p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;" align="center"Chapter Twenty Six/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;" align="center"Thunder and Photographs/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Somewhere in the distance lightning streaked across the sky, it zig zagged down toward Earth from a looming cloud that seemed to grow closer and closer every second. Thunder followed, rocking and rattling the Kouyama house, the winds followed battering against the windows as it tried to push into the home. A second later lightning illuminated the sky again, this time closer, with the thunder coming even quicker and louder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto had always hated thunderstorms in the middle of the night, he could remember waking up to the loud shaking and rattling of the apartment building he lived in with Aoi, and clinging to his pillow in fright at the terrifying flashes of light, and loud booms of thunder that seemed to come without warning. Now as a adult he would just lay in bed, his attention focusing on the ceiling fan, counting the seconds between the flash of lightning and the following boom of thunder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"His mind most of the day had been preoccupied as to how he would tell Mitsuki that she would soon have to explain their relationship or else the rumor mills would gain even more traction. Now as he lay in bed, all he could think about was how spooky the large house seemed with Mitsuki's parents away in Korea, and the house keeper off for the night./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Another wave of wind buffered against the house, and some where deeper into the home he could have sworn he heard the terrifying sound of a creaking wood floor. He could easily rationalize these away, tell himself that there was not some psychotic murderer who had taken this opportunity to break into the house and murder everyone in a violent fashion./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Yet, he wondered if Mitsuki could do the same, if she could sleep in such a empty house, with her parents away, and a thunderstorm shaking the house every moment or two./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"In his mind's eye he could imagine her curled up in her bed, clinging to the sheets as her body shook from fear, every noise, every bolt of thunder, sending a jolt of fear throughout her body./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The very thought that she could be experiencing the same fear that plagued his childhood was enough to get him out of bed. He quickly gathered and redressed in his discarded clothes from the previous day before heading out toward her room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The frequent bolts of lightning were enough to highlight his path through the maze that made up Aoi's house. By the time he had made it to Mitsuki's room he counted another five bolts of lightning, and that each rumble of thunder followed within three seconds, meaning the storm was getting closer./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Mitsuki?" He whispered, sliding her door open just a bit so that his voice would carry in her room. "Are you awake?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Takuto?" Came a frighten voice, so shaken and scared that he wasn't sure it was Mitsuki's voice at first./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto opened the door, another flash of lightning illuminating the room, Mitsuki peeked out from underneath a tangle of blankets, clinging to the two teddy bears they had made together a month or two ago. The very sight was enough to melt Takuto's heart./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Hey squirt, why don't you come stay in my room." He offered, opening the door as another bolt of lightning flashed across the room. He had expected Mitsuki to ask if it was okay, or to wonder if she should, instead she bolted from the bed and rushed past the door as if trying to beat the thunder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Slow down so you don't trip!" Takuto turned to follow her not even bothering to close the door. Doing his best to guide her with what little light the storm provided, he slowly made his way back to his room and tucked her into his bed. Now came the uncomfortable part of the night, laying down with his day clothes still on, he shifted around on top of the blankets and covers, his jeans digging into his back. He could never dream of hurting Mitsuki, but he was not going to sleep under the same blankets that she did, and he was not going to wear anything less than three layers of clothing, she deserved to be respected in that manner even if she was too innocent to know it./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Better?" He asked as Mitsuki curled up again in the covers, her fingers digging into the teddy bears so roughly that he briefly wondered if she would rip the stuffing right out of them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki nodded, a small lie that was quickly revealed by a loud clap of lightning that sent a tremor through her tiny body./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto rolled his eyes in annoyance at the small lie, and pulled her close and placed Mitsuki's head on his chest. "Can you hear my heart beat?" He asked, placing his hand on her back. He could feel her nod again, as he focused on taking deep long breaths. "Focus on my heart beat, don't listen to anything else." He whispered into her ear./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Soon her trembling body began to relax, her short quick breaths turned to slow long ones, and after a few minutes Takuto was more than satisfied that she had fallen asleep. He turned his attention back to the ceiling, the lightning was coming in wild flashes now, as one flash faded another lit up the room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The lightning was coming so fast and furious that he didn't even catch the three quick flashes that were so flawless that they had to come from a unnatural source. The next flash of lightning caught his eye, as along with the numerous trees and bushes who's shadows danced across the room from the light of the lightning, now the shadow of a human could be clearly seen against the wall across the room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto bolted up, nearly knocking Mitsuki off the bed as he caught sight of the man, a camera hanging in his soaked hands. "Dammit." He swore and leapt from the bed, ripping open the window with enough strength that he wondered for a brief moment that he had damaged the hinges./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Springing through the open window, his feet hit the ground spraying mud and water everywhere. Rain pelted his body, stinging and scratching at his skin as it came rushing down upon him. Takuto had to wipe the rain from his eyes to catch sight of the photographer, who was already racing along the soggy ground toward the gate where his car waited./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto charged forward, his foot slipping in the mud causing his body to tip forward and receive a face full of mud and grass. "Takuto!" Mitsuki screamed out, already half way out of the broken window./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto rose up and wiped the mud from his eyes. "Stay back!" He called out, spitting mud and grass out of his mouth. He turned back and was able to catch sight of the photographer as he made his way to his car and sped off, camera in hand./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Dammit." He swore again, his fists pounding the wet mud in frustration. His eyes lingered on where the car had been just long enough to catch the sight of a hooded man standing on the other side of the street, looking directly in his direction. To his horror the man lifted his hood, revealing Yasuno's face still twisted and mangled from their fight several months back. He smiled at Takuto with his broken teeth before pulling his hood back up over his face and walked off./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Shaking both out of fear and the cold rain, Takuto returned to the house and stepped back through the window without giving a single thought to how soaked and dirty he was. "Mitsuki grab everything you can, we're leaving now." He spoke quietly as he tried to digest what had just happened. Not only did the tabloids have physical proof of their relationship, but Yasuno was now stalking them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Eh? Why?" Mitsuki asked, having retrieved a towel and began to clean the mud off of Takuto's face./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Just do it!" Takuto barked, his voice harsh and sharp, he had never spoken to Mitsuki like that before and instantly he filled guilty and filled with regret. "Mitsuki please, trust me on this." He calmed his voice and placed his soaked hands on her shoulders trying to convey how dangerous it was to stay there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"She didn't ask again and rushed off to gather up a handful of clothes and belongings, leaving Takuto alone to ponder where they should go./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"It wasn't the lightning or thunder but the pounding on her apartment door that awoke Hikari up, she had been asleep for hours when she was awoken by the sharp pounding on her door. When she finally stumbled from her bed to her door and opened it, she found something that made her question if she was still dreaming. Takuto stood in her doorframe, caked head to toe in mud, with young Mitsuki standing behind him clinging to a small travel bag. "We need a place to stay." Takuto explained/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Hikari eyed Mitsuki for a second, unsure about having the little tramp in her house. Her eyes finally trailed back up to Takuto, and how pathetic he looked soaked to the bone and covered in mud. She stepped to the side and allowed both of them to step inside before shutting the door./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki awoke to the sound of song birds, the horror and fear of the night before having disappeared as quickly as the thunderstorm had. The rays of the early morning sun streaked through the window, splashing down upon her face and the couch she had been curled up on. She rose up and stretched, taking stock of the small apartment room she now found herself in. Takuto was fast asleep in a chair near her, and the door leading to Hikari's bedroom remained closed meaning she was probably still asleep./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki stretched and stepped away from the couch, remaining in her damp clothes from the night before she tip toed her way to the kitchen and began to silently pull down dishes to prepare breakfast. Hikari had been nice enough to allow her and Takuto to stay at her place for the night, why they had to leave her home she really did not know, but that didn't matter now and the least she could do would be to make breakfast for them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Having watched Tanaka cook breakfast multiple times, she felt confident that she could do it as well. She steamed and cooked the rice, and then began to cut the vegetables. With the food nearly finished she moved to the cabinet to get the glasses down, only to find them mere inches out of reach./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Little kids really shouldn't be cooking alone." Hikari chided her, reaching up and pulling the glasses down that had remained out of Mitsuki's reach. She glanced down at the prepared meal and shook her head. "Takuto doesn't like pickles, don't you know that?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki froze for a moment before she began to gently pick off the sliced pickles and tossed them into the sink. "There is probably alot of things you do not know about Takuto, I was his girlfriend for years so there were alot of things we shared with eachother." Hikari leaned against the counter and glanced over at Takuto to make sure he was still asleep./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""He likes big tall beautiful independent women, and hates to deal with whiny clinging girls, when we first started dating he would always talk about how his old girlfriend used to act like a child, and how he hated it." She continued, sowing the seeds into Mitsuki's mind that she hoped would end in their break up./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Something smells good.." Takuto groaned, slowly beginning to wake from his slumber, mud clinging to his hair./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Hikari stepped past Mitsuki and gathered up the breakfast she had made. "Good morning!" She announced sweetly as she made her way over to him. "We made you breakfast!"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;" align="center"Thunder and Photographs/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Somewhere in the distance lightning streaked across the sky, it zig zagged down toward Earth from a looming cloud that seemed to grow closer and closer every second. Thunder followed, rocking and rattling the Kouyama house, the winds followed battering against the windows as it tried to push into the home. A second later lightning illuminated the sky again, this time closer, with the thunder coming even quicker and louder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto had always hated thunderstorms in the middle of the night, he could remember waking up to the loud shaking and rattling of the apartment building he lived in with Aoi, and clinging to his pillow in fright at the terrifying flashes of light, and loud booms of thunder that seemed to come without warning. Now as a adult he would just lay in bed, his attention focusing on the ceiling fan, counting the seconds between the flash of lightning and the following boom of thunder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"His mind most of the day had been preoccupied as to how he would tell Mitsuki that she would soon have to explain their relationship or else the rumor mills would gain even more traction. Now as he lay in bed, all he could think about was how spooky the large house seemed with Mitsuki's parents away in Korea, and the house keeper off for the night./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Another wave of wind buffered against the house, and some where deeper into the home he could have sworn he heard the terrifying sound of a creaking wood floor. He could easily rationalize these away, tell himself that there was not some psychotic murderer who had taken this opportunity to break into the house and murder everyone in a violent fashion./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Yet, he wondered if Mitsuki could do the same, if she could sleep in such a empty house, with her parents away, and a thunderstorm shaking the house every moment or two./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"In his mind's eye he could imagine her curled up in her bed, clinging to the sheets as her body shook from fear, every noise, every bolt of thunder, sending a jolt of fear throughout her body./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The very thought that she could be experiencing the same fear that plagued his childhood was enough to get him out of bed. He quickly gathered and redressed in his discarded clothes from the previous day before heading out toward her room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The frequent bolts of lightning were enough to highlight his path through the maze that made up Aoi's house. By the time he had made it to Mitsuki's room he counted another five bolts of lightning, and that each rumble of thunder followed within three seconds, meaning the storm was getting closer./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Mitsuki?" He whispered, sliding her door open just a bit so that his voice would carry in her room. "Are you awake?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Takuto?" Came a frighten voice, so shaken and scared that he wasn't sure it was Mitsuki's voice at first./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto opened the door, another flash of lightning illuminating the room, Mitsuki peeked out from underneath a tangle of blankets, clinging to the two teddy bears they had made together a month or two ago. The very sight was enough to melt Takuto's heart./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Hey squirt, why don't you come stay in my room." He offered, opening the door as another bolt of lightning flashed across the room. He had expected Mitsuki to ask if it was okay, or to wonder if she should, instead she bolted from the bed and rushed past the door as if trying to beat the thunder./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Slow down so you don't trip!" Takuto turned to follow her not even bothering to close the door. Doing his best to guide her with what little light the storm provided, he slowly made his way back to his room and tucked her into his bed. Now came the uncomfortable part of the night, laying down with his day clothes still on, he shifted around on top of the blankets and covers, his jeans digging into his back. He could never dream of hurting Mitsuki, but he was not going to sleep under the same blankets that she did, and he was not going to wear anything less than three layers of clothing, she deserved to be respected in that manner even if she was too innocent to know it./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Better?" He asked as Mitsuki curled up again in the covers, her fingers digging into the teddy bears so roughly that he briefly wondered if she would rip the stuffing right out of them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki nodded, a small lie that was quickly revealed by a loud clap of lightning that sent a tremor through her tiny body./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto rolled his eyes in annoyance at the small lie, and pulled her close and placed Mitsuki's head on his chest. "Can you hear my heart beat?" He asked, placing his hand on her back. He could feel her nod again, as he focused on taking deep long breaths. "Focus on my heart beat, don't listen to anything else." He whispered into her ear./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Soon her trembling body began to relax, her short quick breaths turned to slow long ones, and after a few minutes Takuto was more than satisfied that she had fallen asleep. He turned his attention back to the ceiling, the lightning was coming in wild flashes now, as one flash faded another lit up the room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"The lightning was coming so fast and furious that he didn't even catch the three quick flashes that were so flawless that they had to come from a unnatural source. The next flash of lightning caught his eye, as along with the numerous trees and bushes who's shadows danced across the room from the light of the lightning, now the shadow of a human could be clearly seen against the wall across the room./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto bolted up, nearly knocking Mitsuki off the bed as he caught sight of the man, a camera hanging in his soaked hands. "Dammit." He swore and leapt from the bed, ripping open the window with enough strength that he wondered for a brief moment that he had damaged the hinges./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Springing through the open window, his feet hit the ground spraying mud and water everywhere. Rain pelted his body, stinging and scratching at his skin as it came rushing down upon him. Takuto had to wipe the rain from his eyes to catch sight of the photographer, who was already racing along the soggy ground toward the gate where his car waited./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto charged forward, his foot slipping in the mud causing his body to tip forward and receive a face full of mud and grass. "Takuto!" Mitsuki screamed out, already half way out of the broken window./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Takuto rose up and wiped the mud from his eyes. "Stay back!" He called out, spitting mud and grass out of his mouth. He turned back and was able to catch sight of the photographer as he made his way to his car and sped off, camera in hand./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Dammit." He swore again, his fists pounding the wet mud in frustration. His eyes lingered on where the car had been just long enough to catch the sight of a hooded man standing on the other side of the street, looking directly in his direction. To his horror the man lifted his hood, revealing Yasuno's face still twisted and mangled from their fight several months back. He smiled at Takuto with his broken teeth before pulling his hood back up over his face and walked off./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Shaking both out of fear and the cold rain, Takuto returned to the house and stepped back through the window without giving a single thought to how soaked and dirty he was. "Mitsuki grab everything you can, we're leaving now." He spoke quietly as he tried to digest what had just happened. Not only did the tabloids have physical proof of their relationship, but Yasuno was now stalking them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Eh? Why?" Mitsuki asked, having retrieved a towel and began to clean the mud off of Takuto's face./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Just do it!" Takuto barked, his voice harsh and sharp, he had never spoken to Mitsuki like that before and instantly he filled guilty and filled with regret. "Mitsuki please, trust me on this." He calmed his voice and placed his soaked hands on her shoulders trying to convey how dangerous it was to stay there./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"She didn't ask again and rushed off to gather up a handful of clothes and belongings, leaving Takuto alone to ponder where they should go./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"It wasn't the lightning or thunder but the pounding on her apartment door that awoke Hikari up, she had been asleep for hours when she was awoken by the sharp pounding on her door. When she finally stumbled from her bed to her door and opened it, she found something that made her question if she was still dreaming. Takuto stood in her doorframe, caked head to toe in mud, with young Mitsuki standing behind him clinging to a small travel bag. "We need a place to stay." Takuto explained/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Hikari eyed Mitsuki for a second, unsure about having the little tramp in her house. Her eyes finally trailed back up to Takuto, and how pathetic he looked soaked to the bone and covered in mud. She stepped to the side and allowed both of them to step inside before shutting the door./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki awoke to the sound of song birds, the horror and fear of the night before having disappeared as quickly as the thunderstorm had. The rays of the early morning sun streaked through the window, splashing down upon her face and the couch she had been curled up on. She rose up and stretched, taking stock of the small apartment room she now found herself in. Takuto was fast asleep in a chair near her, and the door leading to Hikari's bedroom remained closed meaning she was probably still asleep./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki stretched and stepped away from the couch, remaining in her damp clothes from the night before she tip toed her way to the kitchen and began to silently pull down dishes to prepare breakfast. Hikari had been nice enough to allow her and Takuto to stay at her place for the night, why they had to leave her home she really did not know, but that didn't matter now and the least she could do would be to make breakfast for them./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Having watched Tanaka cook breakfast multiple times, she felt confident that she could do it as well. She steamed and cooked the rice, and then began to cut the vegetables. With the food nearly finished she moved to the cabinet to get the glasses down, only to find them mere inches out of reach./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Little kids really shouldn't be cooking alone." Hikari chided her, reaching up and pulling the glasses down that had remained out of Mitsuki's reach. She glanced down at the prepared meal and shook her head. "Takuto doesn't like pickles, don't you know that?"/p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Mitsuki froze for a moment before she began to gently pick off the sliced pickles and tossed them into the sink. "There is probably alot of things you do not know about Takuto, I was his girlfriend for years so there were alot of things we shared with eachother." Hikari leaned against the counter and glanced over at Takuto to make sure he was still asleep./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""He likes big tall beautiful independent women, and hates to deal with whiny clinging girls, when we first started dating he would always talk about how his old girlfriend used to act like a child, and how he hated it." She continued, sowing the seeds into Mitsuki's mind that she hoped would end in their break up./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;""Something smells good.." Takuto groaned, slowly beginning to wake from his slumber, mud clinging to his hair./p
p style="margin-bottom: 0in; line-height: 115%;"Hikari stepped past Mitsuki and gathered up the breakfast she had made. "Good morning!" She announced sweetly as she made her way over to him. "We made you breakfast!"/p