Author's Note: I know it's been a year since I've updated this, and I am so sorry. I got distracted by my Hiei/OC story, then I got sick, and then I kept getting more and more story ideas. That doesn't mean I don't love this story though, because I do. Which is why I've decided to finish it before working on any of my other stories. Now, enough of my rambling. Enjoy the chapter!

Post Date: 07 August 2017

Word Count: 5800

Chapter Ten
Hell If I Know Why

"Okay, no more kissing." Koto pulled away from Yusuke and quickly sat up on the bed, and it took her eyes a moment to focus on the room around her. Her breathing was shallow, and she felt twitchy all over. Like she was going to explode out of her skin at any moment.

"Why are we stopping?" She felt a rough hand slide from her wrist up to the bend of her elbow, and she told herself that she was not going to fall for whatever look Yusuke was more than likely giving her before she looked over her shoulder.

"Dammit," was her first thought. Her second thought was a lot less pure. Yusuke was still lying flat on his back and looking up at her with curious eyes, and Koto lightly squeezed her thighs together. His once-gelled hair was a mess from where she'd buried her fingers in it and pulled, his lips were a little swollen from where she'd nipped him a few times with her fangs, and the bottom of his tee shirt was pulled up just enough to show a small strip of skin. What little bit of resolve that she did have was slowly slipping away.

"C'mere," Yusuke said quietly and gently pulled on her arm. So gently that she could have easily resisted, which meant that he wasn't pushing her or pressuring her, and she let herself fall against him. Her forearms were braced against his chest, his ribcage was pressed along her stomach, and she moved one leg to rest between his. She propped her chin on his chest as he lifted his head to meet her eyes, and she tried to ignore the way her fingers shook as she reached forward to touch his face.

"I need you." Fingertips traced along his jawline before sweeping across his cheek. "To tell me." Lightly touched against his nose and moved to the other side of his face. "That this isn't a bad idea." Her index finger stopped at the corner of his lips, but Yusuke kept his eyes on hers.

"This isn't a bad idea." While keeping eye contact, he turned just enough to press a kiss against her fingertip.

Koto let out a quiet moan at the gentle pressure and raised herself up on her forearms. One of Yusuke's hands cupped the back of her neck and pulled her farther up his body, and she sighed as their lips connected again. Her lips were already bruised and a little swollen, but the kiss was a sweet ache as Yusuke held her still and moved his lips against hers. His hand moved to hold the side of her neck as his thumb pressed her chin, and her hands pressed flat against his chest as she seemed to melt against him. Their every movement was perfectly in sync. When he moved, she moved. She felt his other hand press against the center of her back as he slowly kissed at her bottom lip. He was teasing her! Koto's nails scratched against his chest as she tried to press closer, but Yusuke kept the kiss light.

"We'll see who's teasing who!" Koto thought as Yusuke pressed another kiss against her lips.

She parted her lips, just a little. Just enough for Yusuke to capture her bottom lip between his. On the next kiss, she parted her lips just a little more and made a quiet sound in her throat as he lingered. One more nearly chaste kiss…after that, she parted her lips enough to let the tip of her tongue touch against his top lip. She could feel it when the simple action caused him to shake, and his hands held onto her a little tighter as he finally moved to deepen the kiss. Koto didn't fight the hold on her jaw as Yusuke tasted her. She didn't even try to fight for dominance in the kiss. Letting Yusuke set a slow pace as his tongue dipped inside of her mouth to carefully explore her sent a rush of heat through her, and her body shifted as his tongue slid against hers.

The kiss was lazy and made her feel warm all over, and she couldn't help making little moans every time their lips made quiet smacking sounds. She didn't actually want to stop the sounds. When she made quiet little sighs, Yusuke pressed his rough hands a little harder against her skin like he couldn't get her close enough. When her tongue lightly flicked against his, he made a low growling sound that she could feel against her chest and her lips. Her face was filled with heat and her lips were so sensitive, but she never wanted to stop.

Unfortunately, they had to stop eventually. Koto felt a little dazed as they finally parted, and she could still taste Yusuke when she ran her tongue over her bottom lip. A part of her wanted to say to hell with her own personal morals and do what her body was begging for, but she knew she wasn't ready for that yet. Yusuke must not have been either, because he moved his hands so that he was cupping the sides of her face and then leaned up to just quickly peck her kiss swollen lips.

"We should sleep." Yusuke's voice was rough as he looked up at her, and something in Koto's stomach flipped at the tone. Before she could analyze that reaction too closely, she quickly sat up on her knees next to Yusuke's body.

"Sleep sounds good. I'll go change in the bathroom. You change in here," she said and darted off the bed. She grabbed her pajamas and ducked into the bathroom, and she placed the clothes on the sink counter so that she could get a good look at her reflection.

"I look like I've been up to no good."

Her hair was even messier than usual, her cheeks were flushed a dark pink, and her lips were a little darker than usual and puffy. Yet, despite that, she couldn't even get mad at Yusuke for making her look like this. Because what she did to look like this? That felt amazing, and all they did was kiss! If just kissing was enough to make her look like this, what would it be like if they went farther? Not that she was planning on doing anything like that anytime soon, but she couldn't help but to wonder. She'd expected Yusuke to be a little rough, but he'd been so gentle. Like they had all the time in the world to just lay around and make out. Would he be like that if they went farther? Go slow, be a tease, and draw it out?

Koto groaned at the direction her thoughts had taken and quickly stripped out of her clothes. She rinsed off and then pulled on her pajamas, which were a pair of hot pink shorts and one of Yusuke's white tee shirts. The fabric smelled like both of them, and she held the collar up to her nose for a moment. This, them being together, might be a bad idea but she didn't care at the moment. She wasn't sure if she'd ever felt this…happy, before. She was smiling as she walked back into the bedroom, and she paused at the foot of the bed.

"Are you trying to kill me?" she asked. Yusuke, who was mostly lying down with just his head propped up on a couple of pillows, raised a brow at her.

"What are you talking about?" He looked genuinely confused too, which meant that he had no idea.

"You can't just lay around shirtless like that!" She pointed at his bare torso as she yelled, and Yusuke looked down at himself. The blanket and sheets were kicked down to just cover his feet, and he was only wearing a pair of dark blue shorts. That was it. He normally slept in a shirt when they shared a bed, but there wasn't a single shirt in sight.

"Are you embarrassed?" Yusuke asked in a teasing tone. Koto thought about shouting out a, no! That was probably what he was expecting though, so she bit the response back. Instead, she let the anger fade from her face and let her eyes move across his body. From the width of his shoulders, over his chest, and along each ridge of muscle showing in his abdomen.

"More like tempted," she answered and turned so that she could walk to the side of the bed. She'd seen Yusuke's eyes widen in surprise, and she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling in victory. She placed a knee on the bed so that she could lay down, but Yusuke had rocked onto his side and reached over to grab her hips.

"Tempted, huh?" He was lying on his back again, and she was sprawled out over his torso. His bare torso. There was so much warm skin under her, and her eyes kept getting caught on the way that the muscles under his skin moved as he breathed.

"Very tempted," she whispered. She heard Yusuke chuckle quietly before he hooked a finger under her chin, and her eyes were pulled away from his abs as he tilted her face up. The goodnight kiss was soft and thorough, and Koto was breathing out of rhythm again when she fell down against his chest.

"Night, Koto," Yusuke said after switching off the lamp. Koto curled up next to him with her head on his chest as an arm wound around her shoulders, and she made a sound close to a purr as strong fingers gently rubbed her ear.

"Goodnight, Yusuke."

.xXx.

"Wake up!" Yusuke's eyes popped open at the loud yell, and he groaned as bright light hit his eyes. It took a moment for him to finish waking up and get his eyes focused, and the first thing he saw was Koto glaring down at him. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Good morning?" he tried. Aqua eyes narrowed down at him, and he felt a slim finger poking against the center of his chest.

"We skipped dinner! We were so busy with each other, that we missed dinner!" Koto yelled and then huffed quietly. Yusuke realized that he was lying flat on his back, and Koto was kneeling on the bed next to him. She crossed her arms as she leveled another look at him, and Yusuke couldn't tell if he wanted to run away or pull her down against him. "So, you're going to take me to get breakfast. If we leave in the next couple of minutes, you won't even be late for your meetings. So get moving!"

"What? No good morning kiss?" He grinned as her face flushed pink, but she kept her arms tightly crossed and stayed kneeling next to him.

"Not until you've brushed your teeth," she grumbled. That made sense. Yusuke pressed his palms against the mattress and pushed himself up into a sitting position, and he noticed the way that Koto watched him. Looked like sleeping shirtless wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Koto didn't move as Yusuke got off the bed, but he could feel her eyes on him as he grabbed some clothes out of a bag and moved into the bathroom. He left the door cracked, just in case she wanted to talk, and he heard her start moving once he was in the bathroom. Probably making the bed. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and stepped into the shower, but he rushed through it because he didn't want to hear Koto yelling at him. He wouldn't mind talking to her though, especially after what happened last night.

"I made out with Koto last night."

"Yo! Urameshi!" Yusuke froze just as he finished pulling his pants up, and he looked over his shoulder at the cracked open bathroom door. There was no way that Koto could see inside, and he took a second to wonder if she'd just heard his thoughts.

"What?!" he yelled back. He tugged his shirt on over his head and decided to just leave his hair the way it was. He didn't have time to gel it down, not if Koto was serious about going to get breakfast.

"Was last night just a one-time thing?!" Yusuke pushed the bathroom door open and stepped out into the bedroom, and large aqua eyes immediately met his. Koto was sitting at the foot of the perfectly made bed with her legs crossed under her, and he realized that she was already dressed for the day. Pale yellow shorts and a light blue tee shirt that he was sure was his, but the side of it was tied into a small knot over her hip so that it didn't hang down to her thighs. "Quit checkin' me out and answer!"

"No!" Koto blinked as his eyes met hers, and she crossed her arms under her chest.

"No to the stopping of checking me out or no to last night being a one-time thing?" Yusuke reached up to push his hair off his forehead and sighed, because it was still way too early for him to examine his inner emotions. Or whatever. Couldn't they talk about this over lunch or something?

"Both?" Koto's eyes narrowed, and Yusuke knew that she was about to start yelling again because she took in a deep breath. "Both! Both, okay? I like looking at you, because I like you. Hell if I know why." He huffed as he finished and crossed his arms as he looked away, until he heard…giggling?

"You're blushing," Koto pointed out between quiet laughs. His face did feel a little overheated, but it was just because all of this talking was pissing him off. Weren't they supposed to go get food before he had to deal with the nobles all day?

"What about you, huh? Was last night a one-time thing for you?" he asked and turned to look at her again. Koto abruptly stopped laughing, and he watched the way that one small fang dented her bottom lip. Her fingers pulled at the bottom of her shorts, and she looked a little nervous. He could tell because she was fidgeting and avoiding his eyes.

"I don't want it to be a one-time thing, because I like you too." Koto looked directly into his eyes as she admitted that last part, and her lips tilted up into a smile. "Hell if I know why."

"It's 'cause I'm charming," he said and grinned as he walked over to the bed. What little bit of anger he had felt was gone now, and he felt…it was hard to describe. It was kind of like how he felt when Koto let him put his head in her lap so she could run her fingers through his hair. Happy? Content? Something like that.

"Uh-huh, sure, you just keep thinkin' that. I'm just with you because you've got great abs," Koto teased as he stopped in front of her. She was still grinning up at him with a manic little glint in her eyes when he bent down and twisted, and he heard her squeal as she was lifted up onto his shoulder. Since he'd turned around before picking her up, her legs were against his back and her face was pressed against his chest. "Put me down!"

"Just giving you a better view of my hot bod," he said as he started walking out of the room. Koto was still growling quietly under her breath, but he did feel one hand lightly pat his stomach before she gripped the bottom of his shirt with both fists.

"You're ridiculous, you know that, right?" she asked as he started down the stairs. He had one arm braced across her back so that she wouldn't move around as he took the stairs two at a time. Sometimes three or four at a time.

"I'm being helpful." Since it was still pretty early, the staircase was empty and there weren't many people in the dining room on the first floor. There were a few people seated in the large room, but Yusuke ignored the confused and curious looks as he picked a table for them to sit at.

"Next time you want to be helpful, carry me the other way so I can check out your—aah!" Koto let out a high-pitched scream as he flipped her through the air, and she landed perfectly in the chair that he'd pulled out for her. Aqua eyes glared up at him, and Yusuke smiled as he tried to pat down some of her ruffled hair.

"What can we get for you this morning, Lord Urameshi?" Koto stopped slapping at his arm as they both turned to look at the rabbit demon standing next to their table, and the small demon shifted nervously on her feet as they both just continued to stare at her.

"We'll each have a plate of whatever is available," Koto decided. The tiny rabbit bowed and hurried off, and Yusuke looked down at Koto with a raised brow. When she noticed the look, she rolled her eyes and pointed at the other side of the small table with her thumb. "Sit down and stop disturbing the rest of the room."

"I'm not disturbing anyone," Yusuke mumbled but moved around the table anyway to sit down. The table was small, circular, and Yusuke stretched his legs out in front of him after sitting down. His feet knocked into Koto's, and the table shook as she jumped in her chair.

"We are not playing footsie!" Koto hissed at him. He smiled and wiggled his foot around until his right shoe slipped off, and he propped his elbows on the table and watched Koto's face as he stretched his leg out again. His toes lightly poked above her ankle, and her brows pulled down as her cheeks puffed out. Definitely getting ready to yell at him.

"How long are you staying?" he asked before she could start yelling. Her expression went blank as her eyes widened, and he nudged her ankle with his foot when she stayed quiet. It wasn't like her to stay quiet, and it was starting to freak him out a little.

"Me and Hoshimi are leaving after breakfast. We have to get back to the healing center," she said quietly. After breakfast? She was leaving after this?

"Can't you—" He stopped before he could finish asking the question, because he knew it was an unfair question to ask. Koto decided to become a healer, and Yusuke knew that she was taking the new responsibility seriously. She had to be for Hoshimi to already feel so close to her. Hoshimi wouldn't show that kind of closeness for a slacker. Yusuke knew that much about the dog demon.

"Can't I what?" Koto snapped. Yusuke couldn't ask her to stay, because it wasn't a fair thing to ask.

"Nothing. I'll see you when the meetings are over, right? Back in Tourin?" Her face softened, and the small smile on her lips was nothing like her usual manic grins. It was a nice smile though. A really nice smile.

"Yeah, Urameshi. You'll see me back at home." Home. Hearing Koto call Tourin, call the palace, home hit him low in the stomach. It was almost like getting the wind knocked out of him, but with more heat. Ugh, it was way too early for him to be thinking mushy shit like this.

"Sorry for the wait, Lord Urameshi. Lady Orikasa." The rabbit demon from early placed plates of food in front of each of them and then quickly returned with drinks, and she bowed again before quickly scurrying away.

"Was it something I said?" Yusuke asked as he watched the little demon practically run away from their table.

"I think it was your ugly mug," Koto answered and immediately dug into her food. When Yusuke glared across the table at her, she just grinned with her puffed out cheeks.

"Thought you were only with me for my looks?" he asked as he shifted in his seat. Koto tilted her head to the side as she swallowed her food, and the smile on her face was alarming. Very alarming. It was the same look she had when she was calling out injuries while two people were fighting.

"And your charming personality. Now eat before your breakfast gets cold," she said and pointed at his plate.

He started to eat his own breakfast, but he was eating on auto-pilot and a little absent-mindedly as he watched Koto's face. He couldn't just let her get away with all those teasing comments. He popped a bite of…something into his mouth as he moved his foot up the back of Koto's calf, from her ankle to the bend of her knee. Her face flushed red, and she took a long drink before turning back to her food. The look in her eyes was determined though, but Yusuke didn't figure out why for a few minutes.

Toes gently traced over the top of his foot, so Koto must have slipped one of her shoes off too. Her foot slid smoothly against his until she could hook her foot around his ankle, and Yusuke couldn't believe that something so small as playing footsie could be a turn-on. He wasn't even into feet! He'd just been trying to make Koto flustered, which he'd succeeded at, but it looked like it was backfiring on him now.

"Lord Urameshi?" Yusuke and Koto were locked in a staring match, while still playing footsie under the table, when someone next to the table spoke. Koto's foot twitched against his as she smiled, it looked like a victory smile, and Yusuke had to force himself not to growl as he broke their staring match and looked to his left.

"Yeah?" A girl with large green eyes was staring down at him, and she was standing so that her body was angled towards him. Which meant that whoever-she-was couldn't see Koto doing a little victory dance in her chair for winning the staring contest.

"I'm sorry to bother you, Lord Urameshi, I'm Tora Akahoshi." The name didn't mean anything to Yusuke, and he must have looked confused because Koto cleared her throat. The girl, Tora, startled at the quiet sound and looked over her shoulder at Koto.

"Matsuo Akahoshi's daughter? Leader of the Tiger Clan?" Koto cut her eyes over at him for a moment before smiling pleasantly up at the girl, Tora, and the name finally clicked. Matsuo was one of the nobles that didn't complain about all of the new rules, so he was okay in Yusuke's book.

"Sorry, Lady Orikasa, I didn't recognize you," the girl said and bowed her head. Koto did the same, and seeing Koto act so formal was kinda freaky. He didn't like it. He actually preferred the Koto that yelled and demanded to see blood.

"Did you need something?" Yusuke asked the girl. Now that he was actually paying attention, she did look a little familiar. Long black hair (too straight), large green eyes (too dark), fluffy ears on top of her head (too round), and a striped tiger tail (too sleek).

"I just wanted to say that I think all of your ideas are really amazing. I think the changes will be really good for all of Demon World." She interrupted his breakfast to tell him that?

"Thanks." He thought that would be the end of it, but she just kept talking. She brought up every single point that had already been brought up at the meetings and then started explaining why she agreed with everything he had said, and Yusuke felt a muscle in his jaw twitch as she just...kept…talking. He knew that as a king or whatever that he was supposed to be polite to the nobles, but it was early in the morning and this was his last moment with Koto before she left to go back to Tourin. He did not want to spend this moment listening to some girl tell him things he already knew. Now he just had to make her stop, politely. "Excuse me?"

"—such a good counter and…yes?" She blinked as she suddenly stopped talking, and Yusuke tried not to glare up at her.

"Thank you for your support, but I'm tryin' to have breakfast with my girlfriend. Can we pick this up some other time?" The tiger demon's mouth dropped open as she turned to look at Koto, and Koto just looked confused as the other girl sputtered.

"But-but, she's disgraced! Her family doesn't lead the Cat Demon Tribes anymore, and—" She stopped talking abruptly as Yusuke's fist slammed against the table, and he felt a little bad about making all of the dishes rattle. Nothing broke though.

"Did you really just call my girlfriend a disgrace?" Yeah, he was pissed. He felt Koto's foot pulling away from him, and she seemed to shrink in on herself a little. It was completely out of character for her, and the little tiger demon looked between the two of them with a panicked expression.

"I'm so sorry, Lord Urameshi! Lady Orikasa! I'll just…I'll go." She bowed at the waist, to both of them, and then took off towards the other side of the room. Yusuke glared at her back until she was sitting at a table on the other side of the room, with a bunch of other female demons around her age, and he made a quiet snorting sound before looking over at Koto. Then his expression softened out of its glare, because she looked a little shaky.

"You okay?" Koto was loud. She yelled and wasn't afraid to speak her mind, so he didn't understand why she looked so small all of a sudden.

"They still have to call me a lady, but Tora's right. The Orikasa family is disgraced. The eldest has a child and no mate, me the vulgar announcer, a dead father…It sucks, but she wasn't wrong." Yusuke could feel his brows drawing down as fresh anger started to cloud his mind, but he calmed somewhat as Koto laughed quietly and then continued. "I'm okay with being a disgrace. Kele's happy as a teacher, being a vulgar announcer is how I met you, and Father died when Mother did and just held on long enough for us to grow up some. Those noble bitches can kiss my disgraced ass."

Yusuke laughed as Koto did, because that sounded more like the bloodthirsty cat that he knew. Their laughter quickly died down so they could finish eating breakfast, and Yusuke grumbled around his food as he fought to get his shoe back on. He saw Koto wiggling in her seat as she slipped her shoe back on too, and they grinned at each other across the table as they both sat up straight again. They were nearly done with their breakfast when Koto's spine suddenly went rigid, and Yusuke raised a brow at her as her eyes widened.

"Something wrong?" he asked around the food in his mouth. Koto didn't even scold him for talking with his mouth full, and her ear twitched. Her head tilted to the side, in the direction that the little tiger demon had walked off in. He could hear laughter coming from the other side of the room, but he didn't want to look away from Koto to see if it was who he thought it was.

"They don't think I'm good enough to date a king," Koto huffed and rolled her eyes. "It's too bad they don't know how much of a slob you are."

"I'm not a slob. You're a neat freak," he pointed out.

"Ugh, they'll probably start following you around now that they know you're dating. Try to get you to trade up, or whatever." Koto leaned back in her chair and pushed her plate away from her, and Yusuke stopped eating as he looked at her.

"They're all idiots if they think they're better than you." Koto crossed her arms and looked away from him, but he could see the slight blush on her cheeks. He wanted to say more, wanted to try and explain that he was serious about the two of them, but it was getting later. He couldn't be late for another meeting.

"Come on, Urameshi. I need to go get my stuff and find Hoshimi, and you have a meeting to get to," Koto said and stood up. He blinked up at her before slowly getting to his feet, and Koto took off walking as soon as he was standing.

Koto power walked out of the dining room and started up the stairs, because the meetings were held on the third floor, and Yusuke had to nearly jog to keep up with her even though she was a foot shorter than him. He could hear her muttering angrily under her breath as they hurried up the stairs, but he couldn't hear everything she was saying. He just kept picking out certain words. Like bimbos, nobles, and bad idea. That last one caused him to stop just as they reached the third floor, and he reached out to grab Koto's wrist before she could keep stomping down the hallway.

"What are you—" He didn't let her finish as he pulled her towards him, and he expected her to hit him or maybe even try to yell at him as his lips pressed hard against hers.

Instead, one of her hands gripped the front of his shirt and pulled him down to her while her other hand fisted in the back of his hair. The hold wasn't tight enough to hurt, but it was just strong enough for her to hold him against her as his lips slanted against hers. He reached down to grab her hips as he walked her backwards until she hit a wall, and he used the hold to lift her up. Legs locked around his waist as Koto's lips parted under his, and he reached down to hold onto her thighs as he pressed her against the wall. Her nails dug down into the back of his neck as his tongue moved against hers, and he didn't pull back until his chest was burning from the lack of oxygen.

"Yusuke." His name was a quiet whisper as he tightened his grip on her thighs and pulled her farther up his body, and he reached up with one hand to cup the side of her neck and pressed his thumb under her chin to tilt her head to the side.

His lips skimmed across her cheek until he traced under the curve of her jaw with his tongue, and he felt the hand in his hair tighten as her hips pushed up against him. He placed small kisses down the length of her neck and flicked his tongue out to taste the salt of her skin. Koto was making high-pitched whines by the time he reached the bottom of her neck, and he moved his hand down to push the collar of her tee shirt aside. His teeth lightly closed over the skin of her collarbone as he sucked, and Koto's hips bucked as she started clawing at his arm and pulling on his hair. He bit down a little harder before letting her pull him away, and her lips were already opened for him when he kissed her again.

"Lord Urameshi!" Yusuke groaned as he pulled back, and Koto's eyes were hazy and unfocused as she looked at him.

"What, Hokushin?" he asked without looking away from Koto's face. Her cheeks were flushed red, her lips were dark pink and swollen, and her chest pushed against his with every inhale. Her thighs tightened rhythmically around his waist in time with her quick breathing, and he was sure that he was gripping her thigh tight enough to bruise.

"We're going to be late." Hokushin was standing at the far end of the hallway, Yusuke could see him out of the corner of his eye, and he knew that he needed to leave.

"Be right there!" he called out. Hokushin walked away a moment later, and Yusuke moved his hand back up to cup the side of Koto's neck. She still looked a little dazed as his thumb pressed against her bottom lip, and she moaned quietly as her hips rolled and her lips parted just a little.

"Come home soon, okay?" She sounded breathless, and Yusuke clenched his jaw for a moment to stop himself from leaning forward to kiss her again.

"Will you sleep in my bed tonight?" It was going to suck with her gone, but it might be a little easier if he knew that she was in his bed. In his bed. In their home. Her eyes focused a little more as her nails lightly scratched against his scalp, more soothing and less urgent than before, and she leaned forward to rub her nose against his.

"Yeah, Yusuke, I'll sleep in your bed tonight."

He leaned forward a little more to kiss her bottom lip, then her top lip, and she was laughing quietly as he pressed kisses against her cheeks and forehead. She pushed at his shoulders after a few moments, and he reluctantly took a step back. He let her go so that she could stand on her own, and he watched her eyes darken as she licked her bottom lip and looked up at him. If he stayed in the hallway for too much longer, he'd say to hell with the meeting and lock them in a room somewhere. Koto must have been thinking something along the same lines, because she bit down on her bottom lip and tightly crossed her arms. The look she was giving him was pointed, and he stuck his hands into his pockets as he forced himself to take an even breath.

"I'm goin'. See you at home."

Yusuke turned on his heel and walked off down the hallway, and he paused as he reached the end of the hallway to look over his shoulder. Koto was standing in the same place, looking at him, and she smiled as she waved to him. It was a small gesture, her hand just moved back and forth a couple of times before falling back to her side, and he didn't want to leave her. He raised his own hand to give a quick wave and then turned back around. He didn't want to walk away, but this was important. The meetings were important. And as soon as the meetings were over? He could go home.

Ending Note: I hope this chapter made up for the long wait a little bit! There's only a few chapters left after this, one or two, so this story will be complete pretty soon. If there's anything that you'd like to see, now is the time to request it!

The girl mentioned, Tora, is actually the same age as Yusuke and Koto. So, around twenty-two. And all of those descriptions in parentheses are because Yusuke is comparing her to Koto, and he obviously prefers the way Koto looks. Just thought I'd clear that up a little.

shirohara: I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter! I had a fangirl moment myself. lol. Thank you for the review!

AstroLibra: I love the pairing too! Even though it is a little unusual. Thank you for the review!

Guest: I didn't mean to leave readers hanging! I did leave it on a bad cliffhanger too, huh? I hope this chapter made up for that, and I am definitely not abandoning this story! Thank you for the review!

SakiHanajima1: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS! Haha, I was waiting for their first kiss too, which sounds crazy since I'm the author but we both know that The Story is in charge and not me. I really hope you liked this chapter, and thank you again for all of the amazing reviews!