"The real lover is the man who can thrill you by kissing your forehead."

- Marilyn Monroe

Peaking in through the door, her eyes traveled around the room. Lucci was asleep in the usual fashion: on his back with arms crossed over his abs. And from where she was standing Kaku was out like a light as well. His back faced her direction, but his entire body said that deep sleep claimed him. That was good news for her.

"…when you want to inform me on what's bothering you, come wake me up…"

Shaking her head, Mana threw the words out of her mind. One, her body was tired; she worked out the thoughts in her head for a good six hours by herself. Two, she wasn't going to be rude and wake up him up from a comfortable slumber. Though she wouldn't admit it, not wanting to talk to him was the third reason.

Unbeknownst to Mana though, Kaku's eyes peeled open the moment he heard the door click shut quietly. He was very happy that she had returned to their room. In the back of his mind, the seed of doubt that planted itself shriveled up. A smile crawled on his face and he closed his eyes to keep up the façade that he slept peacefully.

"Ahhh… Guess I'll take a quick shower and then go straight to bed," she whispered to herself as she walked toward the bathroom silently.

And a quick shower it was. To wash the oil that had coated her hair that day and scrub away the sweat and dirt on her only took a few minutes. Seven minutes to be exact. One of her fastest times ever. She probably would have been faster if her body wasn't so exhausted, but like that even mattered to her at that moment. Of course it did… subconsciously.

She scrubbed her wet hair as hard as she could while walking out of the bathroom, being careful not to let the light from the bathroom shine in Kaku's face. Her hair always seemed to soak up water like a sponge. Such an annoying trait she acquired.

That aside, she readied herself to leap up onto her bunk after throwing the now very damp towel towards the makeshift laundry hamper.

"So…" Mana froze in her spot in front of the bunk bed her and Lucci shared. He spoke in a very quiet voice, hoping that it wouldn't infuriate Lucci. It was obvious he woke too when she entered. "There anything you want to tell me? Or talk to me about, Mana?"

"N… No." she replied in the same hushed tone. She mentally slapped the Hell out of herself. Why couldn't she just act like she didn't hear him and go on? Because, for some horrible reason, deep, deep, DEEP down she wanted to tell him what was bothering her.

"Oh…" he muttered, letting the syllable hang in the air awkwardly for a few seconds. "Are you lying to me, Mana?"

She didn't answer him. Her mind raced for an answer to give him, but only the obvious one came up.

"Why don't you want us to leave?"

"Be… Because… I like you three and that's all there is to it," she confessed without really thinking about it.

"Well, there's one question answered," Kaku said.

Then there was the sound of cloth sliding down sheets and the carpenter's presence was right behind her. A smile of amusement fought hard to stretch Manami's lips seeing as though she could clearly see Kaku's nose out of her peripheral vision without having to strain.

"But there's one other thing bothering me, Mana… Why are you so angry with me?"

Her lips shifted to the side in an attempt to keep them from blabbing anything that she hadn't sorted through.

"Kaku… It's all because…" Biting her bottom lip quick, she spun around to face him. It took all she had to keep her voice low. "I don't want you to leave. I've been having a lot of fun with you three here! It's been a while since I've had this much fun…" She hated sounding like… like… such a girl. "And I didn't want you to go…"

"'You' as in Lucci, Jyabura, and me?" Kaku asked.

Mana gave a large sigh while looking down at, not her feet, but his. "No. 'You' as in you, you dim bulb. I—" She immediately cut herself off. Her eyes widened. "I… I mean..! It's just…!"

Red flushed her cheeks and she rapidly clawed at her head for her lack of cautiousness. How could she be such an idiot to let those words slip? Suddenly she looked up at the Ushi Ushi user with an irrational glare.

"Dammit Kaku!" she cursed with a whisper, her brow furrowing in upset. "I hate it… I hate how you do that…! Why do you play with me like that? You make me say things that I don't mean to let out… to anyone!"

Once again, her eyes fell to the floor and she let out a huff of anger. Kaku's lips spread in a smile that the young lady couldn't see. He knew. He already knew why of course, but he wanted to hear it come from her. It was different to know it and to hear it.

Neither of them moved from their positions though. They waited for the other to make the next move.

"What?" Mana snapped sharply. "Go back to your bed. It's over there. Mine is right behind me."

Kaku chuckled lightly at Mana's misdirected anger. It was cute. Adorable in fact and no one else, but him could possibly be able to keep a level head when she got like this. Actually, no one else seemed to infuriate her like he could. It's what kept this relationship interesting.

"What?" she repeated in a more threatening manner with her voice still low. "You got the answer you wanted didn't you?"

Swift. Slightly chapped. Heart stopped. Legally dead for a good second.

And just as quick as they had landed on her forehead, they left. She was left standing there dumbfounded as the CP9 member stood up straight with a smile.

"Yes. I did," he answered. Jumping back onto his own bed and laying down, he propped himself up on his side to where he could face her. "And I do believe you got yours."

All she could do was take in a deep breath, turn away from him, and crawl into her own bed. Making her back face him, she stared at the wall. Thoughts raced through her head, but they just kept going back to that, replaying it slowly over and over again. Her hands gripped the comforter around her tight, pulling it in closer.

"Sleep well, Mana-chan," he said before turning over in his own bed.

A grin all her own crept onto her face as she snuggled her comforter slight.

Well, if you didn't notice, the quote at the beginning actually kinda inspired what happened in this chapter. Love that quote. A whole freakin' lot. Oh MAN! This is totally making me feel better. What a good stress reliever. Packing for college and choir camp is really freaking me out. :D

I love you all for all of the support! I can't express that enough!

-With MUCH love,

Maru-chan