Kakusa Reta Kanjo

(Hidden Feelings)

Jyuushiro woke up early that morning. His chocolate brown eyes opening to the dark, starry sky as the sun's rays shone off in the distance, reshading the sky with dark pinks and oranges. He then pulled the covers back, careful not to wake his dear Soifon, sleeping peacefully beside him. Shifting his legs slightly and quietly to the side of the bed, he arose and walked over to the balcony and opened the door. He took a deep breath, absorbing the smell of the morning dew of the day, then he shut the door, so Soifon wouldn't get cold and exited the bedroom.

He went into the kitchen and headed straight for the cabinets. He opened them and grabbed a tall, clear glass, walked over to the sink and filled it with water. Then he took it to the table of their hotel room and set it down. Following after, he walked over to a drawer, opened it, pulled out a little black bag and set it on the table. He sat down, opening the black bag and pulled out twelve bottles of pills.

This was what Jyuushiro hated most about his day. The time when he had to take his medicine, vitamins and such. This was the part of his day he never wanted Soifon to see.

Jyuushiro was not ashamed of his illness. It was quite the contrary. He thought his illness made him unique, special . . . interesting. At least to him. What other captain did he know that was so sick yet still able to run a division and fight against hollows? Well, other than Kenpachi who could be on the brink of death and still put up a fight. But the reason he keep this daily ritual of his from the blossom of his life was because he loved her and knew this would worry her. And he didn't want to be a burden to his darling Soifon. Thus the reason why he always woke up before the break of dawn to take his medicine, vitamins and such and return to sleep the rest of the morning with his beautiful blossom.

The first thing he took was his cough medicine. This bill was blue and had a one imprinted on it so he knew to take that one first. He had all the pills numbered so he would know what to take when. The pill was designed to control his coughs throughout the say, so he wouldn't be coughing up blood around others, especially Soifon.

The second pill he took was pink and of course has a two on it. This pill was to replenish his blood count from all the blood he was losing from coughing. But since he hadn't been coughing a lot lately, he would cut it in half and take half of it.

Next was an orange pill that was supposed to help fight off the illness' effect on his body but he thought it never worked but he still would take it. He wouldn't want to disobey the doctor.

After this was a grey pill that looked like chalk and dissolved like chalk too. He wondered if Unohana-taicho were really giving him chalk and calling it a pill. Anyway, this pill replenished his white blood cells, which his body was using up to fight off infections caused by his weak immune system.

Next came the vitamins. The first one he took was a normal vitamin for men hitting their millennia. Like "Men's One A Day" but for a shinigami. Next came a vitamin for people whose reiatsu was high and so his body could be immune to illness and infections when it was weak. Basically, it was to keep his reiatsu at healthy levels. After that came a vitamin to keep up with his metabolism. Since his illness, his metabolism had increased, so this vitamin helped keep it a healthy rate for his body. And lastly, the multivitamin, which consisted of the six basic vitamins your body needed to stay healthy.

Finally came those extra pills. He took an iron pill, again for the blood lost; garlic, to help with his heart and immune systems as well; calcium for his bones, so they wouldn't break and ginseng, well, because it dealt with some of everything. It helped with the inflammatory in his throat caused by all his coughing, lowering his cholesterol, increasing his energy and endurance, reducing fatigue and stress, and prevent infections. Or so he was told. He thought it couldn't hurt to try so it took it every day just like everything else he took.

After he finished swallowing the last pill, he hid the pill bag back in the drawer and washed the glass, dried it off and placed it back in the covered so Soifon wouldn't suspect anything. Then he peddled back into the bedroom quietly and slide back underneath the covers with his beloved Soifon.

Soifon felt the warmth of the sun hitting her and she rolled over to snuggle closer to Jyuushiro, except for the fact that he wasn't there. She quickly bolted up in the bed, throwing the sheets off her legs before she ran towards the door.

As she opened the bedroom door, she heard the sound of feet creeping into the direction of the kitchen.

Whew she sighed to herself. He wasn't dead after all. He was just in the kitchen, but why? She wondered.

Then she heard his feet shuffle back towards her direction and she flash stepped back into bed and pretended to be sleep again.

She sucked in her breath as he slid back into bed and wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed her gently on her neck. She smiled and snuggled up to him, happy he was back in bed with her but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was up. She was worried about why he had gotten up and sneaked off to the kitchen. And what was he doing in there?

Ever since yesterday, she was so afraid to be away from Jyuushiro, afraid that something would happen to him and she wouldn't be able to prevent his death. She didn't want to let him out of her sight and she didn't want to be let out of his. She wanted them to spend every waking and sleeping moment together. And she intended to do just that.

But aside from her fear about him dying without her there to save him, she was also concerned that Jyuushiro was hiding something from her. Jyuushiro seemed like the type of guy that didn't flaunt his business for everyone to see but if you wanted to know something, all you need to do was ask. Now just to ask him.

She rolled over and lightly tapped him on the shoulder. "Jyuushiro, wake up, I need to talk to you," she whispered.

He just held her closer and nuzzled his nose in her neck and growled in her ear.

Not that she wasn't enjoying the attention, but she really needed Jyuushiro to wake up and listen to her. Usually he was so good about picking up her feelings, why was he so off today? Was he really unfocused or was he trying to get her mind off of her worries and focus on something more pleasant.

"Jyuushiro, I really need you to listen for a moment. Could you please stop kissing me for a second?" She put her hands up in front of him, blocking him from touching her.

"What's wrong sweetie?" he finally sat up and looked her deep in the eyes, grabbing her hands in his.

"Well, I don't know how to exactly say this, but is there something you want to tell me about?" she asked instead. She figured if she gave him the opportunity to tell her what happened as opposed to asking him why he hid something from her.

"Is there something I'm supposed to tell you?" he questioned in reply.

Did he really not think his sneaking around in the kitchen something he needed to tell her or did he intentionally mean not to tell her. How was she going to respond to this? Should she just tell him that she knew or pretend as he clearly was doing.

"I guess if you have nothing to tell me, then there's nothing to tell." She shrugged then laid back down and snuggled into his arms.

"Okay," Jyuushiro drawled but she could tell from the sound of his voice, he didn't sound so sure.

An hour later, they both woke up and while Jyuushiro was taking his shower, Soifon was in the kitchen trying to find whatever it was he was hiding. She started with the drawers. She had read in Cosmo, a magazine she thought silly but useful when trying to understand how girls in relationships thought about the men they were dating. Cosmo had said that men often hid things they don't want their women to see in drawers. Of course Cosmo had also pointed out that these drawers usually involved a man's under garments. Soifon was so glad Jyuushiro wasn't hiding things in his underwear drawer. Seeing Jyuushiro in boxers was one thing, but going through them was another.

She rifled through most of the drawers and the only thing she found that was worth anything was his pill bag but she knew he was sick so she didn't think that was what he was hiding. She decided she would look under the counters next. Cosmo had said that men sometimes taped things under counters, knowing women wouldn't look under them because they were too busy cleaning the tops.

Soifon found that to be ridiculous since she didn't clean counters and weren't underneath the counters far more dirty than the tops. However, it did make sense to her. No one hardly ever looked under the counter.

After having searched under all the counters, she saw no more reason to snoop. There was nothing there. Whatever Jyuushiro was hiding, it wasn't physical, it was mental. There was something inside Jyuushiro's head that he didn't want her to know. If there was one thing Soifon knew about Jyuushiro, it was that if you wanted to know something, he would have already told you. So the fact that he didn't tell her meant he didn't want anybody to know.

Jyuushiro felt bad for having lied to his girlfriend earlier this morning but he just couldn't tell her what he was hiding. He just couldn't divulge that part of him to her.

Jyuushiro knew that she understood he had an illness and that he was indeed sick but what she didn't understand was how much this illness controlled his life. He couldn't attend parties because coughing up blood would infect other people and make them sick. He couldn't attend funerals because coughing would disturb the service. He couldn't do many sports because his sickness made his body too weak to exert himself. He could barely go on dates because the sight of blood scared his dates away or just ruined their evening. As for sex, he couldn't perform if too weak from coughing and he doubted she wanted to do it if he were coughing up blood all over her naked body.

Jyuushiro just felt like a burden to Soifon. She was young and full of life and had energy to burn and new adventures to endeavor. Sooner or later, she would be tired of holding herself back for him. It was only a matter a time. Yesterday was proof of that.

If he hadn't stopped to take his meds, she wouldn't have got bored and wondered off. If he hadn't needed to take his meds this morning, he wouldn't have had to leave his Soifon's side. What would happen the next time he needed to take his meds? Would they be dancing and he have to abandon her on the dance floor? Would they be making out and he kill the mood by having to stop? What if they got married and he had to take them during their vows?

Jyuushiro did love Soifon, more than life itself but sooner or later, his illness would ruin things for them. He would have to let her go. And to think, he had bought a ring and wanted to propose. He guessed he could return it sense he was going to break up Soifon.

He leaned his head against the wall and let the water wash away his tears.

Jyuushiro entered the living area and saw Soifon sitting on the sofa flipping through the channels until she stopped and leaned forward on the couch. He wondered what she was staring at so he came up behind her, leaned his elbow on the couch and was stunned at what he saw. On the scene was a woman dressed all in white kissing a man in a tux and there were cheers all around.

Great. Now she wants to get married. How can I possibly dump her? Can things get any worse?

Soifon quickly shut off the television. Then she got up and walked into her bathroom.

Jyuushiro found that to be the oddest thing but he figured she didn't want him to see the expression on her face or she needed a moment to collect her thoughts or both. Either way, she was out of the room and that gave Jyuushiro time to think.

Maybe I could wait until the end of our trip to tell her but if I wait til we get back to Soul Society, she can Bankai my ass without restraint. However, if I tell her before we leave, it will ruin the trip and she will hate me even more. No matter how I look at this, I will hurt her and most likely myself.

But if he were to be honest with himself, he didn't want to breakup with her. He did want to marry her, have kids with her and live a long life with her. Yet he knew the last one would be impossible. He was older and sickly, and she was young and vibrant, there was no way he could see that happening.

Soifon was panicking. She couldn't believe she thought that and right in front of Jyuushiro. She just knew he could tell what she was thinking.

I can't believe I want to marry Jyuushiro. I never thought in a million years I would want to get married and her I am picturing myself in a white dress saying 'I do' to Jyuushiro.

This is all going too fast. I'm just acting this way because he got shot yesterday and I'm afraid he'll die and he's hiding things from me. I just don't want to lose him but marriage isn't the answer.

Soifon knew what she needed to do. She needed to talk to Jyuushiro and explain how she was feeling and maybe if she spilled her guts he would spill his.

Happy with her decision, she came out of her bathroom and went back over to the couch and sat down beside her boyfriend.

"Jyuushiro, we need to talk," she told him.

"Okay, what would you like to talk about?" he responded.

"Uh . . . we need . . . to . . . pick a place to eat breakfast or figure out what room service offers, since we didn't eat last night." She chickened out but figured it best to eat first and then maybe discuss their problems. That way both would be fed and not angry from hunger and no hurtful words would fly in the air.

"Sure . . . that sounds like a great idea." He looked at her puzzlingly. "I think we'll go out. It's more expensive to order room service and we can also finish seeing the sights. So why don't you shower and change so we can go," he told her.

"Oh yeah, I still haven't showered," she thought out loud as she ran to her bathroom. She had been too busy snooping around in the kitchen to get dressed. But this was good. This would give her more time to think about what to say to Jyuushiro when they finally sat down to talk as well as give her time to work up the courage too.

Jyuushiro walked into his closet to try and figure out what to wear to breakfast but his mind wouldn't focus on the clothes in front of him. He was more concerned with the fact that Soifon wanted to talk.

What could she possibly want to talk about? From the look on her face he gathered it wasn't about marriage. Had it been, she would have been blushing or shy but she seemed anxious more than anything else. If there was one thing he learned about Soifon in the short time they had spent together is that Soifon is rarely anxious. She is always resolute and so sure of herself about her feelings so the fact that she was anxious meant that she was unsure about something. But he also knew that she was worried about him since he had been shot yesterday, so maybe this nervousness stemmed from that. Either way, he wasn't going to get his answers unless he got dress and they talked about it over breakfast.

Today looked rather warm so Jyuushiro decided he would wear a nice polo and some jeans. He remembered Soifon telling him she liked the way he looked in his jeans so he would definitely want to make her happy by wearing some. Now to decide what color polo.

Jyuushiro really did look good in any color but he just hated to wear light colors. They made him look to bright and white made him look pale and ghostly. He really thought he looked good in black but it was too warm for that. So he picked out a royal purple polo with a white butterfly on the left side underneath his arm.

Most people thought he looked girly wearing that shirt but Jyuushiro did love butterflies and he wasn't insecure about his sexuality to wear that shirt. He knew who he was and he knew what he liked. He could care less about what others thought about him.

Jyuushiro also picked out a pair of light blue jeans and his white vans.

Deciding he had a fashionably acceptable outfit, he slipped out his robe, hopped in his jeans and put on his shirt.

"Oh shit, I forgot my boxers," he said as he ran out of the closet and looked in the dresser.

He had intended to find a pair of boxers but a glimpse of Soifon in her bathroom in the mirror froze him in place. She had her hair pinned up into a messy bun and she was trying to apply mascara to her eyelashes. She was also still in her robe and her skin was glistening with moisture.

Right then and there, all the doubts and fear Jyuushiro had of illness ruining their relationship melted away. The thought of her putting on makeup in his bathroom, wearing nothing but a robe with wet skin, it just felt right to him. She belonged in his life, by his side, in his arms; it just all seemed to match.

He no longer was going to break up with her. He was going to tell her he loved her and he never wanted to leave her.

He walked into her bathroom, came up behind her, and kissed her gently on the neck. Then he wrapped his arms around her waist and swayed her back and forth. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"Oh." She blushed. "Well I love you too." She smiled to herself and then turned in his arms to look at him. "What brought this about?" she asked.

"I just felt the need to tell you I love you," he simply replied.

"Is it because I said we needed to talk?" she questioned. "Jyuushiro I—"but she never got to finish as lips descended to hers and kissed her passionately.

"This has nothing to do with what you said earlier. This has to do with the fact that you're, practically half naked, applying mascara, trying to get cute for me and . . . this just feels right. This just feels like we belong together."

"Really?" her face reddened and she turned away from him. "I never knew putting on mascara could have such an effect," she murmured.

"It's that and other things." He chuckled and lightly kissed her on the forehead. "Now why don't I let you get dressed while I look for those boxers and then we can go eat. I'm famished." He let go of her and walked out of her bathroom.

Twenty minutes later he had on some boxers and his shoes, about to turn on the t.v. when he heard a door creak open and heels click across the floor.

"So you're finally ready—"but he stopped short once he saw her. She was wearing a sleeveless sundress the color of the actual sun with white daisies all over and on her feet she had white, strappy sandals with a giant daisy on the front. Her hair was tied up in a curly ponytail by a white ribbon and diamond studs in her ear. She was truly a sight to see.

"You look beautiful," he finally said after a while.

"Thank you." Her cheeks flushed.

"Uh . . . so shall we go?" he extended his arm.

"Yes we shall," she took his arm, smiling and then they were on their way.

They had rested on the idea to go a restaurant with a menu as opposed to one with a buffet. Jyuushiro figured it would be better if she could pick her breakfast than to be bombarded with breakfast items.

He had chosen to take her to IHOP (international house of pancakes) because they had the largest selection of breakfast dishes and they served breakfast all day, even at one in the afternoon.

"Oh so many choices," she finally spoke up. "What do you think I should get Jyuushiro?"

"Well, what is drawing your attention the most?" he responded.

"Ooo. The stuffed French toast looks good," she replied. "I wonder what it is stuffed with."

"I think its cream cheese, very good I hear but I'm sure they can make substitutions."

"Oh no. I want to try some of this cream cheese. It sounds . . . I don't know what to say but I am intrigued nonetheless."

"Haha. Well then, I'll have the same. You make it sound like it some mystery breakfast that only the gods would eat," he chuckled.

"You don't think it amazing? They put cream cheese inside French toast! I just find that to be very interesting," she smiled to herself.

Jyuushiro couldn't help but smile as well. They were finally in a good place; no arguing, no crying and no silence. They were laughing and smiling and being happy together. Maybe all this good humor would make Soifon forget all about the talk she wanted to have with him. He certainly had forgotten all about breaking up with her.

To be honest, he hadn't thought about that since he saw her in her bathroom. He just didn't see the need to talk about anything. They were in a good place. Why ruin the moment with serious stuff. But as soon as he saw Soifon put down her menu, he knew the talk was about to begin.

"So Jyuushiro . . ." She twiddled with her fingers for a moment then took a deep breath, as if summoning her courage and looked him dead in the eye. "Is there anything you want to tell me?"

I see he thought. She wanted him to tell her before she had to drag it out of him. Well, he would have gladly obliged her if he knew exactly what she wanted to know. Although, he had a pretty good idea it had something to do with his leaving bed so early this morning. But if she desired to know what he was up to, she would have to ask him directly.

"That is a very vague question my dear Soifon." He leaned forward in his seat, resting his elbows on the table and his hands laced beneath his chin. "What exactly is it that you want to know?"

He saw her eye twitch, guessing that she was displeased with his response but she would have to come out and say it if she wanted her answer.

"Fine," she aid through gritted teeth. "What were you doing this morning?"

"This morning when? I was doing several things," he replied.

So looked like she was about to blow her top as she leaned across the table into his face when the waiter came and interrupted them.

"Hi I'm Susan, I'll be your waiter, are you guys ready to order or do you . . ." the girl stopped, noticing the tension between the two lovers.

"No, we're ready," Jyuushiro turned to her, a smile plastered on his face. "We'll have the stuffed French toast combos and two glasses of orange juice."

"Sir, you do know the orange juice isn't a free refill?"

"That's fine," he nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right . . . back . . ." she awkwardly wrote down the order and then scurried away.

Jyuushiro shifted back to Soifon but she had not budged. She was determined to hold her ground and wait for his answer.

"Well . . ." she finally spoke after he sat there awhile.

"If you must know—"

"Here is your orange juice," the waiter came back.

"Ugh! Can't you see we are in the middle of a discussion? Please leave until we are done!" Soifon stood and slammed her fists on the table.

"O-okay," the girl ran off.

"Soifon, was that really necessary? You should—"

"Quit stalling and tell me what you were up to this morning Jyuushiro. I bare this anymore. I feel like it's nothing but at the same time I feel anxious. I feel like if you can hide something so major from me that you don't trust me or that you think I won't understand the problem and I just hate that," she plopped back into her seat. "Please, just tell me what the problem is and we'll work on it. Is it me? Did I do something to offend you or was it something I said? Or maybe I hadn't done something you wanted or I said the wrong thing but whatever it is I can't wait any longer. I just want to help you. You know that I love you and I would do anything for you."

She seemed to have finished her rambling and drew in a deep breath as she stared at him, again waiting for his reply.

Now he understood. She thought he was shutting her out because of something she had or hadn't done or said. That she was part of the problem.

In a way she was but it was in no way her fault. The issues they were facing in their relationship stemmed from his own insecurities about being the man she needed. Soifon was perfect in every way and there was nothing she would do that could make him love her less. And he decided that he was going to tell her that.

"Soifon my love," he grabbed her hands in his. "There is nothing in this world that you could ever do to become an issue for me. As far as I'm concerned, you can never do wrong in my eyes. The reason I was hiding from you was because I did not want you to see the weaker side of me. The side of me that is old and sickly and unable to be your stud of a boyfriend," he chuckled to himself on that last one. "I just wanted to always be seen as a man in your eyes—"

"But you are a man in my eyes," she cut him off. "Jyuushiro, you are the greatest man I have ever met. I am lucky to be your girlfriend and very happy that you want to be with someone like me," she said.

"Oh sweetie," he laughed. "Who else would I want to be with?"

She looked shocked for a moment but then her grey eyes began to tear up and she pulled her hands from his as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. "Oh Jyuushiro," she sighed. "So if it's not me, what were you hiding?"

"Soicup," he pulled back, looking down at the table. He felt so silly for not having told her sooner but he couldn't help how he felt. "See, the thing of it is that I was taking my meds this morning. I have to take them every morning and I have twelve different pills to take." He finally looked up. "I knew you would ask me questions about which pills did what and I didn't want to face that. I didn't want you to see me as a frail, sickly old man."

She just blinked at him for a moment and then slowly began to smile until she was laughing a little.

"That's what you were hiding from me?" she completely busted with laughter. She toppled over, holding onto her stomach, tears streaming down her charcoal eyes.

Jyuushiro didn't think it was so funny. It was a very big deal for him. Almost all—no, all of his relationships failed because of his disease. This was the first time it had worked; the first time that he let someone see the weak side of him and they stay the next morning. He felt this step in their relationship should be celebrated, not laughed at.

He heard the waitress pop up beside him and place their plates in from of them.

"I figured since she was laughing, things must be good between you two again . . ." the waitress trailed off as Jyuushiro got up from his seat and threw his napkin down.

"If they were good, they aren't now." He looked Soifon dead in the face and she quickly got quiet. "I'm leaving," he said as he stormed out of the restaurant.

"Jyuushiro, wait!" Soifon called after him but he was already out the door.

She didn't understand what had happened. One minute they were having a discussion and the next, he was upset and walking out the door.

She thought she was the one who was hurt but apparently that wasn't the case. Obviously the laughter was too much and he didn't like being mocked. Yet she was only laughing because she thought it silly he hide his illness from her. She knew he was sick and that he had medicine to take. She wasn't an idiot. But Jyuushiro should give her more credit than that. If anything she should be the one infuriated, not him. He honestly thought she would leave him if she were to find out just how sick he was. Well he was wrong. In fact, she was going to leave to chase after him. And when she finally caught up to him, she would tell him exactly how she felt.

So Soifon got up from her booth and began to follow after him.

"Are you leaving as well?" the waitress appeared again.

"Yes," Soifon softened her expression a bit. "Could you please wrap our food to go please? I promise we'll be back to pay for it," she said.

"Of course ma'am," the girl bowed.

"Thank you." And Soifon was off to get her idiot boyfriend.

When she got outside he was standing on the corner with his hands in his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels. He looked kind of lonely standing there all by himself and in that instant Soifon realized why he was so mad.

It must have been hard dealing with his disease and having no one to understand his pain. Soifon felt the same way when Yoruichi left and no one understood how she felt. No one except Jyuushiro.

Soifon smiled, remembering all the times Jyuushiro tried to cheer her up and all the times she kicked his butt afterwards. It was now her turn to cheer her man up.

She slowly walked up to him and jumped in front of him, arms held up high as she screamed, "BOOOO!"

"Ah!" he nearly leaped out of his skin. "Damit Soifon! You nearly gave me a heart attack." He pressed a hand to his chest.

"Well I thought that would cheer you up." She glanced down at her feet then back to him.

"How would scaring me to death cheer me up? You nearly killed me," he barked.

"I don't know!" she shouted back. "But that's what you used to do me whenever I was feeling sad or upset and I thought this would make you feel better," she retorted.

"Did it make you feel better when I did that?" he said a little agitated.

"Not a first but after you left, I would laugh at how silly you looked," she snickered a little.

"So everything I do is just silly to you?" he turned away from her.

"Oh come on Jyuushiro." She tried to grab his arm but he shifted away from him. "It's not like that. I laughed because . . . it is silly. Or at the time it seemed rather ridiculous but I guess to you it's not. Being ill and whatnot."

"No it's not," he huffed.

"Big baby," she mumbled.

"What did you say?" he turned to her.

"I said you are a big baby but then again, so am I," she took a step towards him. He tightened his folded arms but he didn't move away this time. "Listen Jyuushiro, I'm sorry I laughed at you but I really thought it crazy that you were hiding taking your pills from me. I was going insane thinking the worst of things, like maybe you were having complications from your shot yesterday or a problem with our relationship. But your pills—"

"Have you ever seen me take my pills before Soifon?" he interrupted her.

"Well no but I don't—"

"That's right, you haven't," he cut her off again. "And do you know why that is?" he fully shifted so that he was standing directly in front of her, face to face.

"No . . ."

"It's because I don't want you to see all the pills that I take and ask me questions and begin to wonder—"

"Okay, stop right there Jyuushiro!" Now it was her turn to cut him off.

He looked taken aback but she couldn't worry about that. She needed him to know that she would never leave him, no matter how sick he got or much he age before her. She needed him to also not leave her before she got to tell him how much he meant to her and how she wanted to be with him, always.

Thus she grabbed his hands in hers, kissing them gently before speaking, "Ukitake Jyuushiro, you are an idiot."

"Hey!"

"Let me finish," she giggled. "I say you are an idiot because you would honestly think I would dump you over something so trivial as how many pills you take."

"Soifon it's not—"

"But I get it. You are ill and its hard dealing with your disease let alone having to worry about how it will affect your girlfriend but I can assure, my Shiro Bear, I love you way too much to even care. If you get too sick to stand, I'll carry you. If you cough up blood all over everything, I'll either wash it or buy another one. If you get weary when . . . you know . . ." she blushed, "I will love you twice as hard so you won't even notice a thing. I will stay by your side forever, through thick and thin because that's just the kind of girlfriend I am," she leaned forward and kissed him deeply on the lips.

Judging from his reaction, Jyuushiro was no longer troubled. She was glad she had said all the right things to get him out of his funk.

When they finally broke apart Jyuushiro held Soifon tightly to his lean frame and whispered in her ear, "Thank you my dear sweet Soifon."

"You're welcome," she replied back.

"Well, shall we eat now, I'm starving."

"Oh, I asked the waitress to wrap up our food. If you want I can—"

"No need," he held up his hand. "We can take it and go to the park and enjoy this beautiful weather."

"Okay," she beamed up at him.

So they paid for the food and went to a park nearby and partook of their breakfast feast in the fresh air. And after that they toured the city, appreciating the sites while hand in hand, finally getting a change to enjoy themselves.

So here is the end to this chapter. Hope you liked it.

On the next chapter:

"Wow. You look . . . I don't think words can describe you in that dress Soifon," he finally spoke.

"Thank you," she blushed.

Well, that's all you get. Until next time . . . please read and review.