p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-AU"br / "Let me help you with that", a deep voice startled her and she smiled at the sight of Akama as he took her luggage from her / br / "Thanks", she said / br / They all went in a bullet train before changing to bus going to Kurokawa which is a good thing since Akama felt so tired he couldn't be bother / br / "Ah.. Akama, could you give me a hand?", Mariko's melodious voice making them turned to see her as she approached them. Miki just bit her lip slightly at the sight of her and watched as Akama took her luggage and stored in the bus compartment along with hers and the rest of / br / Mariko shot him a smile as she casually put her hand on his arms as she said "thanks for that".br / br / Miki rolled her eyes as she went in to the bus leaving them / br / "Miki.. Over here", Kuroda called her to the back of the bus as she spotted Sayaka, Aoyama and Kijima. She waved as she made her way to the / br / "Where's Akama?", Sayaka asked as she look / br / "Oh he's busy helping Mariko", she sounded annoyed as she took a seat infront of them. As she sit herself she saw Mariko walked in with Akama right behind her. They do make a stunning couple. She noticed people stared at them when she said something and Akama laughed as they made their way to the back of the / br / "Finally!", exclaimed / br / "Sorry I'm late." She said smiling as the rest of the guys grinning at the sight of / br / "Don't worry about it, here.. Have a seat!", called Aoyama but she looked at Akama as if to ask his permission before Akama nodded gesturing her to take a seat next to / br / Akama took a seat next to Miki and put his hand around her at the sight of her / br / "Jealous already?", he teased her. But she just turn up her ipod's volume up and ignored him as she gaze out of the window. He laughed as he squeeze her hand in / br / She finally leaned her head on his broad shoulder and soon fell / br / -br / br / "Look at our room.. Whoaaaa", Miki said excitedly as she bowed and kissed the tatami floor. Sayaka giggled at the / br / "You're funny Miki", she said as she looked around. Mariko just smiled calmly as she put her luggage / br / "I hope we get along just fine", she said as she sighed looking at the two girls. They both nodded as they smiled / br / "Let's get changed and hit the rotemburo, the outdoor bath area.", suggested Miki excitedly. Sayaka nodded just as excited. Mariko just smiled as they all changed to their Yukata / br / "Should we buy the bath pass?", Miki asked Sayaka as they passed the / br / "Are we exploring on our own? What about the guys?",asked Mariko sounded a bit / br / "We could meet up with them later. Its a small town. Let's just enjoy our self and let them have their male bonding while we get to know each other better", Miki said as she winked at her. Without Akama around she felt much at ease with / br / "Planning on ditching us already?", said Akama as he wrapped his arms around her from / br / She turned around and found all the guys in their Yukata looking so manly, especially Akama. She grinned at the sight of / br / "Its not like we're planning to join you at the mix bath", she said as Aoyama and Kuroda groaned in / br / "Oh.. Come on!", said Aoyama as he sulked. Sayaka and Miki burst into / br / "Well?.. Do you girls want to join them?", she hesitated as she gaze at Mariko and / br / "That's alright. The male and female outdoor bath is next to each other anyway. You girls have fun. We meet up later", said Akama quickly against the loud protest sound coming from Aoyama and / br / Miki shot him a thankful glance before she put her arms around Sayaka and Mariko. "Let's go girls!"br / br / "They looked really cute in Yukata like that", commented Kijima as the rest / br / "Stop looking! Let's go..", said Akama feeling disturbed by them seeing Miki like / br / -br / br / "So, Mariko .. Do you have a boyfriend?", asked Sayaka as soon as they in the / br / She just shook her head as she smiled. "Single and available", she / br / "You're very beautiful. I can hardly believe you're single", Sayaka / br / "Well believe it. Its not easy to find a good man. Considered yourself lucky. You have a very cool boyfriend", she said to Sayaka. She blushed shyly at the / br / "Are you talking about me? Gee .. I'm so flattered", they screamed in unison as they recognise Kuroda's / br / Instantly the three of them grabbed their towels and wrapped it around them tightly as they heard / br / "We can see you!", sounded like / br / Miki looked around trying to find where they are but she can't see anything especially as the vapour is getting thicker with the wind blowing towards / br / "Come out if you dare!", she warned them. But they heard more / She finally spot a shadow not far from where they are. What it seems like a tall bushes of bamboo tree is apparently a border of the outdoor bath area between woman and / br / "You guys are so dead meat!", she yelled as she got out from the bath to take her robe with the towel wrapped tightly around / br / She took a bucket for washing nearby by and throw it across the border of the outdoor bath between the male and female as she heard a loud thud and a / br / "Ah! Kijima!", she heard all of them scream as she burst into giggle followed by Mariko and / br / -br / "Ah just the person I needed to sue!", exclaimed Kijima at the sight of Miki entering the / br / She let out a giggle as she examine his bruised forehead from the bucket she thrown this afternoon. "Good aim, huh?".br / br / He came towards her and give a little pushed on her forehead feeling / Everyone just laughed at the / br / "Let's go to the hill and see the view before we come back here for a drink.", suggested Kuroda and everyone nodded in agreement straight / br / "Ahh..That's refreshing!", Mariko said as she took her hair from its bun and let her soft shiny hair fall beautifully on her back. Both girls just stared at her in / br / "You really have a nice hair", Miki can't help / br / "Thanks Miki", she smiled at her genuinely as the three of them walked in front of the / br / "Its very dark in here", Sayaka said suddenly as the road are more uphill and there's only one light in every corner of the road. Kurokawa is quite a small / br / "Are you scared?", asked Kuroda as he put his hands around her leaving Miki and Mariko as they walked ahead of / br / "Mariko, can I steal my girl away for a moment?", said Akama as he approached them and grabbed Miki by the waist before walking ahead of Mariko leaving her / br / "Don't worry, we'll be your bodyguards tonight. Leave the love birds to their own", said Aoyama as he walked next to her along with Kijima./span/p
div style="mso-element: para-border-div; border-top: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-left: none; border-bottom: double windowtext 2.25pt; border-right: none; padding: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in;"
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 41br / br / They can hear Sayaka's soft giggles as they walked passed them in the dark. The view along the road to the hill is breathtaking. But they didn't stop and just keep on / br / "So when will you tell me you're moving in with me?", Akama asked suddenly as they walked making her stopped at her track. She tried to look at him but its to dark to see his / br / "Uhnm.. Actually, I'm still thinking of it.. Sorry took me so long. I just got to figure out something", she said after a / br / He said nothing. Aoyama made it sound as if she made up her mind but now he's hearing she's actually hesitated. He wondered what's going through her / br / "Oh well. I'm not going anywhere. Just let me know when you decided and move anytime you want", he said / She nodded feeling a slight / br / "You came back just like that the other night, don't you think you forgot something?, " Miki said as she wrapped her hands around his / br / The moon appeared from the cloud and she caught a glimpse of him smiling as he hold her hand locking it around his / br / "What did I forgot?", he asked lazily as he enjoyed the view in front of / br / She wriggled her hand from Akama's hold as she reached her Yukata's side / Akama turned around to see what she's doing and saw her dangling the diamond necklace on his face as he / br / "Don't you like it?", he asked sounded confused. She just smiled as she handed it to his / br / "I love it", she said quickly "But don't you think throwing this to me just like that doesn't make it genuine enough that you're actually wanted me to have this", she said as she recalled how he just threw the box at her as if its a car key instead of a precious / br / "I'm really sorry. I was acting like a jerk that night, didn't I? But I really want you to have this Miki.", he said as he look at the necklace on his hand. Under the moonlight the diamond shone / br / She can't help but gave a short laugh as he looked so confused at her returning the necklace to / br / "When you gave a girl such precious gift, you don't just throw it at them. Especially if you have carefully choose it and can't wait to see them wearing it.. You got to put it on them personally", she said finally as she looked up to him and saw him breaking into grin as he took a step closer to / br / He un clasp the necklace as he went behind her and put it on her. His face so close to her and she could feel his hands around her neck as he try to clasp the / br / "There... My beautiful diamond girl", he said as he finished and he turned her chin towards him before planting a kiss on her. She touched the diamond pendant on her neck feeling so / br / "What make you think of me when you saw this?", she asked not able to stop smiling as her hand playing with the pendant. She liked the feeling of the necklace around her / br / He just gave a short laugh before putting his arms around her waist as they walked back towards the rest of the / br / "Honestly?.. You'll mock me endlessly if I say it. Why would I do that?", he / br / She let out a sound of protest "oh come on!.. I promise I won't", she said quickly as she hands out her pinky finger towards him. He laughed "what is that?"br / br / "Its a pinky promise. I promise I won't mock you..", she said as she linked her pingky fingers to / br / He just shook his head laughing "are we back to primary school now?". He looked at her / br / "Just tell me already! Unless you want to say it in front of Kuroda and I can't guarantee if he would leave you in peace", she warned him as she saw them not far from where they / br / He just smiled as he tighten his hold on her "The necklace stood out among the rest that I saw. Its a simple necklace and beautiful just like you. The diamond reminds me of your symbol and your heart is as beautiful as the diamond, it shines." He said / br / She can't say a word. She can't help but smiling at the / br / "Hey love birds! Enough making out in the dark already. Come here and join us", Kuroda's voice sounded loud and clear in such a quiet / br / "Speak for yourself, Kuroda", Akama said as everyone else / br / As they all walked back Miki noticed Aoyama is getting cosy with Mariko and she smiled feeling relief at the sight. She felt like she has misunderstood / br / "Poor me.. I felt so alone", said Kijima as he walked next to her. Akama and Miki laughed at the / br / "You got us Kijima..", Akama said as he put his arms around / br / "I'll introduce you to my friend when we get back", said Sayaka as she / br / Kijima's eyes widened straight away "really? Really?", Sayaka nodded / br / "She was going to join us too initially but couldn't make it last minute because of her hectic job", she / br / "What is she do?", asked Miki / br / Kuroda gave a short laugh "She's a food critics". Everyone laughed except for / br / "Oh relax...! She gave your restaurant a good review already. So she already knew you.", said Kuroda as he pat Kijima's / br / "Is she pretty?", he eyed Kuroda suspiciously. Sayaka giggled as Kuroda rolled his / br / "You can't ask that infront of my girl. She'll kill me either way.", he said / br / "She's cute. Don't worry", said Sayaka making him smile as he lost in his own / br / Miki just smiled toward Akama as she put her arms around his waist too. Her other hand busy playing with her diamond pendant. Knowing the reason behind the gift makes it even more meaningful to her now that she / br / She made a mental note quickly to buy some present for Akama./span/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: 2.25pt double windowtext; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-border-between: 2.25pt double windowtext; mso-padding-between: 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 1.0pt; mso-padding-bottom-alt: 1.0pt; border-bottom: 2.25pt double windowtext;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 42br / br / "Which one will you buy?", asked Sayaka as they're choosing souvenirs to take home. Miki hesitated, they're leaving tonight and Sayaka suggested they walked around the gift shop for souvenirs which she agreed straight away. They asked Mariko to come along but she said she wanted to go elsewhere and told them to go first, so they / br / "They're all good. I'm not sure which one", she examine the tea pot set in front of / br / "Girls! You better make up your mind fast and come back to pack up. We might leave earlier since it looks like its going to rain heavily tonight so we might go on an earlier bus", said Kuroda as he approached them. "I'll see you both in the inn soon".br / br / They both nodded before picked their choices and made their way to the / br / Just on the way to the inn they bumped into Mariko. Her hair covered her face and her eyes red with tears rolling down her / br / "Mariko, are you ok? What's going on?", asked Sayaka as they approached / br / But she just broke into more / br / Miki put her arms around her trying to console her "Let's talk inside", but to their surprised she pushed her hand away and look at her with an expression so fury she wondered what she did / br / "Don't touch me! Don't even go near me! I hate you!", she yelled at her before turning and run in the opposite direction from the inn towards the hill they went for a walk last / br / "Mariko!", called Sayaka but she ignored her and just keep on running leaving them / br / Miki quickly handed her gift bag to Sayaka "Here! You go back to the inn first, I'll go after her and see if I can talk some sense into her", she said before she run after Mariko. She had no clue what's just / br / Everything was fine this morning. They had fun last night and even stayed late playing cards in the room and before they went to shop for souvenirs she was fine too. What could went wrong in the last hour? Just when she thought she get along fine with Mariko. She recall the look she shot her just now, if only looks can kill, she would have been dead by / br / The road was uphill and she almost lost sight of her. Miki lifted her Yukata higher and took off her sandal and decided to run barefeet / br / "Mariko! Stop running.. Let's just talk!", she called after her as she got to the top of the hill where they were last / br / "Just leave me alone! You're the last person I wanted to see", she yelled in between her sobs before running / br / "Stop it! We'll get lost if you keep running. I won't chase you if you stop. Let's just go back. Its going to be raining soon. We gotta go!", she yelled after her / br / Last night everything was so dark and she didn't pay attention to the footpath since they're all together but today as she walked up hill and went further than where they were last night she worried she might have trouble finding their way back and she prefer they make it down hill when there's still / br / "I'm starting to lose my patience here! Either you come out now and act like the grown up I thought you were, we can talk about it or we can do this all night long and I would still not leave you alone", she said as she rested on a big rock not far from there. She looked around her. Everything so quite with wild grasses around leaving a narrow foot / br / "Oh! And there could be snakes too.. Just in case you don't know.. And they might be hungry since there's hardly any idiot who dare running around the bushes for a while", she yelled at no particular / br / "Awww", she heard her scream and she quickly run towards the voice when she found her on the ground still sobbing holding her / br / "Are you ok? I think you might have twisted your ankle. Here.. Let me help.. Put your hand around me", she said as she helped her get up but she looked even more furious than / br / "Its all your fault! Just leave me already! What more do you want from me?", she screamed and let her tears streaming down her beautiful / br / Miki let out a big sigh before she dragged her up and walk toward the rock slowly just as the rain starts to / br / "Great! Just great!," she cursed as she sat Mariko on the rock before examine her ankle and let her cry some / br / "Yeah. Well done! your ankle seemed to be swollen... And its raining now. We won't be able to make it down dry. Might as well try to look for a cover and hope the rain subside soon. Wait here while I see if there's a hut we can run for cover or anything" she said "not that you can go anywhere far with that ankle anyway", she can't help but / br / She didn't say anything. After what seemed like hours she spotted Miki running through the rain as its starts pouring. "I found a hut that looks like an abandon security pos. Its not big but might just fit us both. Let's go.. Hold on to me", she said as she grabbed her hand and put it around her / br / "Thank you.."She said hesitatedly "I thought you might have left me there just to punish me"br / br / Miki gave a short laugh "Oh don't think I didn't think of that already. Its tempting though! But its not my style to punish you that way..", she winked at her making her smile as they made their way to the hut in the middle of the field through some bushes and Mariko wondered how she find the place in the middle of rain like / br / As soon as they got there, Miki closed the door and shuddered. The wind is getting colder as the rain poured heavily. They both drenched as if they're just jumped into a / br / "Aahh... I don't know how long the rain will go for. Kuroda said it will be worse tonight." She / br / Mariko didn't say a word. She just sat as she curled her feet and rubbed her swollen / br / "Its so nice to be in the rotemburo just about now", Miki said again "or.. In the warm bus.." She added can't help but making Mariko felt guilty. But Mariko just stayed / br / "Is your ankle still hurt?", she asked finally. She / br / "How did it happened?", she asked again before Mariko finally shot her an annoyed look "you said there's a snake!".br / br / Miki gave a short laugh making her sulk even more "Well.. Your fault to run away like that. What made you upset that bad? Most importantly.. What did I do wrong?", she asked as she looked around to find something to cover them. The wind through the door gap is getting colder any minute and the fact they both drenched in rain doesn't make it any / br / She looked away before tears starts rolling down her cheek again. This time Miki didn't say / br / "You ... You came back to his life after all this years and changed everything. If only you didn't meet him everything would be good." She said as she stared at the / br / Miki just listened. She assumed Mariko referring to / br / "You took him away from me!", she said as she gave her a look full of / br / "Everything was fine until you came along. You ruined everything!, she said as tears streaming down her cheek faster./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-border-between: 2.25pt double windowtext; mso-padding-between: 1.0pt; padding-top: 1.0pt; mso-padding-top-alt: 0in;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 43br / br / Outside the rain poured heavily and no sign of it to / br / "Sayaka, are you ready?", asked Kuroda as he entered the / br / She nodded. "But Miki and Mariko not back yet. I wonder what took them so long and its now rain heavily", she / br / "Where did they go? Didn't I told Miki we're leaving early?", he asked just as the rest of the guys entered the room with their bags in hand ready to / br / "Where's Miki?", asked Akama as he noticed only Sayaka in the / br / "Miki and Mariko hasn't got back yet. Any longer we would have to stay another night here", said / br / "Where did they go?", asked / br / "Actually we're on our way back when we saw her. She was crying so we asked her what happened. But she just ran and Miki told me to go back first and chase after her", explained Sayaka "I didn't think its going to take this long. Now I'm worried for them".br / br / Akama looked surprised "Which way did they run?", he asked / br / "To the direction of the hill we went to last night. But they could be anywhere. I'm not too sure. I tried calling them but both of their phone is here", she said just as the sound thunder / br / "Doesn't sound so good. Maybe we better search for them", said Kijima as the rest / br / "You guys stay here. I'll go. Its my fault. I had a talk with Mariko earlier and maybe this is the result to it. Its pouring out there so .. Just stay here. I won't be long", he said but just as he was about to leave the room Kuroda stopped / br / "We're coming with you. Its not just about your problem. We'll search for them together", he said as Aoyama and Kijima nodded in / br / "Let me get a map of the hill so we know our location better and we can search separately", said Akama as they got / br / "Good idea, chief! I'll borrow some flash light from the reception", Kuroda saidbr / br / "I'll get raincoats for us or umbrella if they don't have any raincoat" said Aoyamabr / br / -br / br / Miki lost for words. She have no idea what to say to Mariko. She's obviously hurt and something must have happened earlier that bring all this feeling out all of / br / She decided to stay quiet and let her say everything she needed to say. She wondered if everyone starts to worry for them as she gazed her watch. Its almost 7 pm and she can see its getting darker outside and soon they will be in the dark. her mind busy trying to think what she can use to light up the room at least. But the room is / br / "I'm sorry if you think I took him away from you. I never meant to do that to you," she said finally. "Here let me check your ankle. Maybe we can use something to stop it from swelling", she said but before she could touch her feet, Mariko stood up and walked away from / br / "Don't you understand? I hate you! I hate you! what do you have that I don't? What could you possible give to him that I couldn't give?", she almost screamed as she / br / Miki closed her eyes momentarily before she let out a sigh "Mariko, you could hate me all you want but right now we both stuck here with each other. So the least you could do is to just let me help you. Your ankle will be worse if you keep walking around like that. I promise I won't go near it again. Can you just sit now?", she said feeling tired all of / br / She let out a sob before finally threw herself on the floor. Her beautiful hair is now drenched and covering part of her / br / They could hardly see each other as it get too / br / "Sorry, Mariko. There's nothing I could say to make you feel better. Just like you, I have feelings for him too maybe even more than you could imagine and I won't give him up no matter what." She finally said as she touched her pendant without realising / br / She came closer to Mariko as she put her back on her back. She noticed Mariko didn't move and didn't object nor pushed her / br / She put her arms around Mariko as she rubbed her arms trying to keep them warm through body heat at the same time consoling her. She understand how she felt very much but she just can't do anything about / br / She let out a sob before finally resting her head on her / br / "You know.., agreeing to this trip I thought I would have a chance to make him change his mind but seeing you two so close and how he looked at you the whole time. I knew I had lost him to you for good but I just couldn't accept it." She said. Her voice much softer and / br / Miki didn't say anything. She just hold her tighter and keep their body closer. Its getting colder any minute. She can't help feeling sorry for her and feeling stupid for being jealous at her when she had no reason / br / "I'm sorry Mariko.. I'm really sorry", she said feeling sad for / br / "I wouldn't accept the fact he chose you as his girlfriend. Until he made it clear today when I try to come on to him", she said and with that Miki let go off her hand from / br / She couldn't see her face. She heard Mariko chuckled. "Don't worry, nothing happened. He made it very clear he had no feeling for me whatsoever" she sighedbr / br / "You're lucky that I can't see you right now even if you're next to me and I could just strangle you right now", Miki / br / Mariko gave a short laugh "You won't. Like you said, its not your style.." She said smiling to / br / "Well.. If you dare try something like that again in the future, I might make it my style. After all, there's a first for everything" Miki said as a / br / Mariko let out a heavy sigh "I guess its time to give up. I can't win against you. Trying to hate you just make you even better in my eyes."br / br / Miki didn't say anything. She felt numb. The chill is getting worse and she can hear Mariko also shivering just as bad as her in their drenched / br / "You have a great guy with you. Treat him good or I won't forgive you", she said as she put her arms around / br / "Don't worry.. There's nothing you would do to him that I wouldn't." She said putting her arms around her too. "Now let's hope the rain stop soon so we can go back. They must be worried for us by now".br / br / "I'm sorry I dragged you into this Miki. You could have ignored me and make your way back while you could before", she saidbr / br / "It happened. Don't torture yourself about it. There's no way we could have walk back with your ankle like that anyway. I just hope Akama find us soon", she / br / "What if they won't?", she / br / Miki gave a short laugh "That's the thing, I know for sure he would. You just have to believe in him."/span/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-top-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 1.0pt 0in 1.0pt 0in;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 41br / br / They can hear Sayaka's soft giggles as they walked passed them in the dark. The view along the road to the hill is breathtaking. But they didn't stop and just keep on / br / "So when will you tell me you're moving in with me?", Akama asked suddenly as they walked making her stopped at her track. She tried to look at him but its to dark to see his / br / "Uhnm.. Actually, I'm still thinking of it.. Sorry took me so long. I just got to figure out something", she said after a / br / He said nothing. Aoyama made it sound as if she made up her mind but now he's hearing she's actually hesitated. He wondered what's going through her / br / "Oh well. I'm not going anywhere. Just let me know when you decided and move anytime you want", he said / She nodded feeling a slight / br / "You came back just like that the other night, don't you think you forgot something?, " Miki said as she wrapped her hands around his / br / The moon appeared from the cloud and she caught a glimpse of him smiling as he hold her hand locking it around his / br / "What did I forgot?", he asked lazily as he enjoyed the view in front of / br / She wriggled her hand from Akama's hold as she reached her Yukata's side / Akama turned around to see what she's doing and saw her dangling the diamond necklace on his face as he / br / "Don't you like it?", he asked sounded confused. She just smiled as she handed it to his / br / "I love it", she said quickly "But don't you think throwing this to me just like that doesn't make it genuine enough that you're actually wanted me to have this", she said as she recalled how he just threw the box at her as if its a car key instead of a precious / br / "I'm really sorry. I was acting like a jerk that night, didn't I? But I really want you to have this Miki.", he said as he look at the necklace on his hand. Under the moonlight the diamond shone / br / She can't help but gave a short laugh as he looked so confused at her returning the necklace to / br / "When you gave a girl such precious gift, you don't just throw it at them. Especially if you have carefully choose it and can't wait to see them wearing it.. You got to put it on them personally", she said finally as she looked up to him and saw him breaking into grin as he took a step closer to / br / He un clasp the necklace as he went behind her and put it on her. His face so close to her and she could feel his hands around her neck as he try to clasp the / br / "There... My beautiful diamond girl", he said as he finished and he turned her chin towards him before planting a kiss on her. She touched the diamond pendant on her neck feeling so / br / "What make you think of me when you saw this?", she asked not able to stop smiling as her hand playing with the pendant. She liked the feeling of the necklace around her / br / He just gave a short laugh before putting his arms around her waist as they walked back towards the rest of the / br / "Honestly?.. You'll mock me endlessly if I say it. Why would I do that?", he / br / She let out a sound of protest "oh come on!.. I promise I won't", she said quickly as she hands out her pinky finger towards him. He laughed "what is that?"br / br / "Its a pinky promise. I promise I won't mock you..", she said as she linked her pingky fingers to / br / He just shook his head laughing "are we back to primary school now?". He looked at her / br / "Just tell me already! Unless you want to say it in front of Kuroda and I can't guarantee if he would leave you in peace", she warned him as she saw them not far from where they / br / He just smiled as he tighten his hold on her "The necklace stood out among the rest that I saw. Its a simple necklace and beautiful just like you. The diamond reminds me of your symbol and your heart is as beautiful as the diamond, it shines." He said / br / She can't say a word. She can't help but smiling at the / br / "Hey love birds! Enough making out in the dark already. Come here and join us", Kuroda's voice sounded loud and clear in such a quiet / br / "Speak for yourself, Kuroda", Akama said as everyone else / br / As they all walked back Miki noticed Aoyama is getting cosy with Mariko and she smiled feeling relief at the sight. She felt like she has misunderstood / br / "Poor me.. I felt so alone", said Kijima as he walked next to her. Akama and Miki laughed at the / br / "You got us Kijima..", Akama said as he put his arms around / br / "I'll introduce you to my friend when we get back", said Sayaka as she / br / Kijima's eyes widened straight away "really? Really?", Sayaka nodded / br / "She was going to join us too initially but couldn't make it last minute because of her hectic job", she / br / "What is she do?", asked Miki / br / Kuroda gave a short laugh "She's a food critics". Everyone laughed except for / br / "Oh relax...! She gave your restaurant a good review already. So she already knew you.", said Kuroda as he pat Kijima's / br / "Is she pretty?", he eyed Kuroda suspiciously. Sayaka giggled as Kuroda rolled his / br / "You can't ask that infront of my girl. She'll kill me either way.", he said / br / "She's cute. Don't worry", said Sayaka making him smile as he lost in his own / br / Miki just smiled toward Akama as she put her arms around his waist too. Her other hand busy playing with her diamond pendant. Knowing the reason behind the gift makes it even more meaningful to her now that she / br / She made a mental note quickly to buy some present for Akama./span/p
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p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: 2.25pt double windowtext; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-border-between: 2.25pt double windowtext; mso-padding-between: 1.0pt; padding-bottom: 1.0pt; mso-padding-bottom-alt: 1.0pt; border-bottom: 2.25pt double windowtext;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 42br / br / "Which one will you buy?", asked Sayaka as they're choosing souvenirs to take home. Miki hesitated, they're leaving tonight and Sayaka suggested they walked around the gift shop for souvenirs which she agreed straight away. They asked Mariko to come along but she said she wanted to go elsewhere and told them to go first, so they / br / "They're all good. I'm not sure which one", she examine the tea pot set in front of / br / "Girls! You better make up your mind fast and come back to pack up. We might leave earlier since it looks like its going to rain heavily tonight so we might go on an earlier bus", said Kuroda as he approached them. "I'll see you both in the inn soon".br / br / They both nodded before picked their choices and made their way to the / br / Just on the way to the inn they bumped into Mariko. Her hair covered her face and her eyes red with tears rolling down her / br / "Mariko, are you ok? What's going on?", asked Sayaka as they approached / br / But she just broke into more / br / Miki put her arms around her trying to console her "Let's talk inside", but to their surprised she pushed her hand away and look at her with an expression so fury she wondered what she did / br / "Don't touch me! Don't even go near me! I hate you!", she yelled at her before turning and run in the opposite direction from the inn towards the hill they went for a walk last / br / "Mariko!", called Sayaka but she ignored her and just keep on running leaving them / br / Miki quickly handed her gift bag to Sayaka "Here! You go back to the inn first, I'll go after her and see if I can talk some sense into her", she said before she run after Mariko. She had no clue what's just / br / Everything was fine this morning. They had fun last night and even stayed late playing cards in the room and before they went to shop for souvenirs she was fine too. What could went wrong in the last hour? Just when she thought she get along fine with Mariko. She recall the look she shot her just now, if only looks can kill, she would have been dead by / br / The road was uphill and she almost lost sight of her. Miki lifted her Yukata higher and took off her sandal and decided to run barefeet / br / "Mariko! Stop running.. Let's just talk!", she called after her as she got to the top of the hill where they were last / br / "Just leave me alone! You're the last person I wanted to see", she yelled in between her sobs before running / br / "Stop it! We'll get lost if you keep running. I won't chase you if you stop. Let's just go back. Its going to be raining soon. We gotta go!", she yelled after her / br / Last night everything was so dark and she didn't pay attention to the footpath since they're all together but today as she walked up hill and went further than where they were last night she worried she might have trouble finding their way back and she prefer they make it down hill when there's still / br / "I'm starting to lose my patience here! Either you come out now and act like the grown up I thought you were, we can talk about it or we can do this all night long and I would still not leave you alone", she said as she rested on a big rock not far from there. She looked around her. Everything so quite with wild grasses around leaving a narrow foot / br / "Oh! And there could be snakes too.. Just in case you don't know.. And they might be hungry since there's hardly any idiot who dare running around the bushes for a while", she yelled at no particular / br / "Awww", she heard her scream and she quickly run towards the voice when she found her on the ground still sobbing holding her / br / "Are you ok? I think you might have twisted your ankle. Here.. Let me help.. Put your hand around me", she said as she helped her get up but she looked even more furious than / br / "Its all your fault! Just leave me already! What more do you want from me?", she screamed and let her tears streaming down her beautiful / br / Miki let out a big sigh before she dragged her up and walk toward the rock slowly just as the rain starts to / br / "Great! Just great!," she cursed as she sat Mariko on the rock before examine her ankle and let her cry some / br / "Yeah. Well done! your ankle seemed to be swollen... And its raining now. We won't be able to make it down dry. Might as well try to look for a cover and hope the rain subside soon. Wait here while I see if there's a hut we can run for cover or anything" she said "not that you can go anywhere far with that ankle anyway", she can't help but / br / She didn't say anything. After what seemed like hours she spotted Miki running through the rain as its starts pouring. "I found a hut that looks like an abandon security pos. Its not big but might just fit us both. Let's go.. Hold on to me", she said as she grabbed her hand and put it around her / br / "Thank you.."She said hesitatedly "I thought you might have left me there just to punish me"br / br / Miki gave a short laugh "Oh don't think I didn't think of that already. Its tempting though! But its not my style to punish you that way..", she winked at her making her smile as they made their way to the hut in the middle of the field through some bushes and Mariko wondered how she find the place in the middle of rain like / br / As soon as they got there, Miki closed the door and shuddered. The wind is getting colder as the rain poured heavily. They both drenched as if they're just jumped into a / br / "Aahh... I don't know how long the rain will go for. Kuroda said it will be worse tonight." She / br / Mariko didn't say a word. She just sat as she curled her feet and rubbed her swollen / br / "Its so nice to be in the rotemburo just about now", Miki said again "or.. In the warm bus.." She added can't help but making Mariko felt guilty. But Mariko just stayed / br / "Is your ankle still hurt?", she asked finally. She / br / "How did it happened?", she asked again before Mariko finally shot her an annoyed look "you said there's a snake!".br / br / Miki gave a short laugh making her sulk even more "Well.. Your fault to run away like that. What made you upset that bad? Most importantly.. What did I do wrong?", she asked as she looked around to find something to cover them. The wind through the door gap is getting colder any minute and the fact they both drenched in rain doesn't make it any / br / She looked away before tears starts rolling down her cheek again. This time Miki didn't say / br / "You ... You came back to his life after all this years and changed everything. If only you didn't meet him everything would be good." She said as she stared at the / br / Miki just listened. She assumed Mariko referring to / br / "You took him away from me!", she said as she gave her a look full of / br / "Everything was fine until you came along. You ruined everything!, she said as tears streaming down her cheek faster./span/p
p class="MsoNormal" style="border: none; mso-border-bottom-alt: double windowtext 2.25pt; padding: 0in; mso-padding-alt: 0in 0in 1.0pt 0in; mso-border-between: 2.25pt double windowtext; mso-padding-between: 1.0pt; padding-top: 1.0pt; mso-padding-top-alt: 0in;"span lang="EN-AU"Chap. 43br / br / Outside the rain poured heavily and no sign of it to / br / "Sayaka, are you ready?", asked Kuroda as he entered the / br / She nodded. "But Miki and Mariko not back yet. I wonder what took them so long and its now rain heavily", she / br / "Where did they go? Didn't I told Miki we're leaving early?", he asked just as the rest of the guys entered the room with their bags in hand ready to / br / "Where's Miki?", asked Akama as he noticed only Sayaka in the / br / "Miki and Mariko hasn't got back yet. Any longer we would have to stay another night here", said / br / "Where did they go?", asked / br / "Actually we're on our way back when we saw her. She was crying so we asked her what happened. But she just ran and Miki told me to go back first and chase after her", explained Sayaka "I didn't think its going to take this long. Now I'm worried for them".br / br / Akama looked surprised "Which way did they run?", he asked / br / "To the direction of the hill we went to last night. But they could be anywhere. I'm not too sure. I tried calling them but both of their phone is here", she said just as the sound thunder / br / "Doesn't sound so good. Maybe we better search for them", said Kijima as the rest / br / "You guys stay here. I'll go. Its my fault. I had a talk with Mariko earlier and maybe this is the result to it. Its pouring out there so .. Just stay here. I won't be long", he said but just as he was about to leave the room Kuroda stopped / br / "We're coming with you. Its not just about your problem. We'll search for them together", he said as Aoyama and Kijima nodded in / br / "Let me get a map of the hill so we know our location better and we can search separately", said Akama as they got / br / "Good idea, chief! I'll borrow some flash light from the reception", Kuroda saidbr / br / "I'll get raincoats for us or umbrella if they don't have any raincoat" said Aoyamabr / br / -br / br / Miki lost for words. She have no idea what to say to Mariko. She's obviously hurt and something must have happened earlier that bring all this feeling out all of / br / She decided to stay quiet and let her say everything she needed to say. She wondered if everyone starts to worry for them as she gazed her watch. Its almost 7 pm and she can see its getting darker outside and soon they will be in the dark. her mind busy trying to think what she can use to light up the room at least. But the room is / br / "I'm sorry if you think I took him away from you. I never meant to do that to you," she said finally. "Here let me check your ankle. Maybe we can use something to stop it from swelling", she said but before she could touch her feet, Mariko stood up and walked away from / br / "Don't you understand? I hate you! I hate you! what do you have that I don't? What could you possible give to him that I couldn't give?", she almost screamed as she / br / Miki closed her eyes momentarily before she let out a sigh "Mariko, you could hate me all you want but right now we both stuck here with each other. So the least you could do is to just let me help you. Your ankle will be worse if you keep walking around like that. I promise I won't go near it again. Can you just sit now?", she said feeling tired all of / br / She let out a sob before finally threw herself on the floor. Her beautiful hair is now drenched and covering part of her / br / They could hardly see each other as it get too / br / "Sorry, Mariko. There's nothing I could say to make you feel better. Just like you, I have feelings for him too maybe even more than you could imagine and I won't give him up no matter what." She finally said as she touched her pendant without realising / br / She came closer to Mariko as she put her back on her back. She noticed Mariko didn't move and didn't object nor pushed her / br / She put her arms around Mariko as she rubbed her arms trying to keep them warm through body heat at the same time consoling her. She understand how she felt very much but she just can't do anything about / br / She let out a sob before finally resting her head on her / br / "You know.., agreeing to this trip I thought I would have a chance to make him change his mind but seeing you two so close and how he looked at you the whole time. I knew I had lost him to you for good but I just couldn't accept it." She said. Her voice much softer and / br / Miki didn't say anything. She just hold her tighter and keep their body closer. Its getting colder any minute. She can't help feeling sorry for her and feeling stupid for being jealous at her when she had no reason / br / "I'm sorry Mariko.. I'm really sorry", she said feeling sad for / br / "I wouldn't accept the fact he chose you as his girlfriend. Until he made it clear today when I try to come on to him", she said and with that Miki let go off her hand from / br / She couldn't see her face. She heard Mariko chuckled. "Don't worry, nothing happened. He made it very clear he had no feeling for me whatsoever" she sighedbr / br / "You're lucky that I can't see you right now even if you're next to me and I could just strangle you right now", Miki / br / Mariko gave a short laugh "You won't. Like you said, its not your style.." She said smiling to / br / "Well.. If you dare try something like that again in the future, I might make it my style. After all, there's a first for everything" Miki said as a / br / Mariko let out a heavy sigh "I guess its time to give up. I can't win against you. Trying to hate you just make you even better in my eyes."br / br / Miki didn't say anything. She felt numb. The chill is getting worse and she can hear Mariko also shivering just as bad as her in their drenched / br / "You have a great guy with you. Treat him good or I won't forgive you", she said as she put her arms around / br / "Don't worry.. There's nothing you would do to him that I wouldn't." She said putting her arms around her too. "Now let's hope the rain stop soon so we can go back. They must be worried for us by now".br / br / "I'm sorry I dragged you into this Miki. You could have ignored me and make your way back while you could before", she saidbr / br / "It happened. Don't torture yourself about it. There's no way we could have walk back with your ankle like that anyway. I just hope Akama find us soon", she / br / "What if they won't?", she / br / Miki gave a short laugh "That's the thing, I know for sure he would. You just have to believe in him."/span/p
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