A/N: This is actually one of my favorite chapters so far and I'm not going to tell you why! You're just going to have to find out! Feel free to chuckle or giggle at any nostalgia moments for you Kodocha fans out there! Have fun!

P.S. Sana and Akito shippers are going to love this chapter :D

I don't own Kodocha or any of its contents.

'Thoughts'
"Speech"
"Flashback/Dream"

Two Worlds Collide: Book I: A New World: Chapter 18: Truth Behind Reason

-O-

"The truth is rarely pure and never simple."
- Oscar Wilde

-O-

"He's gone, again."

Kurata Sana looked up from her boring math notes at the sound of Mami's disappointing voice. She rolled her eyes, not bothering to hide her annoyance towards the boy she's been absolutely infuriated with.

"Good riddance." The young auburn haired teenager commented with slight anger as she turned back to her notes.

"What is it between you two anyway?" Mami asked, "You two have been at each other's throat all week."

Sana frowned, not wanting to remember her most recent conversation with the blonde haired boy. If anything, it would rile her up more. She was already tired of being mad but this was the basis of their relationship/friendship. It always had been.

"He's just a jerk!" Sana complained, sticking her tongue out.

"You know Sana," Mami started, "you two fight a lot. Like, A LOT. And it's not just a here and there thing. It's all the time."

Sana scoffed, closing her math notes shut. "He started it. AND we do not!"

"Do too." Hisae commented as she sat down next to Mami.

"If you asked me, I'd say you guys were having this secret relationship and just fought all the time so no one suspected anything." Hisae added as she winked at her auburn haired friend, who in turn, blushed fiercely.

"Well it's a good thing no one asked you!" Hisae and Mami both laughed as Sana's face turned bright red with embarrassment. She scoffed and fell back into her seat, an annoyed scowl etched on her face.

"She never denied it!" Mami commented with a gasp, to which both Hisae and Sana went wide eyed.

"Denied what?"

All three turned to see Aya standing there, alone, which was weird considering wherever Aya was, Tsuyoshi was there also or vice versa.

"That Sana and Hayama are secret lovers." Hisae said in a sing-song voice with hearts in her eyes.

Aya's eyes went wide as she looked over at Sana, who was now bright red once again. She had noticed that the two were growing closer, but she never would go as far to say they were 'secret lovers.'

"WE'RE NOT SECRET LOVERS!" Sana shouted as she stood up, her fist at her side. "I hate that guy!" She then proceeded to storm out of the classroom, mumbling something about her friends being traitors and going to the dark side.

The three remaining girls looked at the door in which Sana left through in shock. It had been a while since they've seen Sana so upset. Sure, they had their fights as always, but Sana usually bounced right back.

"I was only kidding." Hisae murmured.

"I'm sure they will sort out their differences. They always do." Aya said as she sat down. The two girls nodded in agreement.

"By the way, Aya," Mami interrupted, "where's Tsuyoshi?"

"Oh, he had to talk to Hayama-san about something."

"About his secret relationship with Sana?" Mami commented, causing both girls to laugh helplessly. They knew that the young Kurata would probably be mad if she had heard them, but it was worth getting a laugh out of it while they could.

-O-

"Bunch of traitors." Sana mumbled as she walked down the hallway of Jinbou High School, her cheeks still flushed from the teasing her friends had down not too long ago.

"Secret relationship with Hayama! Ha! Yeah right!" She said to herself in a mocking tone. The last thing she wanted with him was any type of relationship. She didn't even want to see him. She was that upset at him for his harsh words earlier on in the week.

After his sudden outburst on her the first time, she backed away and gave him some space, only to find that the next day; he was acting the same way. Too curious for her own good, she attempted over and over to find out what was going on with him until finally, he snapped.

-O-

"Something is wrong with you."

"Nothing is wrong with me. Now, will you leave me alone?"

She made a sour face as she put her hands at her hips, not liking the sudden tone in his voice.

"Oh come on, Hayama! You've been all spaced out and weird the past few days! You haven't mocked me nor done anything perverted, which is weird!" She defended as her annoyance racked. "Even for you!"

"Buzz off will you!" He was clearly now annoyed now too as he knitted his brows together.

"We're friends aren't we? I'm just concerned for you!" She argued putting her hands at her side as her anger boiled at his stubbornness. She wanted nothing more than to hit the idiot a few times with her mallet but she refrained herself from doing so.

"We'll don't be!" He yelled, "Yeah, we're friends or whatever, but that doesn't mean I need to tell you every single detail about what I do with my life! I actually don't have to tell you anything! So stop trying to demand it out of me!"

She would be lying if she said that those words hadn't stung. It reminded her of their argument before Christmas when he told her to back out of his life. Except this time, the words cut deeper and she didn't understand why. All she wanted to do was get him to open himself up a little and let her in.

"You are such a jerk! To think I worry about you!"

They were locked eye to eye as she looked up at him while he looked down at her. They glared each other down until finally Hayama caved first.

"Just stay out of it." He spat back, his golden eyes blazed with anger.

"FINE!" Sana screamed in his face as she turned away in frustration, leaving the blonde haired boy to himself.

-O-

She sighed, pouting a bit. Hayama was being unfair and rude, but at the same time, she knew that this was typical Hayama behavior. He was not easy to get along with. He was rude and cold and when he was in the mood to have a conversation, all he did was mock and insult her. He kept to himself and put up this wall that kept everyone out.

Ever since Naozumi had left, she found herself leaning onto the blonde haired boy a lot more than she wanted too. Though he had been nothing but a complete ass to her there was something about his presence that made her forget about her problems even if he was working her up most of the time.

And she couldn't leave out the part about her wanting to get through those barriers that he had put up. Tsuyoshi had said some interesting things about their past, but with such limited information, she couldn't put the pieces together without more.

She just didn't understand what had prompted the blonde haired boy into being so rude! Forgive her for wanting to know a little more about him! Yeah, they were friends, but at times, she just didn't feel like his friend. She felt like a complete stranger.

Don't even get her started on him kissing her. She had yet dealt with that situation. She honestly had no idea how to even approach him. She could just go up to him and say "Hey! Why did you kiss me?" But even then, it was somewhat embarrassing. She felt her face grow hot at the image popping into her mind.

She could still remember the way his lips felt on hers. She could remember the coil that formed in her stomach. She could still remember the way he hypnotized her with his golden, alluring eyes. She could still remember how gentle he was. She didn't think gentle and Hayama could ever fit together in the same sentence.

She shook her head, telling herself that she shouldn't be thinking about such things. She was still very mad at him for shutting her out the way he did. She was so upset that she didn't realize she walked to the other end of her school.

"Oh man. If I get caught, I'll be in so much trouble!" She turned back the other way and hastily made her way back to her classroom. She grumbled as she jogged back, trying to be as quiet as she could be, blaming Hayama Akito for causing all this.

-O-

Hayama Akito grumbled under his breath as Tsuyoshi sat and lectured him for what seemed like the hundredth time this week. He inwardly growled as he heard the words Sana and apologize for what seemed like millions a time in the same sentence. It was the same thing over and over and frankly, he was tired of listening to his medic groan to him about Kurata Sana.

"-you two are so childish! I mean, albeit you are rude, but the least you could do is apo- You're not even listening to me, are you Hayama? Seriously?!" Tsuyoshi glared at the boy, frustrated beyond belief.

"I stopped listening before you even started." He mumbled, looking out the window.

"GAH! You are so ugh!" Tsuyoshi said, "I mean, I thought you two were friends and put everything behind you already?"

"We have." Hayama commented.

"Then why are you both being so immature about this!?" He glared, yelling at the blonde haired boy.

"She started it!" Hayama threw a dagger at his medic.

"Started it by doing what? Finding out what is going on with you?! You know, I kinda want to know what's going on with you too!"

Hayama inwardly groaned. He didn't want to tell Tsuyoshi that he could have possibly found the princess without confirming that it was her first. He didn't want to get his hopes up or in this case, give him the idea that they were going home when he finally made a move on Sugita Aya.

"I can't tell you."

Tsuyoshi narrowed his eyes at him.

"And why not?"

"Because I can't."

Tsuyoshi was beginning to feel annoyed of his captain. Hayama Akito was always a smart person. He was always level headed, reserved, and calm. He never, ever annoyed others. Sure, he upset others with his decisions sometimes, but never annoyed.

"And why not?" Tsuyoshi crossed his arms in front of him.

"Because I can't." The lone wolf sneered, emphasizing the two most important words in his statement. He gave Tsuyoshi a knowing glance. He hoped that Tsuyoshi would understand what that meant and just let it go.

The brown haired medic cocked an eyebrow at his captain's intense glare. That's when it hit him. This had something to do with their mission. That was why he wasn't telling him. He might have actually found something. As happy as that made Tsuyoshi, it also felt as if someone punched him in the chest. If he had found something, that meant that they were closer to going home. And the closer to getting home they were, the less time he had with Aya.

"Fine." Tsuyoshi ended it there, sitting next to him silently.

"But you need to apologize to Sana." Hayama scoffed.

"I mean it. If what you're hiding has anything to do with you know what," he whispered, "then you need to find a way to resolve whatever you and Sana have going on without her finding out."

"You think I don't know that." He said sharply. As much fun he had teasing the amateur singer, he couldn't let her find out the truth about he and Tsuyoshi. That would cause absolute chaos.

"Then fix it." Hayama gave the brown haired boy a smirk, to which Tsuyoshi gave him a questioning glance.

"What?"

"Since when did you tell me what to do?" Hayama questioned, the smirk still intact.

Tsuyoshi blushed slightly, embarrassed. "Ever since you stopped having such a level head!"

"I always keep a level head. It's part of the job." Hayama flicked Tsuyoshi in the forehead. "You're the one who is distracted."

"Am not!" The brown haired boy rubbed the sore spot on his forehead and pouted.

"Are too. Wasn't Aya a distraction to you when we first got here?" The blonde haired captain pinpointed as he leaned back against his chair. Tsuyoshi blushed immediately.

"That's not fair! You know that-" but he stopped midway when he realized that his captain had called his girlfriend by her first name. He NEVER did that. He always used people's surname when speaking to them. He refrained from calling people by their first name because he always said it was like you were getting too personal with them. And Hayama hated personal.

"Did you just call Aya by her first name?" Tsuyoshi asked in disbelief.

"What?"

"You just called Aya be her first name!" Hayama rolled his eyes.

"My mistake." He waved off his medic and went back to listening to his music. Tsuyoshi smiled at his best friend and captain.

He was changing. He didn't know if Akito realized it yet, but the Lone Wolf was different. He wasn't the same person he was when they first got here. Actually, he wasn't the same person he had been even when they were back at home. He hadn't seen Akito like this since they were kids! It was like he was watching the shell of what use to be a young Hayama Akito.

And he knew it was all because of one very stubborn person.

"She's changed you so much." He mumbled under his breath as he turned away, happy with this development.

Unbeknownst to the brown haired teenager, Akito did in fact hear what his medic said and scoffed slightly. Tsuyoshi didn't have to tell him what he already knew. He realized this a long time ago. But the funny thing was, he didn't mind at all.

-O-

School ended quickly and Hayama and Sana continued on with ignoring each other. When Sana saw Akito, she glared at him and turned away from him. He scoffed and did the same, walking the opposite way of her.

He could hold a grudge longer than she could, he was sure of that. And even though he wasn't a fan of fighting with her, he didn't lose fights. He always, always won them.

He heard her say a few things among the lines of "I still don't forgive you, Haya-jerk!" and other colorful words. He sighed as he was use to it already, not really all that bothered by her insults. He could hear Tsuyoshi trying to calm her down by letting her know that everything would be okay, which he guessed worked because he didn't hear her anymore.

Instead of going the normal way home, he went an alternate route, hoping he could get a glance of the girl he had saw in front of their school earlier in the week. He had tried looking all week, but it was no use.

He had never felt this useless or this helpless during a mission. Everything was always simple. Find the bad guys, fight them, arrest them, and prosecute them. Here it was so much more. He really hated it.

"Hey! It's you!"

He stopped walking, broken out of his thoughts and turned back to glare at the person who interrupted his train of thoughts. But when he did, he went wide eyed. In front of him stood the same girl he had saw earlier in the week. The girl he thought was the princess.

"You're that guy! From the window! At Jinbou High School!"

He eyed her carefully, trying to get a feel from her. She had dark, hazel eyes and dark, auburn hair. Her skin tone was a little pale and she wasn't very tall. She had this smile on his face that compared nothing to a certain loud mouth girl he knew.

"Yeah. And you're that girl." He replied. He had to approach this carefully or else everything would be ruined.

She giggled. "You're a lot cuter up closer you know!" He scowled. If there was one thing he hated the most, it was flirtation. If Hitorashi Ayumi wasn't an example, then he didn't know how else to put it.

"Whatever." This girl was eerily similar to his, ahem, favorite, auburn haired girl back at Jinbou. But the idiot was a lot less uglier than her. And the smile on her face was just… nothing compared to hers. He didn't feel the world light up like he did with Sana's.

"Mr. Tough Guy huh?" He heard her say.

"What do you want?" He asked, trying to be disgusted by her pathetic attempt at flirting with him.

She pouted, crossing her arms. "That's a rude way to speak to someone you don't even know, you know?"

"I'm not a nice person."

She smiled again and Hayama continued glaring at the girl. "How are you ever going to get a girlfriend then?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. Who did this girl think she was? Talking to him the way she was? The longer he talked to her, the more he hoped she wasn't the princess. He didn't think he could handle being around her, protecting her, serving under her.

"I don't know you. I don't have to explain myself to you." He sneered. She went wide eyed at his words and took a step back. He might have frightened her, but he didn't care. This girl was annoying him.

"You don't have to be a jerk about it." She mumbled quietly, fear in her voice. She was just a knockoff version of Sana. If he was talking to her right now, she would probably be chasing him down this sidewalk, calling him different sorts of names, trying to hit him with her hammer. She wouldn't succumb to his intimidation.

But whether he liked it or not, he had to find out if this girl really was the princess or not. So he had to play nice. Well, sort of.

"Is there something you need?" He tried not to growl.

"Well, you were staring at me, so I figured you were trying to hit on me." She admitted with a blush on her face. The nameless girl was aggravating him more and more.

"I was dozing off. I wasn't staring at you. And I certainly wasn't hitting on you."

She frowned. "Yes you were! We made eye contact!" The dark, hazel eyed argued.

"Only because you looked similar to someone I knew!"

She remained quiet and stared at him. He was starting to feel uncomfortable under her gaze and wanted to turn away from her but he looked deep into her eyes, searching for any indication that she was the long lost princess.

"Whoa, your eyes are beautiful." She whispered as she leaned in. Hayama went wide eyed and stepped away from her. He had certainly never heard that one before.

"Look, if you don't need anything, I'm leaving." He began turning away, but he felt someone grab at his arm. He turned back immediately, only to find the girl up close and personal again. he immediately pulled back, not liking how close she was too him.

"I'm Kaori." She giggled as she pulled away. he eyed her carefully. 'What was she up too?'

"And you are?" She pressed on, waiting for his answer.

"Hayama." He said swiftly, putting on his stoic demeanor. She smiled at him again and all he could see was her smile.

"Nice to meet you, Hayama! See you later!"

He merely nodded and turned away, walking away from her in the opposite direction. He didn't even bother waving back.

He desperately hoped that this wasn't the girl they had been looking for. This would not be what his king and queen would be expecting. This would not sit well with his fellow companions. This would not sit well with him. He would have to be babysitting her and he would be stuck showing her around just because he was captain.

There was only one way to confirm that this girl was the princess. And that inc luded in him getting a look at her back to look for the same insignia he bore on his chest.

-O-

Sana sighed as she slumped in her chair. She had a wet towel on her forehead as her headache grew. It had been a week since her video submission and the wait was overwhelmingly excruciating. Even though she knew that it took time to watch thousands and thousands of performances, she wanted to find out now. But she knew the wait could take up to a month or maybe longer. She had so many thoughts racing through her head at the moment that she couldn't focus on anything.

She hadn't heard anything from Naozumi, which was to be expected. He was off shooting for four months so she couldn't really blame him.

The telecasters and competition announcers said that phone calls would be made for the Top 100 singers within the month, maybe month and a half. All she could do was anxiously wait and write more songs, being optimistic for her future.

But there was something else weighing heavily on her mind. On her way home, she forgot she had to pick up some groceries for her mama, so she had to say goodbye to her friends and leave them behind. On her way to the store, she saw something that kind of baffled her.

She saw Hayama talking to another girl, from another school. Her curiosity got to the best of her and she decided to trail them a bit. Hayama wore that stupid, annoyed look on his face the entire time he talked to her, which made her a bit smug. She couldn't hear what they were talking about most of the time, but there was a moment that the girl took a step back and his eyes flickered.

She sighed because she knew that he must have scared her. He was such a jerk. At school, he didn't talk to anybody but Tsuyoshi and her. Sometimes he would say one or two things to Aya, but other than that, he was silent as a mime. He kept to himself and went on with his life.

She wondered a lot what ran through that mind of his only because he was so silent. Though, he had broken out of his shell a lot since he first got here. He was more talkative, especially with her. And she liked talking to him and having his company, even though they mainly just insulted each other. This fight with him was pushing her to her limits and though she wanted to just make up already, she wasn't going to falter first because he was the one who started it.

But still, who was that girl? When did he start making friends outside of school?

"Sana?"

Sana poked open an eye as she heard her mother's voice. The older Kurata opened the door and walked in, a gentle smile adorning her older face.

"Yeah Mama?"

"How is your headache, daughter?"

The auburn haired girl smiled meekly at her. "Better. I think I'm just stressing out."

She heard her Mama hum, walking over towards her table grabbing the bowl of what was once cold water.

"Well maybe a walk will help. I need you to run to the store and get me these groceries for Shimura. Apparently, there wasn't enough of what you brought back." She placed the list on the table and Sana groaned.

"Mama!" Sana sat up straight, the towel falling off her forehead. She pouted, a frown adorning her face. Her mother narrowed her eyes at her slightly.

"Don't Mama me, you lazy child!" She whacked her daughter on the head in which Sana winced and rubbed the now sore spot. "You haven't done anything all day! Now go!"

Sana groaned and complained as she got up and put on a sweater under her breath with a scowl on her face. It was freezing outside and she wasn't in the mood to just take a casual stroll through the city for groceries.

"If I freeze to death, it's on you!" She shouted as she walked out of her room and down stairs. She could hear her mama say something about her being a big baby or something like that. She grumbled as she walked out of the house and her face scrunched up with discomfort as the cold winter air hit her face, hard.

The entire walk to the store was excruciating and she felt her entire body go numb in a matter of minutes. She knew that if it wasn't for the beanie on her head, her ears would have already frozen off already. She couldn't even feel her fingers anymore. And her face was completely numb.

When she stepped into the grocery store, she was more than happy to welcome the warmth and she dwindled a bit by the bakery section just so she could feel the heat of the ovens used to bake the bread. Once she was done grabbing everything Shimura needed, she headed out.

All the heat in her diminished very quickly and she was frozen all over again. And this time, she had bags with her. Her headache came back as she thought about the struggle to get back home.

"Kurata?"

She stopped walking when she heard her name. And the voice that followed behind her name. She turned around to come face to face with her arch enemy, Hayama Akito. He was wearing black sweats and Nike running shoes along with a black hoodie.

Was he crazy? It was freezing outside!

"Hayama? What are you doing out here?" She asked, forgetting that they were still in the middle of this long, drawn out fight.

"Running." He said blantly. She nodded, making sense of it.

"In this weather?! Are you crazy!?" She exasperated, the bags heavy on her arms.

He shrugged his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his hoodie. "It's not that big of a deal. I've ran in worse."

"You are crazy." she mumbled, cold from just standing there.

But then she remembered suddenly that she was still very upset with him. And that they were still in the middle of their fight and she shouldn't be talking to him until he apologized.

"Wait! I'm still mad at you!" She pointed at him, kind of. The bags weighed her hands down. but she pierced him with her glare. She would cross her arms if it wasn't for the bags.

He rolled his eyes as he scoffed. He had forgotten about their silly argument on his run. That was one of the reasons why he went out on a run in the first place. To forget about her being mad at him, though he guessed he kind of deserved it. But also because he might have possibly found the princess and she was already a pain in the ass, if it was her. Amongst other things, his run was successful, until he saw what he thought was Sana.

He was running on the opposite side of the street when he saw her with her bags, struggling to carry the bags. He knew she wasn't going to get far so he ran until he reached the stop light then crossed the street and here he was.

"Get over it." He said, his voice low as he began walking in front of her. They needed to keep moving so they wouldn't freeze.

"Not until you apologize for being a jerk!" He heard her footsteps behind him and that's when he knew she was following him.

"Why apologize when I know you will find something to call me a jerk for tomorrow? Or the day after. Or the day after that." He reached for one of the bags on her hands and yanked it off her hand. She blushed slightly, embarrassed both by his comment and his… nice gesture.

"Because! Because this time it's diff-" but she stopped herself. She was hurt by his comment. Is that what she would tell him. Then what?

"Because it's what?" He asked as she gulped slightly.

"It's just different this time around, okay?" She spat at him, turning away from him as they walked back to her house. She figured he would shove the bag back at her and just run off to avoid the situation. She figured he would just give up. But he stayed. He remained by her side and walked with her, helping her with the bags.

"Look, Kurata," he started, "I don't tell people about myself, which you should know already. I don't just tell people what I'm going to do. If I want to do something, I do it. I don't think of running off to tell Tsuyoshi or whatever."

'Besides, even if I wanted too, I couldn't tell you.'

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" She scoffed. He rolled his eyes. He wasn't good with apologies. He didn't apologize, actually. So yeah, that was as good as it was going to get for her.

"Take it or leave it." He growled slightly. She did a damn good job of crawling under his skin. She knew what buttons and nerves to push or tick to annoy him, to anger him, to get something out of him.

She remained quiet, silence lingering in the air as the cold bit at them. He had honestly forgotten about the cold because he was so indulged with her. Now that he was thinking about how cold it was again, the shivers in his body came back.

"Fine. I accept your stupid apology, jerk." She stuck her tongue out at him and hit him with her now free hand. He smirked.

"Told you you would find another reason to call me a jerk." He muttered. No longer adorning her sulky frown, she smiled at him, a laugh following right after. She waved him off as she nudged him in the arm.

"It's because you are a jerk. You do mean things and don't apologize for them." She began, "Like now!" She turned to face him, a finger pointing at him. "But, you're not a completely bad person and you can be rather nice sometimes, so you're okay." She ended with a wink.

Hayama felt the back of his neck heat up. Stupid girl and his stupid emotions. He really wished that whatever he felt for her could just go away because he had this constant need to always be around her, to protect her, to watch over her.

He was supposed to be detach. This was a mission and he felt himself breaking his own rules and boundaries. And it was all because of the girl next to him. She did this to him. She was making him feel again; something he forgot how to do.

"Yeah, okay. Because you aren't a handful." He rolled his eyes again as he scoffed at her. He hear her say "Hey!" at his comment and she proceeded to punch him like she always did.

But their fight was long forgotten and they were okay now. And they were both happy with that. Though they both wouldn't admit it, they both relied on each other a lot more than they thought they did.

They continued walking and talking, well Sana talking about how nervous she was about the music competition and how she just wanted to hear back already from them. Hayama listened intently, learning things about her that he hadn't before. He couldn't remember the last time that he had such an easy going conversation that didn't involve capturing, hurting, killing someone.

Sana stopped talking, welcoming the silence. When it came to Hayama, silence was comfortable. With others, it was awkward, tense, and uneasy. But with Hayama, it was almost relaxing. He was the cut to chase type kind of guy. He didn't believe in beating around the bush. So anything that had to be said was said and even when things weren't needed to be said, the silence wasn't all too bad.

That's when the thought popped into her mind. She could ask him now. They were alone and he couldn't run away. Well, he could, but she didn't believe he would. He had too much pride to run away.

This was her only shot. 'Might as well take it, Kurata!'

"Why did you kiss me?"

He went wide eyed a bit and raised a brow. This was an unexpected question. Well, not unexpected, but he didn't think that she would ask him at such a random time. He figured she would just leave it or had completely forgotten about since it had been already a month since that incident.

"You know, I asked my mama why a boy kissed a girl and she said it was because they were interested in her but I doubt that you are..." Her voice trailed off. He wanted to facepalm at that. She asked her mother? Out of all people, she had to ask the one person who was probably more observant than her!

"You're not interested in me, are you?"

"Nope." He said, without stuttering. She turned red slightly from embarrassment.

But he was lying. Of course he was lying. She drove him mad. No girl had ever crawled under his skin like she did. No girl had ever been so god damn persistent like her. No girl had ever hooked him like she did. No girl had ever cared like she did.

"So then why did you kiss me if you don't like me, huh idiot?!" He could hear the anger in her voice as her tone rose slightly. "What? Do you just go around thinking 'Hey! I'm going to kiss that girl today!'"

He sighed, deeply annoyed. Couldn't she just drop it already? Most normal people would. But then again, she definitely wasn't normal. Besides, he couldn't just tell her that he was actually feeling something for her. He didn't even know what he felt for her, exactly. And, he wasn't going to be staying here, in this world. He was going to leave, soon if that girl really was the princess. He would be leaving her behind. He would never see her again. And that thought didn't sit well with him.

What was the point in doing that to someone? To himself? It was better if he just kept everything to himself, like he always did.

"My mama said you might be the type of guy who uses actions to convey what he's feeling. So tell me, why did you kiss me!?" She stood up, arms at her side, fist clenched. Her brows were furrowed and fire burning in her eyes.

Her mother was completely right. If he didn't like someone, he usually treated them like shit, more than he did on a regular basis. He would make their lives a lving hell. If he was okay with someone, he was silent and not to overbearing. When he didn't hate someone, well, that was hard because he hadn't not not hated someone in a long time.

"I don't hate you."

She blinked, taken aback. He didn't... hate her?

"What?"

He rolled his eyes, muttering something about her idiocy and her also being deaf under his breath.

She gritted her teeth. 'What kind of answer was that!?' She thought.

"You don't hate me? So, do you kiss everything you don't hate!" She looked around and saw a stray dog sniffing the trash can. She ran over to the dog and before it even had a chance to run away, she grabbed it tightly and ran back to him.

"Do you hate this dog?"

He gave her a confused glance. "No?"

"Then why don't you kiss it!" She pushed the dog towards him and he put his hands out in defense. The poor dog whined as Sana smothered him into Hayama.

"What the hell!? Get the dog away from me, you idiot!" He yelled as he pushed the dog away.

"We'll you said you don't hate it! So why not kiss it like you kissed me!"

Tired of her attitude, he grabbed the dog and dropped it to the floor. It scurried away and he grabbed each of Sana's wrist with each of his hands, causing her to step back.

"You're an even bigger idiot than I thought, Kurata!" He glared coldly at her. Her eyes were wide with surprise at his sudden aggressiveness, but it wasn't enough to scare her.

She glared back. "We'll if I'm such an idiot then why would you kiss me!"

All she wanted were so damn answers! Couldn't he just be straight with her? He usually was!

He sighed roughly as he dropped his head. This girl was driving him absolutely insane!

"Just-" he struggled to let the proper words out of his mouth. He was never good with putting his emotions into words.

"Just leave it alright!"

He let her go and turned away. He walked a couple steps away from her, feeling frustrated and irritated.

"Fine." She grumbled, arms crossed. A scowl etched on her face.

He turned around to face her, shocked to see how easily she gave up. She was stubborn and hard headed, no doubt. He thought she'd put up more of a fight. Thank kami she didn't, he thought. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air. She was biting her lip as she looked away from him, a small blush present on her cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head, not really knowing what to say. He didn't understand how women worked. The only women he was around much these days were Saaya and Hiyori and Kurata wasn't anything like them. He didn't know how to act around someone like Kurata.

"Did you not hate those other girls you kissed too?"

He cocked an eyebrow, surprised at her question. She shifted uncomfortably, the redness in her cheeks growing brighter. 'Did she seriously just ask that?'

"Cause you know, I don't like to be just one of those girls. I always hated that stuff."

She glared slightly at him as she mumbled. He wanted to laugh. He actually wanted to laugh at how stupid she just sounded. She actually thought he was some player like in those cliche high school movies.

"I don't kiss just anybody, stupid." He flicked her on her forehead, to which she winced.

"Well how am I supposed to know that!?" She glared at him, more fierce than just moments ago. "I hardly know you at all!"

"You know my name and where I'm from." He smirked.

She frowned, not appreciating his sarcasm. "Ha ha, very funny, jerk! You know that's not what I meant!"

"I don't share my past." He crossed his arms in front of him, his voice low.

"Okay fine." Sana said, a smirk settling on her lips. He narrowed his eyes at her. He didn't like where this was going. She didn't give up this easily. If there was something he learned from her, it was that she was very persistent.

"Then we'll make a deal."

"A deal?" He definitely didn't like where this was going.

"Yupp! A toothball for a toothball!" She grinned, her face lighting up as if she just won something.

"A toothball for a toothball?" He repeated, "Don't you mean and eye for an eye?" He then proceeded to mumble about how stupid she was to which she hit him with her stupid plastic hammer.

"Don't you get it, Haya-jerk!"

Obviously he didn't because he was drawing a blank here. He had no idea what this girl was talking about. She never made sense. Never.

"And I thought you were supposed to be smart!" She sassed at him. "ANYWAY, if you tell me one thing about yourself that no one knows, I tell you one thing about myself that no one else knows!"

He rose a brow at her proposition. A secret of his for a secret of hers? He had a lot of secrets. And he didn't particularly enjoy telling these secrets. He, in fact, never wanted to tell these secrets. He didn't care if it meant he would learn something about her, he didn't like sharing.

"That's stupid." She glared.

"Oh come on, Lone Wolf! It's a fair trade!" He was taken aback by her lone wolf comment. Sure, Tsuyoshi had mentioned about her nickname for him, but it was the first time she really ever called him that.

"No."

"Yes."

"I said no."

"And I said yes." She argued, "I mean, come on Hayama! We're friends, are we not? But I hardly know anything about you besides the fact that your name is Hayama Akito, you're a mean, cold-hearted person, you and Tsuyoshi came from this outside town of Kyoto and that you're a really good fighter!"

"And that's all you have to know."

"Please, Akito." He went wide eyed at the mention of his name. She never called him by his first name. She had either always called him by his surname or other various, colorful, names. He felt his cheeks burn slightly and a lump form on the insides of his throat.

She gave him a small, genuine smile and these puppy dog eyes that he was all too familiar with. He wanted to turn away from her because his heart couldn't take it anymore. He bit down on his lip and suppressed a growl he had been holding in.

What the hell had she done to him?

"Tch, fine." He sneered, glaring at the girl.

Her small smile turned into a bright grin that split her face in half. She squealed in delight and jumped up and down. She was happy; extremely happy. Hayama was finally, finally, letting her in. Even though it wasn't his whole life story, she was finally getting something out of him. She had worked so hard the past three months and she was finally getting somewhere with him.

"But you go first and it has to be something that Kamura doesn't even know."

Now that took Sana by surprise. Since when did he care about what Naozumi did and didn't know? Though, it didn't matter in this case because no one knew what she was about to tell him. This was something she never shared with anyone because it opened a door to another secret of hers. One much darker than this.

He wasn't jealous of the stupid, purple haired boy that looked like a girl. He was not jealous of the relationship he had with the stupid girl in front of him. He was not jealous of how easily he was able to pursue her. He was not jealous of his stupid charm that he had on her. He was not jealous. Hayama Akito didn't get jealous, especially of someone who looked like a girl.

"Um, okay then." She mumbled, "But you have to tell me something Tsuyoshi doesn't know too!" He wanted to play that game, so would she!

He scoffed, playing off her statement. She should know by now that there are plenty things Tsuyoshi doesn't know about him.

"I'm waiting, Sana." He drawed out her name, getting revenge for using his name first.

Called auburn haired girl felt her entire face burn. Hayama never called her Sana. He always called her either Kurata, stupid, idiot, baka, or something along those lines. She felt her cheeks burn and her heart flutter a bit. Her stomach did somersaults as she stared into his golden eyes. They seemed a bit brighter than they usually were.

"You took me by surprise, stupid!" She smacked him, her cheeks bright red. He smirked at the effect he had on her. He loved the taste of revenge.

"I don't have all day here. I will leave." He threatened. She pouted.

"Fine, fine!"

They both stood in awkward silence, Hayama waiting for her to speak. He wondered what secrets she held. She was always so happy and cheery that at first, it disgusted him. That was why he was so against being her around her. But, he knew that everyone had a dark secret. He knew everyone had a story. And he wondered what exactly her story was.

"I'm afraid of losing my Mama. I'm afraid that one day, she's just going to disappear and I'll be all alone." Her voice quivered a bit.

Hayama went wide eyed at her confession. Her face fell and pure sadness washed over her. The brightness in her demeanor had vanished. Her smile was replaced by this agonizing frown that made him want to hug her. He felt a tight knot in his throat as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"I don't want to be alone. I hate the feeling of being lonely. And without my mama," she whispered, "that's exactly how I feel." Her words died off and they were embraced by a heavy silence.

He wasn't a man of many words. He prefered silence as his answers. He prefered being alone. He prefered solitude. But her, she was the exact opposite. She brought light to the dark. She brightened up rooms wherever she went. She was the ray of light in the deepest abyss.

"I just broke my own rules." She chuckled, a small smile gracing her lips. "I was only supposed to tell you one secret, but I told you two."

Sana gave him the peace sign as she counted how many secrets she told him. The thought of being alone absolutely terrified her and she didn't like the emptiness she felt when just thinking about it. She couldn't imagine actually experiencing it. And she knew that Hayama knew what it felt like to be alone, to be on your own. And she didn't want him feeling that way anymore.

"Baka..." He rubbed her head, ruffling her hair. She squeaked, not expecting him to do that.

"I like sushi." He murmured. She deadpanned and frowned, swatting his arm away from her head. She crossed her arms in front of her and was about to say something about his "secret" until he put a finger to her lips, taking her aback.

"I like sushi and," he bore deeply into her hazel eyes, "I don't believe in that fate shit, but… but I'm glad I came here. There- there is someone here... who has really- changed... me."

There was a brief silence as they gazed into each other's eyes. He wanted to kiss her again. The urge was so strong and she was right there. But, he had to restrain himself. He had already said too much.

And there was no way that girl he met today compared to Kurata Sana. No one compared to her.

This was the first time he had openly admitted to even himself that she had changed him. She had changed him and was melting away the ice at his heart. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

Before she could ask any questions, he turned away from her. "You said an eye for an eye right?"

She nodded, wanting to say something to him. But instead, contemplated all that he had said to her. He was confessing to her. He was letting her in. Little by little, he was allowing her to chip bits and pieces of his frozen wall away. And it made her happy. But, she couldn't help but feel a little envious towards the person who had changed him.

Question was, exactly who changed him.

Was it that girl she saw him with earlier in the day? That left an unsettling feeling in her stomach at the thought of Hayama getting closer to someone else.

"Well, you gave me two secrets, so I gave you two secrets."

"Sushi hardly counts," she mumbled, "but Hayama, who was this someone?" Sana's curiosity was biting at her. She wanted to know more. She wanted to know who changed him. So she could get lessons from that person and do what she could do to change him.

And she hoped a little that the person who did change him, wasn't that girl.

He smirked at her. "Two for two, remember?"

"That's no fair!" She yelled as he shoved the bag he was carrying. Throughout their entire conversation, Sana failed to notice that they had arrived to her house. But with Hayama being the observant one, he knew that they had already arrived

"Life's not fair." He said back to her, referring it to not only her life, but his life also.

Life truly wasn't fair. It wasn't fair to her. It wasn't fair to him. But he had accepted his punishment from life already. He had already accepted the fact that his life would always be unfair. He had accepted that for him. But he wouldn't accept it for her. She didn't deserve the "life wasn't fair" cliche shit. She deserved better. And for as long as he was around, he would make sure life was fair to at least her.

He patted her on the head and turned the other way, heading back to his apartment. He heard her call out to him, to which he just waved. The blonde heard her laugh and shout "Goodnight, Hayama!" to which he merely smirked.

The day turned out a lot better than he thought.

A/N: And this chapter is DONE. I really, really enjoyed writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoyed it too! I'm staying true to my once a month update! I need to finish this book and I want to do that soon.

Anyway, I really liked this chapter not only because we focused on Sana and Akito here, but because we got to see their development and for once, Hayama was actually being nice. Or at least, not being all broody like he had been for most of the story. And this chapter was just a lot of Hayama and Sana fluff.

I know I keep saying that the story is finally moving along but we are nearing the end of this book. I want to be done by chapter 26, maybe 27. The way I have it planned right now, it's 26. But I might have to make some adjustments so it could be 28. Which means between 8-10 chapters left. There are going to be a lot of time skips. Not major time skips but like month time skips and what not. I can't write down EVERYTHING that happens. Haha

But whatever, back to the chapter. I hope you enjoyed it and please, please, review. If I could get my reviews to at least 95 for this chapter, I would be oh so happy! And you never know, I might get chapter 20 out earlier then it's monthly update. And if I could get up to 100 reviews for this, you all might be in for a treat ;D So, LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK. Please :D

Until next time!
-Dark Waffle

Preview:
As Akito and Sana grow closer, Hayama grows scared that it will only be time until she will find out the truth behind them being in Tokyo. Tsuyoshi continues his training with Dr. Asuhara and Hayama continues searching for the princess. Meanwhile, Sana receives a phone call that will change her life forever. And Oshido Ituko goes out on a hunt for the person he loathes the most.

Next time on Two Worlds Collide:

Book 1: A New World: Chapter 19: Curtain Call