Just a heads up. Things get a little limey towards the end.

Chapter 10

Before they left the place that would be their new home, and where they would begin their new life the realtor gave both Tsukimi and Kuranosuke a set of keys. Tsukimi stared at hers transfixed in the moment as the sunlight glinted off the metal. Kuranosuke wondered about what could be going on in her mind.

Tsukimi was more than lost in her train of thoughts. She was lost in oblivion. It was like her mind was completely shut off to the world around her. The only thing penetrating her brain was something like "ooh shiny" as the key dangled like a pendulum moving backwards and forwards to the sway of her shaking hand. It was only when Kuranosuke touched her shoulder that she was pulled back from her trance-like state.

"We should get back to Amamizukan sooner rather then later. Come on, Tsukimi, it's time to face the music." When he said that the funeral march began to play in Tsukimi's head. There was no denying that going back to Amamizukan filled her with dread.

The train ride back only registered in her brain as the sounds of the doors opening and closing, the bumps as the train car moved along the track, and being jostled back and forth in Kuranosuke's embrace.

He held her close to him. His reasoning wasn't because he wanted her in his arms, although there was no denying that was an added bonus. He did it because he wanted to comfort her. He had no clue how she was taking it. She hadn't said a word for awhile.

The train stopped at their neighborhood and they both got off. Kuranosuke guiding her steps off the platform and into the flow of the other passengers disembarking. The walk to Amamizukan would only take them another five minutes but he wanted to be sure she was truly ready for this. "Tsukimi, you don't have to go home yet if you aren't ready. I can just as easily take you to my house for a bit."

That was the moment that snapped her out of her trance. "No, I need to do this. I won't like it of course. But I need to be able to confront them, hopefully I'll have a chance to explain."

"Still, this whole thing isn't your fault. It's mine."

Tsukimi giggled. It seemed out of place in the moment but it lit up her face and made Kuranosuke smile in response. "Not your fault you were born a boy."

He choked on a laugh himself.

All too soon the two arrived at the path that would lead them up to the door of Amamizukan. "Kuranosuke, maybe we should say goodbye here. I am not sure how they will react if you followed me in. I wouldn't put it past them to bludgeon you to death or something."

Kuranosuke chuckled. "You really do get carried away sometimes. No, no you aren't going into the lion's den by yourself. I will at least join you in the foyer."

She sighed and trudged up the path. Once the door opened and she crossed over the threshold she gasped at the sight before her. "You, betrayer of the nunnery, shall not pass further into our dominion." Mayaya said and seemingly hissed at her.

Chieko indicated the boxes in the foyer. "As you can see we took the liberty of packing up your things for you. The only thing we didn't touch was Clara's tank. We figured it best that you handled your jellyfish."

"How..." Kuranosuke's face turned from a peach-ish ivory to a scarlet red in an instant. Smoke blew out his ears, and he swore he could hear a train whistle in the distance. He took a deep breath before he said something in anger he probably would regret. "How could you do this to her?"

Chieko huffed as she turned to face Kuranosuke's temper. "As building manager I have to force the rules and be the bad guy on occasion. I of course wish her no ill will."

"You could have given her a couple days to make sure she actually had a roof over her head. What about her furniture?"

"Kuranosuke stop," Tsukimi grasped his arm tightly, attempting to pull him back with her meager strength. He hadn't realized he had inched forward and stood only a breath away from Chieko's face. He retreated a few steps back as Tsukimi explained further. "The furniture isn't mine. The room was furnished. The only things that were mine could easily fit in these few boxes."

He breathed deeply through his nose before turning to Tsukimi. "If you think it's fine I guess I will live with that. Still, they should not be forcing you out this way." Then he turned back to Chieko. His lavender eyes turning gray from the turbulent emotions swarming in his chest.

"Chieko," Tsukimi pleaded. "I know I broke the rules, and I will accept any punishment you see fit. But, I would like to point out that before you knew Kuranosuke was male that you eventually welcomed him. He brought us matsusaka beef. We never would have tried it if not for him. He helped us plan ways to save Amamizukan, if it would ever come to that. Now you are holding a sexist rule over his head because you are too afraid of the opposite sex."

Banba had been silent up until then. "Not gonna lie I'm thankful for the meat. But, Tsukimi, he attacked you last night. He tried to paw his man hands all over you. You looked petrified."

Tsukimi sighed. "He didn't try to attack me. I...I blew things out of proportion. I was scared I won't deny that. I mean just like you all I fear men too. But, he's...it's just different okay."

Different she said? Kuranosuke's eyes began to turn their normal shade as he began to contemplate the possibilities of what different could mean. It sounded good and maybe he should just accept that it probably was meant that way.

"Whatever you say right now is not going to change my mind. I insist that you take these boxes, Clara, and be on your way."

"Miss Mejiro is also behind this isn't she?" Kuranosuke asked.

"Pssh, if Miss Mejiro had it her way you would be dead on the spot."

Tsukimi knew that to be a true enough statement. She glanced at Kuranosuke and realized that he was quite aware of the validity of the statement also.

He touched her shoulder. "Look, I'm gonna call my father and see if he can have a truck sent over to pack up your stuff. It's not ideal but for the time being we can leave most of your stuff in our future apartment until we can get things set up there. Then, you can grab the things you need and stay the night at my place." He hastily added, "I mean in one of the guest rooms of course."

Tsukimi didn't see that she had any other options at the moment so she nodded at him.

OoO

Surprisingly, it didn't take long for Tsukimi to separate the things she needed from the things she sent on to the apartment. She had grabbed her sketchbooks, laptop, toiletries, and a few articles of clothing. She put those in a separate pile from everything else.

"What about Clara?" Tsukimi asked. "I think it would be a bad idea to bring her to your house, and I don't really want to leave her alone at the apartment either."

Kuranosuke sighed. He looked at the other members of the nunnery. "Can I ask you, I mean would you please consider looking after Clara until we get more things sorted out with the apartment? We honestly have a location we just have to get some furniture and things in place first."

Chieko took a deep breath and looked at the others. The girls all quietly nodded at Chieko. "I guess I don't foresee that as a problem."

Even though the others had been through it several times over with Tsukimi she still insisted on instructing them the proper care of a jellyfish. It was a time consuming lecture but luckily the truck arrived just then and Kuranosuke was able to load it while Tsukimi was still busy.

OoO

Kuranosuke's and Tsukimi's stomachs began to growl once they got the last box put up in the apartment. "I think that's our bodies telling us it's supper time."

Tsukimi blushed. "Yeah, think we should explore the surrounding area? Maybe we could pick up something light on the way?"

Kuranosuke smiled. "I like the sound of that."

The two walked the streets arm in arm. They laughed at some silly charms they saw at one street vendor. They were made of pastel colored resin and were quite unique. Definitely something that was aimed more at the Lolli populace that frequented the area.

Not far from the stand they noticed a cute little cafe. They stopped to each order a sandwich. Both were equally impressed at the flavors judging from the sounds of their moans of satisfaction as they bit into them.

All too soon the sky grew dark, and they had to be heading back to the station that would take them back to Kuranosuke's house.

Tsukimi was put in a room only two doors down from his own. The only door that separated them was a bathroom.

Kuranosuke escorted Tsukimi to her room. It was only two doors down from his. The door in between a full bath. He smiled at the thoughtfulness of the maids who had supplied her room with fresh linens. The sheets were already turned down for her also. "I think I should take a shower before turning in."

"Oh yes, um let me get you some fresh towels. I'll be right back." He groaned as his mind turned to thoughts of Tsukimi's soft peach flesh unveiled and only one door away from his bedroom. "Ugh I definitely gotta stop thinking such things." He grabbed the towels and returned to her room to find her seated in the middle of the floor crying.

He immediately dropped the towels and pulled her in the cocoon of his arms. "Shh, it is all going to be alright Tsukimi."

"I'm scared. I'm terrified of how things are going to turn out for us. I'm depressed that I am practically homeless. Plus, I feel like tonight I lost four important friends."

"First, life is full of hardships. If things were easy it would be boring. Secondly, you are most definitely not homeless. Even if we didn't already have the apartment lined up I could never turn you away. Thirdly, I honestly believe that sometime in the future those four will come around. I think once they stop and take a step back they may even let me in."

Tsukimi stopped crying, sniffled once before she arched an eyebrow at his last statement.

"Okay, so maybe not the last one. But who knows? Life is full of uncertainties. I like to think of them as a mystery waiting to be unraveled. Now, you said something about a shower?"

OoO

Kuranosuke listened in his room to the sound of the water rushing from the shower head. He didn't even make any sort of attempt to block it out. He just listened and imagined each delicate, soft, supple body part she soaped up and rinsed. He imagined how her peachy skin would become pinker from the heat from the spray of the water as it impacted her body. He followed a path of a droplet as it trailed down her cheek, dripping to her neck, then her collarbone. He switched gears when it drifted even further south on her body.

He, now, imagined he stood in the shower with her. That he held the cloth that rinsed away the suds from her body. His hands caressing down each shoulder to her arms. Then his eyes burning as he took in her bare breasts with both his sight and his touch. He imagined the weight of them both in his hands. He would caress them, and once her skin pebbled from the arousal he would take the stiff buds of her nipples one at a time into his mouth to devour them.

Kuranosuke grabbed the pillow behind his head and threw it across the room just as he realized the water had finally been shut off. He barely heard her rustling around. She was probably drying and putting on her sweats.

Not long after a timid knock came to his door. "Um, Kuranosuke?"

He grabbed another pillow behind him and laid it across his lap. "Come in Tsukimi, what's…?" He halted because she wasn't wearing her sweats like he had previously imagined she would be. She was in a robe and it was quite obvious that she had nothing on underneath.

"Sorry, I didn't realize. I only brought the one pair of sweats. I was wondering if I could borrow something of yours."

"Sur.." He had to clear his throat because of the squawk that came out of it. "Sure." He got up from the bed only just then remembering the state his body was in. But of course at that point it was a tad too late. He knew she saw how his pajama bottoms tented from his erection. He confirmed that by the sound that expelled from Tsukimi. He sighed. "Let me get those for you then you can go back to your room."

"I...is that..I mean to say.."

"What are you wanting to ask, Tsukimi?"

Her face blushed scarlet. "Nothing. Nevermind."

"If you were going to ask if this was a reaction to listening to you bathe in the shower, well you wouldn't be wrong. But no worries I promise to be a gentleman and keep my hands to myself."

"Um...but...why would I..sorry I don't really know what to say here."

"Were you about to ask why you would cause such a reaction in me?"

She looked to the floor and nodded.

"Tsukimi, I am not ready to answer that quite yet. But I will promise that I won't lay a finger on you in that regard. Not unless you ask me to." He handed her a pair of his pajama bottoms and an oversized t-shirt. He tried desperately not to imagine how they would look on her.

"I, thank you," she wet her lips with her tongue and he groaned as his eyes followed the action. "I, I'm curious..."

"About?"

"I was wondering if..."

"Wondering what?"

"Kuranosuke, would you..."

"Would I what?"

"Kuranosuke, I want you to kiss me." The minute the words were out of her mouth she was hauled against his chest. She gasped in surprise to the action.

"I want to kiss you, Tsukimi. But at the moment I am a bit too wired." He arched his hips against hers so his erection was stiff against her belly. "You see? I'm so excited right now I'm afraid my hormones would let me take it too far. Plus, I want you to ask a kiss not out of curiosity but out of your own desire to feel my lips against yours. When I know that's what you truly want then I won't be able to keep myself from indulging you."

Again, the characters are doing what they want to do. I do no want them to get together this soon in the story. Kuranosuke start behaving! Tsukimi stop gravitating towards him this early on! Gah!

To Guest ty for reviewing. I'm happy to know you are enjoying it.

I hope this chapter goes over well. I decided not to post this chapter until I finished the next one. I literally just finished it so I am following my own promise to myself. I hope those of you reading this that you are enjoying the story thus far.

I wanted to include a letter to Tsukimi from Miss Mejiro but I just couldn't think of what she would say. So maybe she will get a letter in the future. Or maybe we will actually see the elusive Miss Mejiro in the future, who knows?