never take summer collage classes... its awful! Once again thank you to all of you that reviewed and liked this story! as your reward you get some action with Kyoya :). please review!

Chapter Ten: Touch

Shadows danced across my face as I stared out the window of my family's car. I'd closed the glass slider that separated me from my driver needing for some quiet before I reached my destination. I was on my way to the Ootori's estate for the privet tutoring Kyoya had rather quickly assigned to me, not letting me have a say in the matter. I supposed I could have just not shown up, but I felt I owed him for not only offering to help me, but for convincing the men to hand over Jūdai to my family.

The horse from Friday was not under the care of my family, though it would have been rather easy to do so, after the twins had butted in Kyoya had pointed out to the delivery men it would come out of their pocket if they had to pay for the gas to transport him all the way across town. They'd grunted in agreement and handed the reins to me before getting in the truck and driving off with the empty trailer.

Still a little shocked, I stood next to the horse while the boys decided he would stay in a stall at the school's ranch, then, without my consent, Hikaru took him from me. After gaping at him and I exasperatedly told him I had no clue how to ride.

Being who he was Kyoya had pointed out that I must have wanted to seeing as I spent much of my lunch time outside watching the riders. It was then that Hunny had piped up saying that their next year in school had given them Saturdays off and that Takashi knew how to ride horses.

It was declared in a matter of minutes, regardless of whether or not Takashi or I wanted to, that on Saturdays he and Hunny would come back and while the rest of the hosts worked at the club the two of them would teach me how to ride. I wanted to ride but there was still my job in the club, whether I volunteered or not I still felt responsible. Amazingly Kyoya had smirked and given me a new job "Give the guests card readings then, that should make up for it. We can charge them for each reading. You did say card readings were helpful right?" I hadn't been able to come up with a way out of that and after glancing to Takashi – who merely shrugged and gave me a small smile – I agreed.

I scratched my head and shifted in my seat remembering my epiphany as I had walked the dark horse into his stall. He was giving me a stoic look that reminded me of Kyoya and I had laughed. It was then that I declared his name to my brothers while running a hand over the horse's forehead. Jūdai – after the tale of Sirius the dog star. Jūdai meant serious and though it was a simple name I felt it fit.

Sighing and I rubbed my eyes. The car stopped and I was gazing out at a gorgeous estate. It was huge, just like mine was, but seemed to be built in a modern way unlike the classical Victorian age style of the estate I lived in. The family driver opened my door for me moments later and I smiled looping the strap of my bookbag around my arm before stepping out of the car, the weight of my chemistry textbook pulling on my good shoulder.

After a brief exchange of words with the driver, the car left, and would return around four this afternoon. That gave me four hours, which would surely be satisfactory to Kyoya. As I walked towards the large wooden door at the front entrance I once again found myself questioning my well being within the Ootori's lair. Something about the so call shadow king made me uneasy. The way he seemed to know everything only added to the feeling. I suppose I'd feel better about it if it was both ways instead of being one sided. I knew little about the guy besides what I had seen at school.

Cold and calculating, his demeanor was always calm and a bit on the sadistic side. He was intelligent and seemed to like unraveling any puzzle that lies before him. The stoic mask was only a mask, I knew that for sure, or else there's no way he could be friends with such a silly group of boys. Besides that and very slim information on his family I knew nothing.

Perhaps that is way I had agreed though. By coming here I was in the where environment he spent a great deal of time and seeing a person's living quarters can tell you a lot about not only the person but the whole family.

The chime of the doorbell could be heard from beyond the door as I pressed it, and only after a moment of waiting a nicely dressed man in black and white answered the door. His gray mustache moved when he talked, wiggling like a caterpillar.

"You must be Miss Masami."

I nodded, and he opened the door completely and stepped to the side to let me in. I stepped in and slipped off my shoes at the entryway before following the older man deeper into the building.

The home was indeed a modern style. The floor was covered in either black carpet or black and red tiling and elegant pictures were hug on white walls. I was soon led up a white marble staircase, draped in a red rug and then down an assortment of hallways.

It seemed to take forever, which was not unexpected seeing as the place was rather large, but I was still relieved when we finally stopped at a pair of oak doors and I was left to my own devices as the man bowed and walked off to other duties.

I stood there for a moment, fidgeting and contemplating my next move, though I knew I only had one option, which was to enter. So after a moment of messing with my hair I reached out and pushed on one door, only to realize quickly that I had to pull it open. After a moment of embarrassment I tugged it open and peered inside much like a cat looks at its prey from its hiding spot.

This room was large, like everything else, and the first thing I got to see was a young women leaning over a king size bed, with Kyoya in it. At first I thought maybe the women was his mother but that was quickly discarded because she looked far too young.

It was only moments before she looked up and met my gaze and looking confused. Her long dark hair swished as she quickly walked over to me with a smile.

"Hello, can I help you with something?"

Confused and a bit disoriented I nodded my head. "Uh yeah, my name is Masami, umm… Kyoya was suppose to help me with Chemistry…" I trailed off feeling a tad silly and part of me wanting to turn and run away.

The women stared for a moment before looking interested. "He is? Well that's nice of him, oh silly me." She giggled a bit smiling. "My name's Fuyumi, I'm Kyoya's older sister."

I nodded my head at her and looked over to Kyoya confused. "Why is he in bed?" It was after twelve. Fuyumi gave me a bit of a sheepish look and rubbed her neck looking back at her brother.

"Well, you see, a maid found his slumped over his desk this morning; apparently he was up really late working on something. He's been out like a light ever since and with a bit of a fever too." I couldn't help but hear the concern in her voice. It seemed to me they were very close.

Unsure of what to do I bit my lip and was silent for a minute before finally speaking. "Should I call my driver to come pick me up then?" I didn't want to really, and truth be told I did need the help, but I doubted I would get much help with him asleep.

Fuyumi snapped to attention and shook her head. "Oh, no don't leave, I'm sure he's fine and I was going to wake him up after I get him something to eat. I was just afraid to leave him alone," she explained and I nodded getting a strange feeling that I knew what was coming. "I was wondering, would you mind terribly watching over him while I go to the kitchen, I shouldn't be gone too long."

I really hated being able to predict things; it took all the surprise out of life. Sighing, I guessed it would be alright and nodded my head. She beamed, thanking me happily and was out of the room and off to the kitchen in a matter of moments. It puzzled me that she was cooking… didn't they have cooks?

Not that I could really ever say that it was weird, seeing as it annoyed me to no end that I couldn't even get my own cereal in the morning.

Letting out a long sigh I trudged into the room letting the door swing shut as I walked in and looked around. Besides the bed there was a large section of space with draws and cabinets and then a seating area with a table and TV near the front. To the left a large desk sat in the middle with stacks of paper and his laptop perched on it. There was another door over there, where I could only guess a bathroom was located.

Walking over to the chair next to the bed where Fuyumi had probably been sitting earlier I dropped my book bag to the floor and sat down rubbing my face before simply staring at him. I wanted to accuse him for putting me in this position but I found my bubbling annoyance disappear when I really looked at him.

He was on his back, the covers pulled up to his bare shoulders. His mouth was open and he was breathing unsteadily, a light red tint to his face. I sighed shaking my head when I realized his glasses were still on. How I hated those things. It gave him something to hide behind, an unfair advantage. Slowly I leaned forward and very carefully plucked them off his face by way of the nosepiece.

I stared at the annoying things for a long moment before curiosity got the best of me and I lined up with my eyes, and instantly regretted it. My vision became distorted in a moment; the odd shapes and fuzziness caused my eyes and head to ache in under a few seconds. I shuttered and shook my head, removing them from the line of vision and promising myself I would never go such a thing again.

After folding them and setting them on the nightstand I bit my lip wondering what I should do as I eyed the glasses as if they had committed a serious crime. Slowly I shifted my gaze around the room before eyeing the sleeping boy with a tinge of worry edging up in my mind.

After staring at him for a few minutes I got up again and trailed off to the other door grateful to find out it was a bathroom. It was large like everything else and I could not help but wonder silently if rich people were compensating for something. Relying on what little medical knowledge I had, I turned to the sink and wet a wash cloth and rung it out. Wandering back out of the bathroom I soon had the cloth on his forehead. Shifting as I sat back down I could only hope that Fuyumi would come back soon, but I wasn't sure how long that would be.

I felt annoyed again almost as soon as I was stationary again. After all, I'd come here in the hopes of finding a way to pass Chemistry, not be a fill in nurse. Running a hand through my hair, I tugged at it, trying to make myself remember that it wasn't necessarily his fault, even if he had stayed up far too late. I couldn't imagine the stress he was put under in this family and though I had never met the man, the stories I got from the twins about his father made me worry even more for his mental well being.

Letting out a long breath of air I moved to open my book bag, fished out the large textbook. If I was going to sit here, I might as well try to do something productive.

Lifting the book with my left arm had been a mistake though, and soon after getting it out of my bag and half way to my lap, a twist of pain ran through my shoulder that I knew all too well. Cringing, my hand released the book on reflex and a moment later it smashed into one of my feet.

Pain zapped up my lag and I quickly smacked a hand over my, mouth to muffle the cursed snarls of pain that escaped it. Leaning over slightly in pain, I bit the inside of my cheek to silence myself. I was in no hurry to feel the cold gaze of Kyoya after being rudely awakened.

After a few moments the pain dulled and I kicked the texted book off my foot and sighed, straightening in my chair. It took only a second to feel the eyes on me though and I cursed silently as my eyes shifted to meet the half opened eyes of the Shadow King.

The instinct to run almost kicked in as I stared at him for a long moment, and his hand came up and rubbed his face. Almost, but not quiet.

"What in the world are you doing here Masami?" He grumbled using a hand to get the dark hair out of his face. I snorted, finding that way too ironic. After all the day before he'd reminded me.

"Well I was here to pass chemistry, but, you sister recruited me to watch you." I laughed as his eyes widen in realization and he muttered a low curse. I waved a hand at him. "Don't worry about it, we don't have any control over getting sick. Though you might try a better sleep cycle." I pointed out.

He huffed and pushed himself up into a sitting position even as I protested against it. "Where is Fuyumi? "

"She said she was going to make you some soup…" I answered and he sighed looking exasperated "Erm… what?" I'd never seen him with such an expression before.

He ran a hand through his messy hair. "She can't cook." Ah so I had been right. It was rather silly really sitting here, watching the so called Shadow King as he tried to wake up. I couldn't help but think he was better off this way.

"You know, I think I like you better when you're half asleep." I teased. He raised an eyebrow at me, surprised by my sudden comment. I was sure that in some way or another I was turning red, but I tried my best to not think about that.

"Why would you say that Masami?"

I shifted in my seat tilting my head from side to side as I thought about my answer. "Well… because you show emotion, you're not hiding behind your mask of a business man. Right now, you're just a normal teenage boy."

He stared at me for a long moment before shaking his head. "You are certainly an odd girl; I would have never thought I'd ever hear someone say they liked me in the morning." He grumbled, and looked around on his bed for something.

"Looking for these?" I asked holding out his glasses, which I had picked up from the nightstand. "I took them off so they wouldn't break. You should consider contacts if you're going to continue this sleep cycle of yours."

I felt myself smile as he rolled his eyes and reached over to take them. I drew them back and smirked at him. He sighed giving me a disgruntled look and I laughed a bit before setting the eyewear in his open hand.

I don't know why I did it, maybe I was tired or feeling brave. Perhaps I had simply lost my mind. Either way at that moment I reached out with my free hand and took his wrist. He gave me a puzzled look and I shook my head, red locks flying about before I leaned in closer to him only inches away and gave him a serious look.

"You know… when you do stupid things like this, getting yourself sick because you over worked yourself when you're not gaining anything from it… you're just worrying everyone that cares for you." I grumbled looking down at the fabric of the bed. "And don't think that doesn't include me."

There was a long stretch of silence after that and in those moments I regretted everything that had come out of my mouth and then told myself it was better to say it. Back and forth my mind reeled and I felt as if I was getting dizzy.

Because of this, I practically jumped out of my skin when a light weight collided with my forehead and my eyes shot up making me realize Kyoya was resting his forehead to mine. His eyes were closed and I was glad because the heat flooding my system was rather embarrassing. "You're such a perplexing girl, you do realize your way of thinking makes me question everything I thought I knew?"

It is said that in some ways a touch to the foreheads is more personal then a kiss is, and at the moment I could not help but to agree with that.

I smiled, trying to regain some sense. "Well, that's normally a good thing isn't it? Seeing things from a different view is enlightening." It was rather hard to think clearly when he was this close and that startled me, almost at much as how close his lips were to mine. He only hummed in reply and I thought, just maybe he was going to kiss – and then his door swung open.

I hardly had a change to think before Kyoya was back in his normal potion on the bed as his sister came in with a tray that held a bowl, a cup and a bottle of something – probably cold medicine. "It took longer than I thought it would but I finished it." She said brightly. "Oh good Kyoya you're awake, Masami thank you so much for looking after him would you like to stay for lunch?"

I pondered that for a long moment struggling through my embarrassment as I recalled Kyoya's remark about her cooking and shook my head standing up. "No, that's alright Fuyumi, I should be getting back home any way, thank you though." She nodded her head as I turned and picked up my textbook and shoved it back in my bag.

Throwing it over my shoulder I turned to Kyoya who was eyeing me. "Well I hope you feel better, I'll see you at school." He nodded his head at me and I turned on my heels and made a run for the door. Waving to Fuyumi as I exited I only wished for my heart to slow.