A/N: Thank you for your continued readership and reviews! I apologize beforehand if Tai's character in this chapter is… ill-portrayed. (You'll know what I mean as you read). I tried to do him justice. I really did, but you all will be the final judge.

Enjoy the chapter!

xXx

TWENTY-FIVE

xXx

Hana woke to manly murmurs and a painfully bright light. Annoyed, she risked opening an eye to see what college student was bothering her when, instead, she caught a glimpse of a mustached security guard shining a flashlight in her face.

"You kids are in here past closing time," he said, none too pleased. "Get out and get back to your dorms." He left with another colleague, no doubt to continue their patrol through the now closed library and to kick out any other students who thought they could make it a temporary home.

Hana could barely register the command. Her head pounded, and after having the flashlight waved before her face, her eyes were struggling to get adjusted to the newfound dimness. Lights weren't completely off, but only a third of them remained on in order to conserve energy. Tai, evidently in deep sleep, had caught no wind of their trespassing and continued snoring away on his end of the sofa.

"Tai," she whispered harshly, shaking him. "Taichi. We overslept. Oh, God. We overslept. I don't even know what time it is."

She continued to mumble a string of worries as she got up and gathered her things, Tai, meanwhile, only beginning to rise from the sweet grave that was slumber.

The first words to pop out of his mouth were, "Why is it so dark?"

Hana answered him readily enough, speeding toward him with their stuff in hand.

"Because the library is closed, you idiot. And we clearly overstayed our welcome here. Here's your coat."

"Th—"

His jacket landed on him square in the face.

"You can stop and breathe any time, you know," he said, slowly and calmly getting up from the couch and slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "We'll be fine. What time is it?"

"Past three o'clock in the morning," Hana grumbled. She led the way out of the library, walking so quickly that Tai was forced to pick up his pace in order to keep up with her.

"O… kay," he said. "So… maybe we have a problem." He grimaced. He had told his parents that he would be home by midnight.

"How are we supposed to get home?" Hana panicked. They reached the outside of the library, both of them getting punched in their faces by a rough, wintry gust. Tai squinted against the windburn, his eyes looking around for some type of outside shelter they could stay in until they came up with a plan to get home. Though, with Hana losing her wits right beside him, it was getting difficult to concentrate.

"The metro is closed," she said, chewing on a nail. "I don't have enough money for a cab. We're not really university students so they can't use their escort vehicles to take us back, and even if they offered to they can't possibly drive us all the way to Odaiba, can they?"

Tai spotted a bus stop with a covered bench and grabbed her hand, his nerves being tested by her incessant worrying.

"God, this is such a mess," she continued. "And I don't really know anyone who lives close by who could possibly drive us even though they'd practically be driving all the way to the other side of town. If Ryo had just come down to freaking visit me, this wouldn't have happened. He'd have called me around midnight and told me he was going to pick me up and then he'd take me home and none of this would have happened…"

"Hana," said Tai, strictly.

"Yes?"

"Shut. Up. I'm sure there's a way out of this that's simpler than you think."

"Well, when you come up with one, let me know, because I'm all out of ideas." She paused. "I need to go to the bathroom." She didn't wait for Tai's approval. "I'll just pop into a nearby building or the library—if it's still open—and use their bathroom real quick. I'll be back."

Her departure gave Tai ample room to think, and he didn't think long before he decided that the best course of action would be to take a cab. He reached for his wallet and pulled out what cash he had, which he knew wouldn't be enough to get them both home. He suddenly regretted bribing that one student off of the couch.

Stuffing his wallet back into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed the operator. He didn't get too far in asking for a taxi service's number when he heard some distant chatter—all of it male.

"Could you hold on for a second?" he said into his phone. With the device still pressed to his ear, Tai left the bus bench and walked in the direction of the voices, catching sight of a few young men in their packed compact car and Hana speaking to them through the driver's open window.

"What the hell are you doing?" he asked, coming up to her and grabbing her arm.

"I thought I'd ask for some help."

His teeth clenched.

"I told you I'd take care of it. I'm calling a cab right now."

"But I don't have money for a cab."

"I said," he reiterated, through tight lips, "that I would take care of it, Hana. Now, let's go."

He tugged at the sleeve of her coat, and she left with him, despite getting annoyed that he was being so bossy.

"It's not like they were being uncivil," she said, when they had returned to the bus stop. "I'm pretty sure they would have offered to take us if you had just let me talk to them."

"Right, Hana. Because they'd totally be willing to take both me and you back home. As soon as I enter the picture, they'll leave."

"So you're saying that they were going to help me because I'm a girl?"

"What do you think? Of course they were going to help you because you're a girl! A girl, alone, at three o'clock in the morning. Yeah, Hana. Your dad would be so proud of you for making that decision."

"Why are you being like this?"

"Why?" He turned around. "Because you stand there complaining about how Ryo isn't here to save you when you have me. He might not be here for you right now, Hana, but I am. The least you can do is trust me, but you go frolicking off to talk to complete strangers asking for help rather than letting me handle things. Don't you think I want to get home safely? Get you home safely? What do you take me for?"

Hana switched her gaze south, her face feeling heavy and drawn. A faint ember of warmth bled into her numb ears, and she plopped herself down on the cold metal bench, arms crossed to keep herself warm. She heard Tai's "Hello? Hello?" as he resumed his telephone call, which was quickly followed by a "God damn it. They hung up," and some more pressing of buttons.

When he had at last contacted a taxi service and ensured them a ride back (or at least partially, since he didn't have enough cash to get them to Odaiba), he leaned forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees and his chin balanced atop the bridge of his clasped fingers.

Hana watched him openly, the guilt that normally would have made her head hang in shame moving her instead to gaze at Tai in short wonder. She never would have imagined him scolding her. Duly chastised, Hana lowered her stare, catching a glimpse of the cold concrete sidewalk before looking upon Tai's profile once more.

She called his name.

"Yeah?" He glanced at her, a firm frown still on his face.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to come off as unappreciative. I just… when you're used to certain people being there for you because they've been there for you your entire life, it's just natural that you turn to them in your times of need. You expect them to be there."

"Hana, I'm too tired to listen to any profound and philosophical explanations for why you do what you do. Leave that to Ryo Hiraki, and let me just think about how the hell I'm going to explain to my parents why I came home around four o'clock in the morning."

"I won't bother you any longer then," she replied, dismally. She contemplated getting up for a few minutes before finally standing. "I'm just going to take a short walk. I think I need it."

Tai didn't say anything. He merely glanced up at her before looking away. She took it as a confirmation that he didn't care what she did so long as she was out of his sight for a few minutes, and she could understand full well why he would want to be apart from her.

"I have my phone with me," she said, knowing that she was talking to a wall. "So if the cab comes, just call me and I'll come running back."

He could only afford a short, curt nod in reply, again, avoiding eye contact.

Hana sighed.

She pulled her coat in tighter around herself before leaving, Tai keenly aware of the skid of her sneakers against the sidewalk as she disappeared from his view. His fingers clenched into fists as he debated whether or not to stop her, and his feet tapped anxiously against the ground. He scratched his head once, and then twice, and then three more times before exasperatedly getting up and going after her.

"Hana!" he yelled, his voice echoing solo in the night.

He rounded the corner of the library, catching sight of her on the far end of the block.

"Hana!" he shouted again, picking up speed. Even though she turned around, he didn't stop running towards her.

"Is the cab here?" she asked, wondering why she was being pursued.

"No, I just… You shouldn't be out here… alone. It's… It's not safe."

He groaned inwardly at his articulateness, or, rather, his lack thereof.

"No one's really out here, Tai. I think I'll be fine."

"Sure, and then some rapist jumps out of the shadows."

She giggled faintly.

"I think you watch too many crime movies."

"I'm serious."

She considered him for a moment, her green eyes examining him with minute suspicion.

"All right, Tai," she said, giving her ultimatum. "Give me five minutes, and I'll meet you back at the bus stop."

Tai was given no opportunity to reply. Hana had promptly turned her back to him after giving him her terms, and, clearly, she would not yield. He wasn't happy about his defeat, but the only way he could have secured a victory was if he dragged Hana back to the bus stop with him, and he had already done that earlier.

"Fine," he muttered, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets and making the slow trek back to the stop.

Once he was seated on the icy metal bench, he dug in his pockets for his phone, deciding to warn Kari of his impromptu arrival at sometime before—if not very close—to dawn. Calling his parents was out of the question, and Hana's father was in another part of the country for a conference.

He wasn't expecting his sister to actually answer her phone with a sleepy, "Hello?", and even though he was alone at the stop, he still spoke into the receiver in a low whisper.

"Hey, Kari. It's Tai."

He waited a few seconds for his sister to respond, and he took it that she was peeking over the rim of her bunk to check if he was sleeping on the bottom bed.

"You're in trouble, aren't you?" she said at last, her waking brain gradually piecing Tai's absence together.

"No," he said dryly. "Everything's fine. Hana and I just overslept at the library and now we're coming home… three hours after we were actually supposed to leave. I called a cab and everything. I should be back within the hour, but I need you to let me in without waking Mom and Dad." He paused. "They didn't stay up late to make sure I didn't miss my curfew, right?"

"No. They checked out at about ten o'clock, trusting that you'd be here on time. I'll be awake until you get home. Is Hana all right?"

Tai sucked at his teeth.

"Yeah. She's fine. A little panicked, but fine. I've taken care of everything."

"Okay. Just… be careful."

"Will do. See you soon."

By the time his phone call had ended, Hana had returned to the stop as promised, seated on the opposite end of the bench, arms and legs crossed, feet swaying back and forth in idleness. He heard her hiss more than once from the cold.

"You okay?" he asked her, unable to withhold his concern.

"I'm fine, Tai. At least this time around I'm not wearing a 'rag,' right?" She smirked, glad to see him mirror the expression. It only took a few seconds for her to move herself closer to him, whatever hard feelings present earlier having been quelled by a few moments to cool off (literally). Neither of them said anything else until the cab arrived, though Hana was still tempted to utter more apologies. She didn't know why she felt obligated to say sorry when she had already done so. A part of her simply felt that she had done more wrong to Tai than he deserved, but she couldn't think of what else she had done to disrespect him.

"What are you kids doing out so late?"

Their cabbie had arrived and asked them the question while exiting his car to help them with their things.

"When I got the call about picking up a few university students," he continued, "I wasn't expecting a couple like you. You both look so young." He stuffed Hana's duffel into the trunk of his taxi.

"Oh, uh…" Hana looked at Tai briefly. "We're actually—"

"First year students," Tai finished.

"That explains it." He opened a passenger door for them. "Well, get on in. It's freezing out here."

"Got that right," Hana muttered.

"So… where to?" the cabbie asked, glancing at them from his rearview mirror.

"Um…" Tai leaned forward in his seat, poking his head out the window that separated driver from passenger. "We need to get to Odaiba," he said. "Searea specifically. Will this get us there?"

"Odaiba?" echoed the cabbie, face contorting as he turned back to look Tai square in the eyes. "You kids are going to school here and you're commuting all the way from Odaiba?"

"We're only part-time students," Hana said, though she was only able to dig Tai partly out of the ditch he had dug for himself.

"Whatever you say, Miss, but Odaiba? Damn. What a commute!" He looked down at the cash Tai had passed to him, his expression suddenly turning grave. He leaned in close to Tai, keeping his tone low. "Look, I'm not going to say this loud enough in front of your girl, but this won't get you even halfway to Odaiba." Tai reddened—the only thing his mind registering was the cabbie's calling Hana his girl. "But… I'll bring you there regardless. Poor girl looks half frozen, anyway."

"Thanks," Tai said, grateful that they hadn't gotten a grumpy driver. "You kind of saved our butts tonight."

He laughed.

"It's part of my job, really," he joked. "Saving teenagers from the trouble they get in. I better not have to pick you two up sometime in the near future, all right?"

"I swear we'll be good from here on out," Tai replied, smiling.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what they all say."

Hana had fallen asleep on her end of the cab by the time she felt Tai's nudge in her arm. She woke reluctantly, eyes straining to open and limbs unwilling to move. Her head felt astoundingly heavy, and even the slightest twist of the neck made her cranium throb.

"You might want to help her get out of there," she heard their cabbie suggest. Before she could mumble her refusal, she felt the car door she was leaning on give way, and she would have slumped over if Tai hadn't caught her and helped her out.

"You all right?" he asked her quietly. His fingers were hesitant to release her, and he hadn't removed his hold of her entirely until he stopped seeing her sway on her two feet.

"I'm just sleepy," she said, smirking afterwards. "You were right. I desperately need some shut eye." The chuckle that followed was interrupted by a continuous chain of sneezes, and Hana sniffed grandly afterwards, clearing the airways of her stuffy nose.

When Tai handed her her backpack and duffel, she was about to head toward the apartment building the cab was parked by when she realized she wasn't in her neighborhood.

"Oh, how silly," she said to herself, shaking her head. "I really should get some rest. I can't even think straight anymore." Her right foot was perched on its heel, ready to pivot herself around when Tai grabbed hold of her elbow and kept her still for a few moments.

"I don't think your dad would forgive me if he knew I let you walk home alone… in the cold… at almost four in the morning… to an empty apartment. I already let Kari know we're coming."

"Oh, well… I don't want to cause you any more trouble than you're probably in, Tai," said Hana, inching away from him. "I don't mind walking. It's not far. I can manage. Really."

"I promise my home isn't that bad, Hana."

"But I don't have any clothes or a toothbrush or—"

"We'll figure something out. Let's get inside before you freeze to death."

He took her hand, and Hana followed after him, albeit embarrassedly. It was one thing to go over to a guy friend's apartment to do homework together. It was another to actually sleep over. Such a situation had its fair share of particular connotations, though she didn't know why all she could think of was the naughty. Friends sleep over at friends' houses all the time. Why was she jumping to conclusions, and why, the more she thought about it, did her heartbeat escalate in the cage of her chest?

Tai winced as he unlocked his apartment door, attempting to do so with as little noise as possible. His father wasn't known to be a light sleeper, but his mother had remarkably good hearing while asleep; and if he was caught bringing a girl home—even if it was a friend—it was his mother's wrath that would deal out the fitting punishment, not his father's. He doubted his father would be very upset about him bringing Hana home. He might even be proud.

They were unprepared to find Kari waiting for them on the other side of the door, her pale skin vaguely aglow in the dark. Hana outright gasped at the sight of her, mistaking her for a ghost, and Tai, in an angry whisper, had to remind his near delusional guest to keep her voice down. He told Kari to find some pajamas for Hana to wear, and while his sister went off to their bedroom, Tai dragged himself into the kitchen.

"Do you want anything to drink?" he asked, wiping a hand over his tired face.

Hana stood awkwardly by the doorway, slowly pulling her feet out of her shoes.

"Maybe something warm would be nice," she said.

"No kidding."

As quietly as he could, he put the kettle on and was saved from having to talk to Hana further by Kari, who came in with neat bundles of clothes for each of them.

"I'm not sure if it will fit you," she said to Hana, "but it's all I could find."

Hana gratefully accepted the pajamas.

"You can dress up in our room," directed Kari. "There's a towel and a spare toothbrush laid out on Tai's bed—it's the bottom bunk."

"Thank you."

When Hana was securely behind closed doors, Kari joined her brother in the kitchen, who was caught leaning against the counter, yawning broadly.

"Have you come up with an excuse for Mom and Dad yet?" she asked.

"None at the moment. I'm kind of running on a few hours of sleep here, Kari. Any excuse I come up with now is going to sound like bull. Plus, I'm going to have to explain things to Mr. K, too, when he gets back."

"Maybe you should just tell the truth, then. Isn't that what Hana does?"

"Hana doesn't have parents like ours. After getting this pretty number—" He pointed at the healing wound on the back of his head, "—I'll be lucky if they just ground me for a few weeks."

His sister considered the probability for a moment.

"You go ahead and wash up. I'll watch the kettle," she offered.

Tai was thankful for his sister's kindness and took the bundle of clothes she had got for him and washed up and changed in the bathroom. When he emerged a few minutes later, there was a pair of steaming mugs of tea on the living room coffee table. Hana sat on the sofa in her borrowed clothing, staring at her steaming mug with lowered eyelids. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun, her face looking scrubbed but tired. She looked astoundingly pale.

He took the cautious route and sat in a neighboring armchair rather than beside her on the couch. She looked preoccupied with her thoughts, anyway, and he didn't want to disturb her.

"You don't have to drink it if you'd rather just go to sleep right away," he said. "Though, I promise Kari didn't poison it or anything."

She smiled slightly at the joke and made to reach for her mug but decided against it.

"It's still a bit too hot," she said. "I was so cold that when Kari first brought them out I immediately took a sip and burned my tongue."

"Are you all right?" He knew that his parents were somewhat conservative when it came to their heating bill, but he felt fine at the moment—toasty even. How was Hana still cold?

"Yes," she said. "Just… tired."

He still suspected that something was wrong but said nothing. He only sipped casually at his tea, Hana, meanwhile summoning up the courage to pick her mug up again and sip from it, albeit daintily.

"Thank you," she said randomly in the dark. "I think I would have been much more miserable if I had gone home by myself."

"No problem. I said that I'd have your back, didn't I?"

"Yes, yes you did." She rose, her sudden movement prompting Tai to mimic the action so quickly that he almost scalded himself, though he realized, too late, that she was standing to stretch, and he felt stupid when she sat herself back down on the sofa.

"You don't have to sleep on the couch, Hana," he said. "It's warmer in my room." She could only stare blankly at him in the dark. He reddened. "I mean… not like that—God, no—I mean, my sister's in there. You know what I mean. You could sleep in my bed—damn it—Not like that, either. I could sleep on the floor. Or I could sleep on the couch." She couldn't help but giggle as he continued to bungle up his words. "I'll just… I'm sleeping on the couch," he said declaratively. "Just take my bed before I say anything else."

"Is that an order, Kamiya?" she said, teasing him further.

"Unless you'd rather not," he replied, refusing to elaborate.

He was thankful that Hana didn't catch the subtext of his words. She just laughed lightly and patted him on the shoulder as she went to put her mug in the kitchen.

"You don't have any bed protocol, do you?" she asked as she headed for his bedroom. The door was slightly ajar, and she laid a hand on the doorknob.

"Bed protocol?" Tai echoed, coming toward her.

"Sorry. Some people are very particular about how their beds are kept."

Tai looked at her quizzically.

"It's a bed. You use it to sleep. What else is there?"

"O… kay. I guess that's a no, then." She parted the door to enter, and he was sorely tempted to pull her aside, and tell her things he should have told her a long time ago. But he was tired. She was tired. She'd probably forget what was said, and so would he, and he didn't want her to think that his confession was a dream.

"Good night, Tai. Thanks again… for everything."

"No problem, Han." The most he could do was lay a hand on her shoulder. "Get some rest."

She looked up at him then, green eyes wide and searching, her fingers gradually curling into loose fists. She'd have been lying to herself if she didn't feel an imaginary string tighten between them. Her heartbeat could be felt throbbing in her throat.

She smiled lamely, risking another glimpse up at Tai and his comforting gaze, sweat seeping through the grooves of her palms. Her thoughts were becoming incoherent, flashing and whirling dizzyingly in her mind. She felt faint. At the last minute, she averted her gaze from Tai, Ryo's face surfacing in the chaos abounding in her skull and tagging along with it their entire history—both as friends and as a couple. She bit her nether lip and turned her attentions back to the door.

It was parted slowly, Hana gently shutting it behind her and leaving Tai on the other side, trapped alone in the darkness of his living room. He wanted to call her back, and her name was even crawling up to the tip of his tongue, but it wouldn't allow itself to be uttered. A sigh escaped him instead, and he leaned his forehead on the doorframe, surrendering—again—to another missed opportunity.

He waited a few moments to listen for the creaks of his squeaky mattress, which would confirm for him that Hana was well on her way to slumber, but he didn't hear anything. Perhaps she just tiptoed into his bed, those delicate but battered ballerina feet of hers carrying her gently to repose.

For the briefest second he imagined that she was still standing on her side of the closed door, head hanging in the same manner as his, contemplating whether or not to open the door again and let instinct take over reason. But the fantasy quickly escaped him, and he eased away from his bedroom door, the weight of fatigue suddenly falling on his limbs. He collapsed onto the living room couch, unaware that Hana, too, had lingered by her side of the door, waiting for some extraordinary thing to happen.