Chapter Thirty-Four.

Reunions are not always the most pleasant moments in our lives.

"This is very inappropriate... and unnecessary." Zaki grunts to himself as he watches the young boy lying on Yume's bed. "He should've been brought to the hospital instead."

Yukihara smiles. "The damage isn't even that bad for him to be hospitalized. He just... hit his head badly." She leans in closer to the bed and stares at the boy. "And this boy is quite good-looking anyway." She turns to her son. "You say that he used to be Yume-chan's lover?"

Sadaharu clears his throat as he adjusts his glasses. "I didn't say anything like that, Okaa-san."

Kenya, lying on the bed, opens his eyes slowly as the light bulb from the ceiling is blinding him. He sees the silhouette of three people watching him sleep. "W-where am I?" he asks in a soft and hoarse voice.

"Oh. He's awake now. This is great," Zaki glares at the young boy, "This means that we can just let him go now."

Yukihara laughs. "Zaki-kun, please." She looks at Kenya, who forces himself up. "Hello, I heard you are a friend of our Yume-chan. Does your head still hurt?"

The boy lightly rubs his head. He nods. "Yume-chan… where is Yume-chan?"

Yukihara giggles at the background. "She had to go back to work while you were out," Sadaharu replies. He glances at his watch. "But she'll be back soon after a few more minutes."

Kenya pats the back of his head. "Where am I?"

"Sadaharu residence." Zaki raises a brow. He continues his glare at the young boy. "You basically slept on the bed of the girl you hurt recently." Kenya looks at him in confusion.

Yukihara pats Zaki's shoulder. "There, there. No need to be rude to our visitor here." She whispers, "He's a child."

He rolls his eyes. "Well, that child surely gave Yume-chan a difficult time." He sighs. "Thank heavens that this didn't reach her mother's ears. Or else… we're both done for and shipped back to England."

"I-I'm sorry!" Kenya immediately kneels on top of the bed and bows his head to apologize. "It was my fault!"

Sadaharu, Zaki and Yukihara blinks out of surprise.

"Young boy, I don't think there is any necessity for that," says Yukihara.

Zaki clears his throat and frowns out of guilt. "Y-you shouldn't be saying sorry to us."

"I'm back! Boss allowed me to leave a little earlier, so-" The bedroom door opens behind them and there appears Yume. Her brows raise at the sight of her cousin, aunt, and friend surrounding a visibly confused Kenya. "What are you guys doing - harassing a guest?" she asks in a flat voice.


"Where did Kenya-kun go?" Koharu sighs hopelessly as he scratches the back of his head. Even though he has already looked around the vicinity, he stays alert while looking through the crowd.

Hitouji runs to him. "I also can't see him anywhere here. Where else do you think we should be looking?" he pants. "That Kenya… just running around without telling us. He's like that rebellious kid, who just found out that Santa Claus isn't real."

Upon arrival in the Tokyo station, Kenya dashed out of the train without any word of warning to his former teammates. To the whole team's horror, the speedstar was nowhere to be found after running off to some place. They know how fast Kenya's feet can take him to places for only a few minutes, so they had to search for him fast. Otherwise, they will be dealing with a lost friend.

Gin and Chitose also approach Koharu and Hitouji, coming from a different direction. "Kenya-han is also not there," Gin says as he points to the location where they just came from.

Chitose places his hand on a red backpack that Gin is carrying. He sighs. "Why'd he have to leave his bag and phone of all things?" He scratches the back of his head as he chuckles. His lips arch into a smile, but his eyebrows meet in the middle. Chitose simply cannot hide his worries over his friend. Kenya not only left his phone inside his bag but also left his wallet. The whole group thought that Kenya would have no way to go home by himself.

Koharu places his fists on his hips. "We're supposed to meet Shiraishi and the others again back at the station in a few minutes. Should we start heading there?"

Hitouji feels a vibration on his pocket. He takes his phone out and sees a message from an unknown number. Even though he should have no idea whom the message came from, Hitouji reads through it anyway with hopes for a miracle. "Hey, guys. Did someone give my contact to Inui?"

"Inui... from Seigaku?" Chitose asks.

"He is a dataman as well," says Koharu, "he'd easily know anyone's number, right?"

"What did Inui-han say?" Gin asks.

Hitouji shoves his phone back to his pocket. "Let's call Shiraishi and the others. I think we now have a promising lead."


Only the two of them are left in the room. Both are struggling to avoid the occasional looks of the other. Yume scrambles through her closet for a change of clothes, deliberately slowing down as she waits for something or anything that he might just say. Her head feels lighter now. She can barely understand what she really wants to happen, why she deliberately cannot find what she has been looking for in her closet, or why she let him stay in the room with her. Her heart pounds, but the thoughts are louder inside her head. Yume wants to break the awkward silence, but she does not even know what to say.

Kenya, on the other hand, sits still on top of her bed and forces himself to stare anywhere inside the room but her. There is a lot to tell, to ask, and to confess. But his words cannot even mend he situation, he thought. He wants to touch her but is afraid that he might offend or violate her personal space. If he ever says something inappropriate in the situation, the atmosphere may just worsen.

"Y-you also like iguanas?" Kenya asks when his eyes land on the cage at the far side of the room.

She finally finds a pair of clothes that she thinks is appropriate to wear. Yume lightens up as she turns to him and to the iguana. "Th-that was…" she clears her throat. "… y-your cousin asked me to look over Speedy-chan. D-do you not know?"

He frowns. "That's-" Kenya immediately jumps from the bed and goes to his pet. He clicks his tongue. "So, it was Yuushi all along." He grunts.

She worryingly approaches him. "You... have no idea?"

He shakes his head. "Speedy-chan suddenly disappeared. I-I thought that I accidentally let her go." Kenya inserts a finger inside a cell and tries to catch the attention of the iguana. Speedy-chan looks at her owner. "That night I left her cage open and my windows, too. So I thought she ran away."

"Well, uhh… Speedy-chan is here now." She glances at how teary-eyed he is. "Y-you can just take her home now if you want, y'know. I can just tell Yuushi-kun about what happened."

"Thanks." He smiles.

Yume stands up and walks farther from him, making a few glances towards his direction. "I-is it okay if I change my clothes now?"

His face turns red. "Sh-should I leave the room first?"

"I-I don't mind. You seem to be enjoying your reunion with your pet. I don't... want to ruin anything." She turns her back to him. "Just don't look. It'll be really quick."

He gulps. "I think I really should-" Before Kenya can even make a full turn facing her, his eyes land upon her naked back as she started to undress. He quickly turns back to the cage. Sweat drops glide down on the sides of his head. He wishes that he is not doing anything to offend her.

After a few minutes of Kenya's internal struggles, Yume finishes putting on a fresh new set of clothes. She takes a big gulp. "I-I-I'm done."

Ringing in his ears are the banging of his heart. The atmosphere is too heavy to bear, but there is not a way out. Or at least, he does not want a way out. He thinks of his next move.

She looks at him. He does not even budge. "Kenya-san…?" She takes a step towards him. "I'm done. We can go out to the living room now… or do something else in here if you can't – well, if you still feel dizzy," she mumbles her last phrase. Yume bites her lower lip. She cannot even believe herself on what she is saying now. She knows that she should be escorting Kenya out of the room now – in fact, he should not have been inside the room while she changed her clothes. Her cheeks flush red. She wants to get out as soon as possible and run away from the embarrassment. "I-I-"

"Can I-" Kenya clears his throat. "Yume-chan." He stands up and walks straight to her. Puzzled, she takes a step back. He holds the side of her shoulders. "Can I kiss you?"

~ End Chapter ~