Yep, I did badly enough. Haha… No fails though. Only one paper was good which was Math! Hahaha… I'm good at numbers! Sorry, it took a little longer. I was sick and my beta was away for a moment. Still, she came back for me in the end! *touched* Ok, let's get on to the story! Thanks to Cheyanne-chan for beta-ing again! I heart you!

Misaki: Deal

For some reason, I found myself in the middle of a foreign country called England, surrounded by foreign people, and beside me was a man whom I had completely forgotten except for his name. He was no other than the extreme, supreme, winner of the Naomori and Kikukawa award, the great Usami-sensei, also known as Usagi-san to me. I could not help but feel awed by the thought I was in another country. It was my very first time traveling by plane and what's more, to such a far away place. However, I also could not help but feel that slight vein that was popping up on my forehead.

"Great Usami-sensei, may I ask, WHAT THE HELL AM I DOING HERE?" I yelled at that man who was sitting so relaxed in the driver's seat of a red convertible, grinning foolishly at me. My mind started to calculate the amount of money he had spent for the air tickets, not to mention that the seats were first class, the hotel we had just checked in to, a luxurious five star hotel with a lion head at its bath tub, and the fancy sports car he had rented now to go touring around. My eyes went round and spinning as I roughly estimated the numbers.

"You said once that you wanted to visit England," he replied simply, lighting a cigarette and putting on a pair of sunglasses. I tried to recall when I had said that when a memory of a fancy restaurant came into my mind. Yes, we had talked about it when we were discussing about Usagi-san's first ten years of upbringing in that foreign country. Looking at him, I felt my heart skip a little. Was Usagi-san this handsome before? Wait, as I remembered, he had always been that high and mighty kind but cool? I saw the female passersby gawking at him. My heart felt tight as if someone had squeezed it. I was surprised by that sudden emotion. What was that for?

"B-But this is just too much!" I continued to shout at that man who knew nothing about spending hard earned money wisely once I had recovered from the sudden confusion of the unknown feeling. After that, my mind set off to plan on how I was going to repay him back all those money he had spent on me. A work of slavery worth a life time would not be enough!

"It's alright as long as I have Misaki by my side…" he said as if he could read my mind. I blinked twice before it registered. How? I was baffled. He just smiled knowingly without a word. Somehow, those words were rather familiar. They tickled my blocked memories but were not strong enough to dig one out. I sighed. If only he was more direct with his words and actions, then I might be able to remember more clearly. However, I was more than glad that he had promised to help me regain my memories. The deal was he would do things that might, emphasis on the word, 'might', help me to recover those memories but he would not tell them outright. He said that there was no meaning if he told me without me remembering it myself. I agreed, in return, promising to tell him all the memories I remembered in the process, which I doubted I would if I could help it.

"Oh, well, since we are here, might as well enjoy ourselves!" I sighed and then exclaimed cheerfully. Deep down, I was really happy to be able to travel out of Japan and for some reasons, with Usagi-san. I did not know why but in my heart, I knew, traveling anywhere, as long as I was with this guy, I would enjoy it. Was it from experience? I could only barely remember our trip to Sapporo for my birthday and I am quite sure we went to an onsen, then to some mountain as well. I thought it was some run away trip from Aikawa-san because he could not reach his deadline. Snorting inwardly, I realized that was just so like Usagi-san.

'You know, for saying this whole trip is my birthday present, it sure seems like you're the one having most of the fun…' I had said when we went to Sapporo.

'I am having fun. This has to be the first time I've traveled with someone outside work…' he had said. Then, I recalled that he also answered that his family wasn't the kind to go for family trips. He said he preferred to travel alone. But that was then, right? Ever since that trip to Sapporo, we had had fun at the onsen and mountains as well, hadn't we? I must not ruin this trip as well. I would try my best to make it as fun as possible for him, regardless I had lost my memories or not!

"Let's make memories!" I told him, remembering the words from my past. Once again, he smiled at me. One of his hands left the steering wheel to ruffle my hair affectionately like he always had. He was trying to hide that little sadness in his eyes but I caught it. I was slightly glad though. That unhappy look was only momentary compared to the sincerely happy expression that followed. Plus, it was certainly more than I had hoped for compared to those long faces I had seen when I had first returned home. A small smile of gladness and relief played on my lips as the gentle breeze blew at my face, bringing me fresh hopes on recovering what I had lost.

….

A month passed since I had come back to this luxurious apartment. Large chunks of my memory were still hidden in my mind, yet to be recovered but I would say that I was making some progress little by little. However, the improvement was just too slow, I finally ran out of patience. Today, when Usagi-san gave me a box of chocolates, I was really surprised. Then, when I noticed they were alcoholic chocolates, I remembered getting drunk on them once. That time, if I was not mistaken, I was really upset over something relating to Aikawa-san. Why, I could not remember. When I was straining too hard, the headache came. He noticed my change of expression and started questioning. However, when I told him about that half remembered memory, he only smiled and then told me not to overstrain myself. It had really bugged me that he was not willing to tell me why I was upset then and what had happened next.

"Usagi-san? Are you awake?" I whispered quietly, trying my luck. Perhaps when he was half asleep, he would answer my questions, forgetting about the deal. The man in question who was lying down beside me in that overly large bed stirred a little before answering me.

"Yeah… What's wrong, Misaki? Can't sleep?" he asked in return with his low, gentle voice. I realized that I really liked his voice. It was gruff yet very calm and comforting. He turned to me in the dark. I could see that soft glimmer in his silver eyes even though blackness surrounded us.

"Usagi-san, who are you really to me? Who am I to you?" He turned his gaze away but one of his large hands under the blanket caught mine and squeezed it softly.

"It's alright… Take your time to remember…" Usagi-san replied soothingly but I could hear that slight strain in his voice.

"Please tell me… Please?" I pleaded, tugging the sleeve of his shirt. The body beside me stiffened, his grip on my hand tightened. There was a long moment of silence until I thought he had decided to ignore me and gone back to sleep but he turned to face me once again. He messed my hair again with his cold hand.

"What do you think? Based on what you have remembered?" He questioned. I thought deeply. It was a question I had frequently asked myself when I thought of it. I liked it when he was by my side like this, when he just was around. I did not feel weird sleeping together with him even though he was a man. He gave me a sense of calm and peace, erasing away all my anxiety with his touch and voice. He was kind and caring to me.

"My best friend? A brother-like figure?" I felt him twitch a little. Did I just think aloud? Unconsciously, we had moved so near together that our bodies brushed each other's softly. Embarrassed, I retreated but he pulled me into his arms, embracing me. Usagi-san was so warm and comforting that I felt safe in his arms.

"No… It's not like that…" I muttered again as I confirmed it with myself. Yes, it was definitely not like that at all. It was similar but different at the same time. Usagi-san was not the same as onii-chan. After a few more pats on my head, he buried his face in my hair, inhaling gently before sighing.

"I'll bring you somewhere tomorrow. You might be able to remember some things…" He was just so stubborn about not telling. I wondered where he would take me. Perhaps that other fancy restaurant from my memories. Somehow, I knew something happened in that place and I nearly was able to remember it when we went for dinner the other day until Isaka-san had interrupted us and Usagi-san brought me home before I could recall anything else.

"Sleep now, Misaki…" His voice trailed off quietly. It did not take him long for his breathing to become even and deep. Snoring softly, he pulled me closer to his chest. Although it rather annoyed me to be mistaken for Suzuki-san again, but a little part of me was happy. I did not know why but I really like it when he hugged me every time. My heart would speed up a little and then calm down immediately once I listened to his heartbeats. That steady rhythm along with his consistent breathing slowly lulled me into dreamland. Before I completely fall asleep, a question Usagi-san had previously asked echoed vaguely at the back of my mind.

'Who was the driver who knocked me?' Exhaustion took me deeper into the darkness before I could pull myself out to think more.

….

That's about it. Woohoo… We moved a step closer to Misaki's journey on recovering his memories! Next chapter would be a rather short one. I've almost finished it and it would be ready to be beta-ed in a few days most, I guess, depending on situations. Oh, one thing, Cheyanne-chan said that where Misaki said 'Let's make memories!' sounded like what Ritsuka said in Loveless. Let me tell you, NO! It was really from Junjou! If you look back at where Misaki went to Sapporo with Usagi-san, you'll see he really said that. Perhaps he took it from Loveless… Hahaha…

Enough of my rambles! Please review!

Twilight Cherry