into a ball and bury herself under piles of thick blankets.

Usui kicked off his shoes and looked around the house, wondering where the hell's her bedroom. Briskly walking towards the nearest door, he hoped that it was her room. Thankfully, the familiar smell inside confirmed it.

Misaki was shivering now as he laid her on the messy bed. He picked up the fallen blankets on the floor and draped it over her. He felt her forehead and cursed; she was burning hot. He took the thermometer and read the last temperature.

"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered when he saw the numbers. He sat down in the bed and looked at the sick girl with extremely worried green eyes.

Misaki's breathing came in short pants like she'd just run a marathon. Her pretty face was carved into a pained grimace and she was trembling.

Seeing her like that broke his heart and wished he could take away her pains... both emotionally and physically.

"Misaki," he called her softly; brushing her cheek with the back of his hand. He felt like touching fire. "Wake up..." he cooed playfully.

Misaki fluttered her eyes open, unconsciously leaning on to his caressing hand. "Hmm?" she hummed tiredly.

"Have you eaten your breakfast?" he asked.

She shook her head. She didn't even have the strength to stand up, much less cook.

"Do you want to eat? I can make you something," he offered.

"Okay," she whispered.

"Want anything in particular?"

Anything you make is fine, she said in her mind. But in reality, she shook her head and tried to smile.

"Then I'll savage anything I can find in your kitchen," he smiled back and adjusted the blankets over to her chin. "Sleep. I'll wake you up when it's done," he said before leaving.

Wait. Stay here. Don't leave me... Misaki wanted to say. Her eyes trailed after him, not wanting to let him go but her eyelids were beginning to shut on its own.

In the very back of her mind, there was a tiny but concrete fragment of thought saying how nice it would be to have him back.

Usui wandered off to the kitchen. The counters, cabinets and appliances were literally sparkling clean like nobody used it for a long time. It made him chuckle because he knew Misaki wouldn't dare to step in her own kitchen unless she wanted to start a fire. She was such a hopeless case, he thought amusedly.

Nevertheless, the kitchen was well-supplied and everything worked perfectly. He found the ingredients for chicken soup and began cooking.

After twenty minutes, the soup was ready. Usui served a small portion in a bowl and reheated some of the frozen garlic bread he found in the refrigerator. He put everything on a tray and went back to the bedroom.

Usui frowned deeply when he didn't see Misaki on her bed where she should be sleeping.

The blankets were thrown over the floor again along with some pillows. He looked around as he put the tray down on the side table. A white door which he assumed as the bathroom was slightly ajar.

"Misaki?" he walked over there and knocked.

"In here-" Misaki was cut off by a loud coughing fit coming from her dry throat; the kind of cough that could send anyone a rush of adrenaline.

Usui -ignoring courtesy for the second time that day- pushed open the door with a bang. He didn't care if she wanted some privacy or whatnot; he needed to see what's going on.

And his emerald eyes widened for the briefest moment before rushing over to the weakened girl.

He was aware that flu is a serious illness that sometimes required a medical attention, but it never occurred to him how serious her situation was until she was on the bathroom floor, slumped over the toilet while her stomach rejected everything that was left in it.

He leaned towards her worriedly. He didn't know what to say as he rubbed her back and held the loose fringe of her raven hair out of her face. She was sweating beads; her hands were freezing cold though her skin was still burning. It seriously scared the living daylights out of him.

"Goddamn it..." came a muffled breath from Misaki as she covered her mouth with her hand while the other one desperately clung on to Usui. She sat on the floor, panting and huffing.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like my stomach is the chosen battle ground for world war three," she groaned.

Usui tucked the loose hair behind her ear; his handsome face was etched with deep concern. "I'll go get some water," he said quietly. He left for a moment and came back with a glass of water to her.

Misaki gratefully took a sip. The water soothed her raw throat. "Thanks," she mumbled. She tried to slow down her heart and breathing as a short gap of silence ensued between them.

Usui looked at her intently: She seemed to lose weight by each passing second, her skin was ghostly pale, and it bothered him to see her like that. Without thinking twice, he decided to take her to the hospital.

He exhaled sharply. "I'm taking you to the hospital," he said in his unarguable voice.

"... Okay," came a small squeak from her which surprised him a little. He was expecting her to protest; she was Ayuzawa Misaki, after all, the invincible demon president of Seika High School.

"Can you stand?" he asked gently, holding her shoulders so she wouldn't fall forward.

"Y-yeah, I think so," she answered.

"Here," Usui put an arm around her waist and hoisted her up to stand.

Even in her delirious, foggy mind, it registered to her how close they were. She felt like he'd grown taller -or was she really this small?- as she wrapped her arm around his neck for support. His warm breath kissed her cheek and she could smell the intoxicating fragrance coming off him.

She missed it. So very much.

"Can I brush my teeth first?" she asked, trying to be casual despite her hammering heart.

"Oh, sure," he let go of her slowly and reluctantly.

Misaki stood in front of the mirror, gripping the sink for dear life and struggling to put damn toothpaste on the toothbrush.

Usui kept close to her as he leaned on the doorframe; ready to catch her if she collapsed.

After that, they went back to the bedroom. The chicken soup was long forgotten as Usui rummaged through her closet, finding a sweater or something warm for her to wear. He glanced every so often at her while she sat on the bed, looking almost lifeless.

"Let's go," he said once he got everything they needed. He helped her zip up the jacket over her pink pajamas and carried her down to his car.

Misaki was drifting out of it so Usui didn't get any complain. He carefully put her in the backseat, cushioning her head with a throw pillow.

When he got into the driver's seat, he turned on the GPS in his car. He was determining the closest hospital.

"St. Luke's," Misaki suddenly said from the back. She knew that the closest hospital to her apartment was Tokyo Medical University Hospital. But she never went there; they wouldn't know her medical history.

"What?" Usui frowned. He turned to look at her to see if she was awake and wasn't talking in her sleep.

"St. Luke's Hospital. Take me there," she confirmed.

"Okay." He didn't know why she wanted to go to St. Luke's when TMU Hospital is much nearer, but he complied as he drove the car quietly.

It sounds like she'd been there before...

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Chemo drug almost completely shuts a patient's immune system that even common colds could kill them. It's a general rule.

That's why Dr. Natsu and his team went frantic when Usui brought the flu-infected Misaki in the hospital. They'd immediately put her in ICU. Everyone was professionally freaking out as they scurried around her, putting IV and setting up machines.

"I'm sorry, sir, but can you please wait outside while we treat Misaki? Thank you," a petite nurse pushed a very confused Usui out of the room.

What's going on? he thought as he sat on the hallway bench.

He couldn't understand why everyone was so agitated. It wasn't like she's dying, right? It was just a common flu, for crying out loud. It can be treated at home but he was worried that she might get dehydrated from vomiting and her fever was too high so he brought her in. But why did they have to put her in an intensive care unit? Have they ever put someone with ordinary seasonal flu in ICU before? Couldn't they just give her proper medicine and let her rest?

Just what the hell's going on?

There was tickling vibration in his pocket that jerked him back to reality. He pulled out the device and blinked; when did his Blackberry transformed into a white iPhone? Then he realized it was Misaki's.

A big Boss was written across the top screen with the contact image of a drooling Tora. Despite all the tension around him, he chuckled; Misaki must've taken the picture secretly.

He contemplated for a second. With a sigh, he decided to tell him that Misaki was currently in the hospital.

"Hey Misaki, still alive?" was the first words from the other line when Usui slid the accept button.

"How do you want me to answer that?" he replied quietly.

There was a long paused before Tora recognized his voice.

"Usui?! What the hell- where's Misaki?" he blurted out.

"Good question. She's here in St. Luke's hospital; she got a flu-"

"SHIT!" Tora cursed as if he suddenly stubbed his toes. Then he began ranting on like a girl on her PMS. "I knew it. I fucking knew it! How is she? Is she alright? I told her yesterday- ah! Never mind, I'm going there." With one last curse, he dropped the line.

Usui blinked. He stared at the phone, Knew it? Yesterday? Misaki was with Tora yesterday? That didn't quite settle comfortably in the pit of his stomach.

Just as he was about to check up on Misaki, the half-glass door of the ICU opened. The head doctor stepped out with a sharp exhale like all his energy got drained inside the room. Behind him was the petite nurse, looking equally exhausted. They were quietly talking to each other.

"That scared me," she mumbled.

"Yes. That's the first time, eh?" the doctor chuckled humorlessly.

Usui stood up and looked at them expectantly. The two noticed him and looked back with puzzled expressions. He got the itching urge to glare daggers at the duo.

"Ah!" The nurse exclaimed after another moment of concentrated silence. "You're the one who brought Misaki here, aren't you?"

Thanks for reminding me, he wanted to say but he kept his mouth shut and nodded curtly.

"I'm sorry, it's just that... I'm not used to see someone other than Mr. Igarashi-"

Mr. Igarashi? Usui's eyebrow's shot up a few notches on his forehead.

The doctor put a hand over the lady nurse's shoulder and Usui watched him gave her an oh-so-secretive look.

"I'm Dr. Natsu, Ms. Ayuzawa's attending physician. This is my assistant, Nurse Sayuri," he introduced. "You are...?"

"Usui Takumi, Ms. Ayuzawa's... friend," he said, a bit uncertain. He thrust out his hand which the doctor shook firmly, then he nodded to Sayuri in acknowledgement.

"Well, it seems that your friend caught the early wave of autumn flu," the doctor sighed.

"How is she?"

"Not so good, but she's okay. We gave her a shot of antiviral drug and it might take a few hours to work. We'll keep her under strict observation to watch out for any complication until her flu is gone."

"Complication? What do you mean? It's not that serious, is it?" he eyed them suspiciously.

Sayuri squirmed uncomfortably and glanced at the doctor.

Dr. Natsu pursed his lips and nodded very slightly to himself, like he was mentally saying, I thought so. He was glad he didn't slip the words chemotherapy and leukemia to the young man. He got a feeling that this guy didn't have a single clue on what's really going on with his patient. Whatever reason Misaki had for not telling him –yet- was none of the doctor's business; he respected that. But that didn't mean he was going to lie.

"It is serious, Mr. Usui," he said quietly. "As serious as a life-or-death situation."

Usui's green eyes widened significantly. His lips parted with disbelief. "What are you talking about, Dr. Natsu?"

"In her current state of health, even the simplest form of infection can kill her. We didn't put her in ICU for nothing. It is necessary to isolate her and to keep an eye on her, too."

Usui stared at him like he just spoke in an alien language.

"But as of now, she's okay. I assure you," the doctor said differently. "Just let her rest; she'll wake up later. If you want to stay with her, please don't forget to sanitize your hands and wear a mask. Ring the alarm if anything happens," he patted Usui's shoulder once and smiled.

Sayuri couldn't look at him as they turned around to leave.

That seemed to snap Usui out of his trance. His heart thrummed painfully against his ribs. "Wait…"

Dr. Natsu paused. He said something to Sayuri. She nodded and walked away. The doctor remained and looked back at him.

"…I don't understand," Usui muttered almost to himself. First, Misaki. Then came the call from Tora. And now, these two medics... okay, why did it seem like everyone knew something except for him? That certainly didn't settle comfortably in his stomach. He didn't like not knowing anything. He didn't like the way it made him feel helpless and stupid.

Dr. Natsu sighed. "I don't know how much I should tell about it but… Ms. Ayuzawa is in a serious predicament, Mr. Usui. It goes so much deeper than what you've seen. That's all I can say. I respect my patient's privacy and so, I cannot disclose anything to you without her permission. But I'm sure Ms. Ayuzawa will do the honor to enlighten you. You'll understand soon," he smiled.

Usui fought back a grimace. If Misaki ever thought of telling me. "Thank you so much," he bowed stiffly. There was an edge to the doctor's voice that told him he couldn't get anything from him anymore.

Dr. Natsu reminded him of the sanitation and mask before he left, which Usui obediently followed.

He stepped quietly inside the sterile room. The curtains were drawn and the light was dim. The strong bleach smell seeped through the surgical mask he was wearing. His eyes soften at the sight of the girl sleeping on the white bed. He walked towards her and carefully sat on the bed.

Misaki looked so peaceful. He could see the hint of her teenage self on the pale face he met and fell in love with a long time ago. Her long lashes defined the elegant curves her closed eyes and he wanted to kiss that perfect little nose. A fever strip was onto her forehead.

"What am I going to do with you?" he mumbled softly as he reached out to brush off the stray locks of hair from her face. He caressed her cheek with his thumb, smiling when she sighed contentedly.

As he watched her sleep, all he could think of was the weighing guilt in his chest and the endless worry that was slowly driving him mad.

"Misaki, what happened while I was gone?" he whispered. There was a dark, bitter laugh in his head, like it was mocking him. If you wanted to know what happened… if you have the guts to ask that stupid question, then maybe you shouldn't have left her in the first place.

Shut up, he sighed exasperatedly. He was tired of having the same argument with his own mind over and over again. He moved to the chair beside the bed and took Misaki's hand very gently. He intertwined their fingers together; feeling her slim ones fit on his perfectly. Closing his eyes, he kissed her knuckles through the mask.

He thought of different scenarios in his mind that could've happened had he stayed and never left…

Maybe he and Misaki would be engaged. Perhaps even married. Maybe they would have their little kids running around. Maybe they would have their own simple but happy home somewhere far away from the noise of Tokyo.

Or maybe Misaki would hate him with every atom of her living being for ruining her life if he chose to stay. After all, she was the sole reason why he had left…

Knock! Knock!

Usui jolted back to the real world. He let go of Misaki's hand and placed it back on her side. He turned to look at the door as it opened.

His emerald eyes met Tora's golden pair.

"Yo," the newcomer greeted him quietly.

"Hey," he casually greeted back.

"Has she woken up yet?"

Usui shook his head, "Not yet.

"Oh."

The soft purring of a machine amplified the fallen silence between them. In this room, the two young men were no more than ordinary people caring for a sick girl who happened to be the beating in their hearts. Their business alter egos were tucked away to be used only in their respective companies.

Usui resumed watching Misaki while Tora sat on the opposite side of the bed. He heard his muffled exhaled behind the mask, touched Misaki's cheek briefly and cussed awesomely.

"Didn't I tell you I don't want to say I told you so? Now look at you… stubborn woman," he muttered to her; half-annoyed, half-worried. "And I even let you ate dozens of Magnum yesterday!" he added horrified.

"Tora," Usui shifted on his seat, his eyebrows furrowing together but he never took her eyes off Misaki.

"What?"

"You know what's going on, don't you?"

Tora stared at him for a moment. Not because he didn't know what Usui meant, but because he knew well enough. "Yes," he answered truthfully.

He was sort of expecting Usui to burst and demand him to spit it out. To his surprise, Usui didn't urge him to say anything. He just moved the chair closer to the bed and absently played with Misaki's hand. But the frustration was very clear on his face, like he wanted to punch someone.

Usui felt utterly left out. Everyone knew what was going on while he sat there, wondering what the hell was that all about. God knows how much he wanted to know. But a devil's voice in his head kept saying, do you really any drop of rights to know everything that had happened to her after you left her?

"Look," Tora started out awkwardly. "I know it's frustrating but I don't think I'm in the right position to tell you anything. It's all up to Misaki. Anyway, I'm positive that she'll tell you eventually… when she's ready. But right now, she's needs you."

The unmistakable urgency in his voice made Usui looked up. Tora ignored his stare as he watched Misaki with an unfathomable expression. Then he sighed tiredly and stood from the bed.

"I can't stay here for long. Sayu- Nurse Sayuri is quite strict about ICU protocols; only one visitor at a time," he snorted.

He gave a gentle squeeze on Misaki's hand and prepared to leave. "It's good that this hospital allows one visitor to stay with a patient overnight because she hates hospital. Stay with her… don't ever leave her alone," he said seriously.

There was an underlying meaning beneath his words and Usui understood it. "I won't," he replied with equal seriousness.

Tora nodded once and walked towards the door. "Ah," he paused as if he remembered something. He looked back at Usui, meeting his intense gaze. "You know next to nothing about what she'd been through all these years, Usui Takumi. You better not screw up this time coz if you ever made her shed a single tear again; I swear to God I'll rip you to pieces," he said in a dangerously calm voice.

With that final sweet words lingering in the air, Igarashi Tora left.

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Misaki woke up several hours later; feeling like her throat was as dry as the Sahara desert on a glorious summer afternoon. She fluttered her eyes open, trying to remember where she was but the pressing need to drink water was clouding her mind.

The room was dark and unfamiliar. She roamed her eyes aimlessly until it fell on the golden lump of hair so close beside her. With a hard kick from her heart, all the sleepiness in her system vanished like she just inhaled an illegal drug. Her dull senses went hyperactive and suddenly, she was painfully aware of everything: From the dripping IV somewhere over her head to the numbness of her stiff legs.

Usui…she thought. He was sleeping with his head on his folded arms that was resting on the bed. He must be tired, what time is it anyway? She searched the room but couldn't find a damn clock. It felt like past midnight, though; she had slept for almost twenty-four hours already.

And still, Usui was there. He stayed with her.

She moved a hand to touch his messy hair and felt his fingers slipped through hers. Was he holding her hand all this time? A small smile tugged the corner of her lips as her heart melted.

I just wish you had stayed with me seven years ago… She ran her fingers through his soft hair very gently. Everything could have been so much different.

Usui jolted awake. He raised his head suddenly and Misaki's hand fell back on to the bed; his eyes that shone in the darkness when wide as he stared at her.

"Hi…" she croaked in her dry throat. I could kill for a glass of cold water, she thought.

"Hey," he breathed. He leaned towards her like an overly worried mother. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"Water… water, please," she managed to reply in a hoarse voice.

Usui was on his feet in an instant. He turned on the lights, momentarily blinding her. She closed her eyes tightly and slung her arm across her face. Usui fetched some water from the dispenser in the far corner of the room.

"Here," he announced. He put it on the table while he adjusted the bed so she was sitting comfortably. He kept a hand on her back to support her as she drank.

"Ah, that's got to be the most delicious water I've ever drank in my life," she sighed once she tipped the glass to its last drop.

Usui chuckled and sat on the bed; close enough to touch but still too far away from what they used to be.

"Where am I?" she asked casually. She mentally took inventory of her current situation: There was an IV stuck to the insides of her elbow. Again. She wanted to roll her eyes at herself. Seriously, how many times do they have to do that until their satisfied? Her muscles and joints were still aching but it had visibly lessened. Her head felt light but the pounding was gone.

"St. Luke's ICU," he answered softly.

"Oh." In the last few months of going in and out of the hospital, it was her first time in the ICU. That explained why it was unfamiliar to her.

Silence settled between them.

Usui stared at her like her seeing the sun for the first time. Misaki squirmed under his heavy gaze. She hugged the spare pillow tightly as if to suppress the building panic in her chest. Her thoughts began working rapidly as she remembered what happened: Usui saw her vomiting in the bathroom –is vomiting even a symptom of simple flu?– and rushed her to the hospital. She vaguely recalled mentioning St. Luke's and here she was. Surely, Dr. Natsu told him everything…

"Are you alright? Do you need anything else?" Usui asked concernedly. Misaki didn't miss the way he scooted closer and his hand twitched as if to touch her but held it.

"I'm alright. I don't need anything, thank you." Just as long as you're here, I'm going to be alright. As long as you're here, I won't need anything.

"Really?" he smiled, but his eyes seemed to ask differently, Can I touch you?

"Y-yeah. Really," she murmured; whether to his spoken question or to his silent plea, she didn't know.

Usui lifted his hand, slowly inching towards her face; his eyes never blinked away from hers. She stared back, wide and innocent.

Unlike her hammering heart, Misaki stayed very still. She unconsciously held her breath until his fingers reached her cheek. His touch sent sparks all over her skin.

"Your fever run down a bit," he commented, trying to break the growing awkwardness.

She nodded robotically. How was she supposed to reply when she was entranced by his beautiful eyes? Those eyes that were shrouded in sea-green mystery. Those eyes that made her fall in love every single time.

"Are you hungry?"

"No," she answered softly. She concentrated all her senses to the feather-light touches of his thumb caressing her cheek.

"You haven't eaten anything yet," he pointed out.

Misaki smiled. "Technically, I don't need to eat," she said and looked at the IV connected to her elbow.

"That's different," he scowled. "Your stomach is still empty."

"It's okay. I'll probably just throw it all up," she muttered.

Usui opened his mouth to speak then closed it again. He didn't say anything more, though he seemed like he wanted to. He pulled his hand back once he gently tucked away the loose hair behind her ear. He kept the close distance between them.

Minutes passed in complete silence as they were both lost in their own thoughts.

Misaki –unable to contain the enormous urge to know what happened while she was unconscious– whispered his name, "Usui…"

"Hmm?" he hummed so quietly.

"Did… did they tell you anything?" She braced herself for his answer.

"No, they didn't," he slowly shook his head.

Misaki mentally sagged in relief. She exhaled inaudibly and tried to calm down the frantic beating in her chest that echoed in her ears. But the look on his face made a small nudge in her heart. Despite the smile on his lips, the burning curiosity behind it was obvious.

"They made a big fuss, didn't they?" she chuckled nervously.

"Yeah, they went nuclear alert on you… though I don't know why," he mumbled his last comment almost incoherently.

"Do you want to know?" she inquired, tilting her head to catch his eyes.

"If you want me to," he answered. His eyes twinkled hopefully.

MIsaki sighed. She fiddled with her fingers. Did she want him to know? Of course. There was no point hiding it when he'd seen the hospital chaos over her simple flu, right? He wasn't stupid enough to not notice it. Sooner or later, by some ungodly forces that despised her so much, he'll find out. Besides, she didn't want to lie about her being on the verge of dying, especially to him.

But she wasn't quite ready to spill everything from him now. Not when they were seemingly trying to know each other again and definitely not while she was trapped on a hospital bed. She didn't want to drop the bomb on his head the first time they had the chance to talk like this.

"You know what?" she said differently. She straightened up and smiled as lively as she could. "Let's pretend that none of these ever happened."

Usui stared at her.

"Let's pretend… it never happened," her smile dropped along with her voice. Her stubborn bangs shadowed her eyes. There was a different meaning to her words now; Usui realized it like a hard punch in his gut.

"Let's pretend that–" her voice wavered a little "–that y-you didn't leave… and that the last seven years didn't happen at all. Let's pretend that everything is just the same as it used to be."

Misaki blinked back the stinging in her eyes and ignored the prickling pain in her heart. What else could she do? She wasn't ready to face reality yet. All she wanted was to go back to where they were before. She wanted to be in his arms again and forget everything.

At least, for now.

"Misaki…" Usui said in a helpless tone. It was the first time she mentioned that to his face and it felt like she physically beat him up. Gingerly, he took her hand and was beyond glad she didn't pull away.

She met his eyes with her weary ambers; pleading and desperate. He could see the flare of different emotions dancing like kaleidoscope: Happy and sad. Hesitation and confusion. Pain and hurt.

It crushed his heart knowing that he was the cause of that pain and hurt. He wished he could erase it.

"Misaki, I know I have so many things to explain to you," he said in that lullaby-like voice she always dreamed about. "I'll understand if you won't ever forgive me, but please hear me out-"

"Ssshhh…" Misaki put a finger against his lips, effectively cutting him off. "Please, let's not talk about that now. There's a right time for that," she said; her fingers continued to slide across his face and cupped his cheek.

Usui closed his eyes, leaning on to her touch. He put his hand over hers and sighed. "Will you listen to me then?" he whispered.

"I will, I promise," she said softly but firmly.

He smiled and kissed her palm. "Thank you."

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08/09/13 0159H

OWARI

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SORA'S RAMBLING CORNER:

Long ramblings ahead:

Hi, guys! I've kept you waiting, I'm sorry. Before you pull the trigger, let me explain, please?

I want you to know that all of the stories I've been simultaneously writing on my iPod got wiped out by iTunes a week ago. I was trying to sync the notes for back-up [because my Wi-Fi isn't working and thus, I cannot send it through email], but instead, iTunes screwed up and erased my stories, including this chapter. So while I was grieving over the death of my babies, I was painstakingly rewriting this whole chapter on MS Word to the point that I even forgot to sleep. This is the second time it happened to me, damn it.

If anyone is spending their time reading all my ramblings in every chapter, you'll know that I am busy with my earthly responsibilities. So I trust you also know why I cannot update faster. I hope you understand. I'll just compensate by writing longer chapters, is that okay with you?

Also, nine hours after my stories had vanished, I received a PM here in ffnet, saying that someone is copying my story. Not this one, but my previous work "How I Met the Prince". My jaw dropped when I saw it. Exactly the same. A crystal clear Xerox copy. Well, except for the characters which were changed into that of a movie. I seriously had the worst luck that day. Thankfully, the author took it down immediately when I sent a PM [nah, I didn't say anything mean. I wasn't even angry, I'm just disappointed].

Anyway, enough of that. It's already been taken care of, so let's move on.

About this chapter, I'm sorry for any mistakes I've overlooked; I have so many things running on my mind these days and I don't have all the time in the world to edit it. Sorry, please understand.

I want to take things slowly and easily from here. So that means no heavy drama for the following chapter/s, yay! :D

Let's create a momentum between them, shall we? Besides, I want a snugly-cuddly romance with my favorite couple! My heart is near breakpoint with all this crappy drama so let's take a rest for a while. Let's go on… a date. Yes, I want a date! An ultra-mega super cheesy date. LOL!

Thank you for reading until here, though I highly doubt anyone would read this, hahaha! Thank you for all the reviews, favorites and follows for "Back to Me". I really appreciate it. Love you, guys!

PS: I'm pretty sure they're not here but still… thank you with a bunch of Oreos to hippohealer. Without you, I won't know a single thing. To Marika-san and Lolidragon97, a million thanks with a box of kisses from the bottom of my heart. Two-minute bear hugs for you three.

Oh, and three manga chapters to go before the finale of Kaichou wa Maid-sama *dies*.