Chapter 9 -

"A Deal"

"Haku!" I yelled out, ignoring the passing stares of the hospital staff.

I ran as fast as I could, trying to grab Haku, but she was just out of my reach. Finally, she stopped out in front of the hospital. She was just standing there, in the pouring rain. I ran up near her, careful to put some space between us so that she wouldn't be angered.

I couldn't see her face, because her back was to me, but I could still hear her crying softly.

"Akaito...," she croaked, her back still facing me. "I... I can't take it anymore..."

"What are... What can't you take anymore?" I asked cautiously.

"I'm worthless, everyone around me knows it."

"Haku, I-"

"Don't even try, Akaito!" she said, spinning and facing me. She was still clutching the scalpel, causing a look of worry on my face.

"I am worthless! I am good-for-nothing!" she yelled at me. Then, she looked down, and I could hear her sobs once again.

"That's why Nero cheated on me. That's why my dad died before. It's even why my mom died just now!"

"Haku, don't say that. There's nothing that you could have done about those things. It's not in your control," I said, reaching out a comforting hand to her.

She just smacked my hand away, like she did to Dell.

"No, it's all my fault! I caused all those things to happen! If... If only I wasn't so worthless... If only... If only wasn't even born!"

Then, she raised the scalpel, aimed it straight at her heart, and plunged it. You could see the scalpel tear right through the skin, blood covering that area.

A moment of silence passed until I saw Haku's eyes slowly open. She quickly turned her eyes to the scalpel, then to me.

"A-Akaito!" she screamed.

I looked down and saw what she screamed at, then I groaned in pain. It seems that in the split second that the scalpel was about to pierce Haku's heart, I instinctively jumped forward, crashing into her. We both fell on the wet grass, small drips of blood covering some of the grass.

And seems that the scalpel, originally aimed at her heart, had tore deep at my right forearm.

Back to reality now. Haku was looking at me, a horrified look on her face as I clutched my bloody arm.

"A-Akaito, I... I...," she said, at a loss of words.

"It's... Alright, Haku. This isn't gonna kill me," I said, a smile smile on my face.

"I know, but... I never... I never wanted to hurt anyone...," she said, burying her face in her hands. "I just wanted... I just wanted to make them happier by not being here anymore..."

I sat up next to Haku, ignoring the intense pain in my arm. I would fix up later, since we're at a hospital anyways. I gently lifted her chin with my good arm, making her look at me.

"You don't want to hurt anyone? You want to make people happy?" I asked her.

She slowly nodded her head, looking at me with puzzled eyes.

"Then don't kill yourself!" I said, looking at her with fiery eyes.

This seemed to confuse her. "Wh... What? B-but..."

"If you kill yourself, you'll end up hurting everyone around you!" I said sternly. "And they'll be sad because you're gone! Haku, if you kill yourself, you'll be doing the exact opposite of what you want to do!"

After I said that, it seemed to hit her. She realized how big a mistake she was about to make. Her eyes stared at me for a moment, watering a bit. Then, she burst into sobs, burying her head in my chest.

I was surprised, but I comforted her, rubbing her back and laying my head on hers.

"I-I'm sorry, Akaito... I never meant... To hurt you, or anyone else... I just..."

"Shh... It's okay, Haku. It's all okay now. I'm here, don't worry."

She just nodded and continued crying. After a few moments, I started to speak up.

"Hey... Haku?"

"...Yeah?"

"Do you... Remember that bet we made before?" I asked, staring up at the rain.

"...The one we made when we first met?" she asked, still clutching at my chest.

"Yeah, that's the one... Well, I think its safe to say that you won."

"What... What do you mean?"

"I mean what I say! You won the bet! You got a guy to seriously like you before the end of the year. You even got him to love you...," I mumbled.

She looked up now, confused. "What are you talking about? N... Nero never loved me..."

I sighed in exasperation. She was making so much harder than it already was! So, I just decided to come out and say.

"I'm not talking about that idiot! I'm talking about me! I am in love with you, Haku!"

Once I heard her gasp, I instantly regretted what I just said. How could I be so stupid? Of course she doesn't feel the same way! And she just broke up with Nero! Plus, she just tried to kill herself! What great timing I have...

"I'm so sorry, Haku! I didn't mean to just put you on the spot like that! My mouth just-"

"You...," she started, looking down at the ground.

"Huh?"

"You won, too... You also got a girl to seriously fall in love you..."

No way... Is she... Is she saying what I think she's saying?

"Haku... What... What are you trying to say?"

She looked back up at me, then she smiled a smile that made my heart beat incredibly fast.

"What I'm trying to say is that... I love you, too, Akaito."

My eyes widened, but joy quickly overtook me as I crashed my lips onto Haku. I felt her stiffen at first, but then she ended up returning the favor.

When we parted less than a minutes later, we both took a moment to stare straight into each others eyes, as if saying that we were both waiting for this for a long time.

"You know... We never really discussed on what what would happen if one of us lost the bet," she said, a slight smile on her bright red cheeks.

A smile spread across my face, too. "Well, since we both lost..."

I quickly caught her off guard, pulling her in a tight hug.

"How about you be mine forever, and I'll be yours?"

"Not much of a punishment now, is it?" Then she laughed softly and tightened her grip on me. "But, I'll guess we have deal."

Thanks to all of you guys for reading my story! I hope you enjoyed it! I sure enjoyed it! This couple is so cute, and I hope you all think so, too. ^_^ Well, goodbye for now!