Hello again!

So, here I am with the next chapter!

Thanks for all those reviews!

….

10. FEAR

Gerald got into his car and drove off watching Takumi glare at him. "Farewell brother…"

"Hey, whatcha' glaring at, golden hair? I thought you would at least beg him to spare your life, eh?"

"I don't need to."

"Thinking too high about yourself, boy?" he cracked his knuckles. "Let's see….what should I do first? Smash that smart face of yours?"

"No…better duck."

Usui twisted hard and kicked the men holding him in the abdomen and with a slight jump that came as a reaction, he kicked Jade across the face. Jade cursed under his breath and looked at Usui who was now standing on one of the cars, a hand in his pocket. His suit was a little wrinkled. Except that, he was perfectly fine, not even a sweat drop dotted his flawless face.

"Why you little…" Jade grumbled. His men were too shocked to react on time.

Usui loosened his tie and gave Jade a slide-way glance. "You better quit this. Gerald always underestimated me. You don't do the same mistake."

With that, he jumped off the car and with a spurt of speed, dashed out of the place.

He was barely thinking; something he rarely did. He never let anything clog his mind. But this time, it was different. He knew that Gerald hated him…but to the extent that he would totally wipe him out…he never imagined.

A blaring horn brought him back to focus, but that seemed too late. He just had the time to realize that he was in the middle of a road. The truck in front of him was inches away when he was pulled aside. He and the person who pulled him rolled to the side. Usui looked up and was shocked to see that the person was Jade.

"No one beats up Jade and his men, and dies in an accident," Jade smirked.

"You should have let me. Cause now, you don't stand a chance," Usui was about to punch the man. But his hand stopped in mid air as his head reverberated with pain. His vision blurred as he caught his head in his hands. The pain was agonizing. He couldn't think straight.

"I knew the moment you escaped that we wouldn't have a chance…well, not in a fair play," he laughed as a man from behind Usui walked in front of him, an iron rod in his hand, and the tip dripped with blood. Usui looked at his hands that were stained with blood. He had just the strength to grab Jade's shirt before he collapsed.

…..

Usui relived those painful moments again as he narrated them to Misaki. Though, the thing next happened, he left out. He still feared that moment…when he woke up and saw that people were cluttered around him. Then two men came and passed their hands right through him and reached for something under him.

His breath grew shallow as he looked down and found staring at himself; eyes closed and hair stained with blood that formed a small pool under his head.

He didn't know what to do. For the first time in his life, he felt fear. Not when Gerald tried to kill him, not when Jade's men chased him or when he was nearly hit by a truck. He feared when he looked at himself. He feared when he was seeing himself being hefted into an ambulance. He feared when people walked through him, and he was left alone.

That fear which was rooted into his heart was plucked off by Misaki. He treasured her. He couldn't let her go, he won't at any cost.

He looked at her who was silent for most part of his story. The look on her face amused him. He chuckled seeing her pale face.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked slowly, genuinely and something else that Usui wasn't able to pin-point. But he was sure if he had a heart right then, it would have skipped a beat or two.

"No…It actually feels like a dream…a nightmare."

Misaki fumbled with her words as she couldn't say anything that would make the air light. He smiled. "I am fine Ayuzawa. Don't strain yourself to talk sweet. You always do without even trying."

Her cheeks colored in the dim light and Usui was surprised again. The effect she had on him was superficial…just like him.

She wasn't just a normal girl. She had this short temper, but that doesn't get the better of her. Because she understands him…and that thought was fascinating.

Before meeting her, he went to Tora's place and found him speaking to Jade. He spit out everything, like how Gerald promised him and his men a huge sum of money if they paralyzed Usui. It shocked him to know that Gerald didn't want him killed, but wanted him useless. It took Tora a lot of work to make him tell all that. It was clear from the dark aura that surrounded his body that time. Gerald motives were still unclear but the little facts were enough to put Usui in a bad mood.

Usui took a deep breath. There was Tora who was trying that hard, out of his character, for his sake, and here he was, afraid to speak to his one and only hope. He should do something with the help of Misaki to solve things. He had to…

"Well, there is something else that you need to know…" he said. He couldn't hide that from her anymore. He wanted her to know that he was something that she never expected him to be; something more shocking than an alien. And when he looked at her, a frown formed on his face. She was staring at something behind him, and sweat beaded her face that shone in the dim light.

She immediately ducked down with a short cry and crouched there. She was shivering. Usui turned around immediately to see what was there. But it was nothing but a few white plastic covers hovering around in the air that escaped from the dustbin. They settled down as the air stifled. "Ayuzawa…" he called out, but she was still crouched and was closing her ears.

She slowly looked up and saw the settled rubbish and visible relaxed. But in a moment, she blushed. "I thought…well… you know…" she stammered, her voice still having a light shiver.

"Misaki…are you afraid of ghosts?" Usui asked seriously.

Her cheeks grew a little pinker as it was very rare, if any, for Usui to call her 'Misaki'. And also that she made a fool of herself. She tried to avert that question and retort but when she looked up and saw him staring at her, something in his eyes told her that she had to answer him.

"So what?" she mumbled clearly embarrassed. "I don't know why, but yes, I am scared, very scared, of ghosts. You have any problem with that idiot?"

He did. He felt as if an empty deep hole was forming inside him. Though he wasn't exactly a ghost, he was very similar. If she knew that she was talking to something close to that all this time, she would surely freak out.

He stood there, fists tight. The thought that she would fear him…frightened him…

…

480 : Thanks for reminding me!

Tsuray : Nope! I made Gerald behave according to my plot *evil laugh*

Rebekah: I know the feel *sniff*

So, what do you think?

Well, that's it for now. Meet you in the next chapter!

Have a rocking day!