Tenth chapter!
Disclaimer (finally!): Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko. Which he will hopefully pass down to me someday.
Fiery-ice: He he! Read on!
Fer-chan: Ha ha! Once again, your self-insert made me laugh! Arigato!
Sakura rui: Okay! MOTTO coming! Ha ha!
Kka: Maybe because you're right?? Not that I'm saying anything.
Alexia: Sorry about chapter 8's packed-ness. I dunno what went wrong with the uploading. But it's still readable, right??
Sakura88: read on quickly then!
Lambie: Will he get her in the end? Will he get her in the end? Only time (and my decisions) will tell. Ha ha!
Tensaispira: YEP! It was supposed to be Aida Hikoichi! Imagine that!
SLL: You told me to FACE OFF?? *goes into a tantrum*
Jo-sen7: Am continuing!
Tiran: Thank you! And to tell you the truth, I liked the last cliffhanger!!
Doujin: Sorry about the fast-paced-ness of the story! Hope it's not too much! Thanks for awaiting my fic's progress. And it's not pathetic at all. : )
Feitan: Am writing on!
Patty g: Your waiting's over.
Joy: Thanks! Enjoy this chap!
Jeano: Cosplay? What's cosplay?
Rapt142: *belts out her psychic powers* Ha ha ha! And with it, I shall conquer the world!
Twinkle Toes: Thank you!
Coolpriss: I think you're feeling all the right things, coolpriss. Am I THAT transparent??
Eliar Swiftfire: Let's not dwell on your uh, filthy thoughts… *nothingtodo tiptoes away*
Kylie: Hey, Mitsui pulled the gun at her FIRST! And thanks! I appreciate you reviewing!
"What are you going to do with her?" Kiara asked after several moments of silent contemplation.
"The usual. Questioning. Charging. Punishing."
"She's pregnant."
A flicker of human emotion showed in Mitsui's face. "I see. We'll be extra careful." Then his eyes widened at a sudden thought and his fingers trembled slightly. "Are you?"
Kiara couldn't stop the bitter smile. "It wouldn't be so absurd if you'd asked me without holding that gun." She kept her grip on hers. "No, I'm not."
An unreadable expression came over his face, and Kiara was annoyed that she couldn't determine whether it was relief or disappointment.
"I hope that's not a lie," he muttered, "like every other thing you've told me about yourself."
"It's not."
"What are you going to do now?" he asked her.
"You mean, am I going to run?"
"You sure did a lot of it this morning."
Kiara ignored that. "What do you think I'll do, Mitsui?"
"I don't know," he answered. "I don't think I know you anymore than I did when we first met." He studied her. "It's all a game to you, isn't it? Somehow I get the feeling that you haven't been taking me as seriously as you pretended to."
She shrugged, furiously hiding the fact that his statement clawed at her. Was he blind?? Couldn't he see how serious she was about him?? Her feelings probably went even further than serious. "Everything's a game. I've never taken a game as seriously as I did this one, though."
"I'm sure that's a compliment."
Kiara clenched her free fist. Bastard. It's not my fault you can't see that I'm dead in love with you. She started to say something very cutting when the blow came onto Mitsui's back. He toppled forward and Kiara saw Pit holding a baseball bat in his hand. "What on earth –"
"This is no time for a conversation with a policeman, you idiot!" Pit's eyes glazed. Seeing Mitsui struggling to his feet, Put swung another blow on his back.
Kiara could clearly hear Mitsui's bones crunching. "Stop it! You'll hurt him!"
Pit glared at her. "Actually, that's exactly what I want to do."
Kiara rushed forward for Mitsui who was slumped near unconsciousness, but Pit grabbed her hand and roughly dragged her towards the boat. "Let go! Where are the others?? What happened to them?"
"Caught," Pit spat.
"What about Luna?" Kiara demanded wildly. "She's pregnant with your baby, you idiot! Go save her!"
Pit whirled around angrily even as he jumped into the boat. "I don't give a (beep!), okay? Now get in this bloody boat and let's get out of here."
Kiara's temper flashed. She snatched the baseball bat away from him and swung for his head. "Don't give a (beep!), is it?? I'll show you what it's like to not give a (beep!), you insensitive block of wood!!" She missed, but managed to hit him slightly on the side of his ear.
Pit jumped at her and both fell onto the wooden jetty, grappling with each other. Kiara seriously intended on killing him. Her hands itched to curl around Pit's neck and choke the emotionless homosapien to death. She started to see, clearer than ever, what Pit really was. What she really was, or had been. What they had done and what kind of life they had led.
She started to detest Pit – and herself. "We always thought we were stupendous," she hissed hatefully. "But all along, we've just been stupid."
From somewhere behind them, she heard Mitsui move. She turned.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Pit kicked up to his feet and wrapped a strong arm around Kiara's neck, choking her and trying with all his might to stop her breathing. "Shoot me," he yelled out to Mitsui, who was on his feet, gun in hand, "and she dies."
Tears of frustration poured out of Kiara's eyes. Failing to take Pit's life was one thing, but being his shield was absolutely (and unacceptably) another. Her despair was indescribable as she limply struggled. "Old trick, Pit," she muttered angrily. "You never were creative."
"Old tricks are the best, honey," he sneered back. "For all his show, that idiot's not going to shoot you."
Mitsui did look hesitant, though his grip on the gun didn't falter. That only made her feel worse, knowing exactly what was holding him back. Shoot! She wanted to scream at him. Just shoot! Don't you dare let this coward of a man live!
Mitsui cursed himself. His hands were trembling violently. Flashes of conversation slipped around his mind.
"What if you have to shoot her?"
"I'll shoot her." "Feelings change, Akagi. Mine will."
That didn't seem to be happening. He discovered then, much to his dismay, that feelings can't be turned on and off like a switch. The realisation that he would first cut his hands off before they harm Kiara struck a chord in him. "Let her go, Osagi," he said steadily, addressing Pit. "There's no need for bloodshed. Surrender, and no harm will come to any of us."
Pit laughed. "That's what they always say," he snickered. "But they're never true."
He was choking her. Kiara could practically feel her oesophagus closing in. Mitsui won't kill him. She had to find a way to do it herself. Changing her stance slightly, she pushed against Pit – hard.
Pit lost his balance, and they staggered over the edge of the jetty and fell into the crashing waves of the sea. Both hit their heads hard against the side of the boat.
"Aikawa!"
Pit had lost his consciousness and his grip on her loosened as the current swept him away. Kiara felt herself going under. She was still too weak and tired to fight the moving water. The salty liquid entered her mouth and nostrils and filled her lungs. The throbbing in her head grew more profound.
What a novel way to die, she thought dully. Drown, and your sorrows drown with you.
Then strong hands gathered her in them, and she was pulled up. She knew who it was. The touch of his hands was way too familiar for her. She clutched on with what was left of her energy and soon they were out of the water and on the jetty, dripping wet.
She spat out the water and gathered in air, breathing heavily. Other police officers had arrived and were off to save Pit, leaving the shaken two undisturbed. Mitsui was shivering too, and it was a lot more than the cold water and harsh wind. His eyes were still wild when they looked down at her and his heart thudded noisily. "Don't," he started, a trifle unsteadily. "Don't you EVER do that again." He pulled her close.
She shook her head and then collapsed in the protective circle of his arms.
The trial had been ugly, with a lot of curse exchanging and swearing among the culprits. A fight broke out once between Pit and Luna, but it ended more or less with them still intact.
Pit and his four new friends were sentenced to five years for robbery and another twenty for murder. Luna and Kiara were sent to the women's jail, where they would spend the next few years of their lives (Luna twenty five – having been involved in the murder as well, and Kiara five – for robbery only). Luna was put under special and intensive care, her baby due in a few weeks. Kiara was placed with the other women prisoners, some who had done worse crimes than she could ever think of.
Being in jail wasn't so bad once she got used to it. The room she was assigned too wasn't all that pretty, though not uglier than the one at the construction site. In fact, she was quite comfortable with it and even began to enjoy the daily chores she had to do around the place – though not too much.
However, she concluded that what made it all so much more bearable was the constant visitor who came every day. "He's here," the attendant told her one day while she was busy trying to fix a sink in the women's bathroom. She winked at Kiara. "Looking more and more handsome every day."
Kiara laughed as she washed her dirty hands clean. "I'll tell him that, Fugi," she promised. "I'm sure he'll want to hear it."
"Oh, but I already did." Again Fugi winked. "Got a smile out of him."
Kiara chuckled, stayed still as Fugi buckled the heavy chains on her wrists and made her way to the visiting room. "Been busy flirting with other women, haven't you??" she accused as she stepped in.
Mitsui kissed her thoroughly. "Yes, but they all know I've got eyes only for one."
She let him kiss her again. "How's Luna?"
"Blooming," he told her. "Literally. She's really, really huge and swelling. I didn't know babies were all that big. She sends you her greeting and wants you there when she gives birth."
"Can I?"
He shrugged. "We'll fix something."
"She's happy, isn't she?"
"Deliriously," Mitsui grinned. "I don't think she knows what the word 'sad' means anymore. I bet it'll get worse after the baby's born. I might have to spell it for her then."
Kiara smiled. "Babies are absolutely delightful, after all."
Mitsui looked at her seriously then. "Are you sure you're not…" he trailed off, his hands waving in an attempt to send his meaning across, his cheeks flushing slightly.
She shook her head. "No. Not yet." She smiled devilishly. "Maybe you should try harder next time."
"I will." He said with an absolutely straight face.
Kiara laughed and shoved him.
"Are you happy?" he asked then, almost sombrely.
"I am now. I even have plans for the future. Can you believe it? I've never made plans for my future in my entire life. I've never even been sure that I had a future. Do you want to know what they are?"
"Obviously."
"After I get out of here and finish my one-year rehabilitation, I'll continue on my Arts Studies. I'll get a degree, graduate properly and start being an artist. I'm going to have my own art gallery." She smiled at him. "I love saying that. I'm going to have my own art gallery."
"And I love hearing it," he told her. "However, there's something missing in your future plans."
"Oh? What is it?"
"Me."
Kiara's eyes twinkled and her smile grew even broader. "Why don't you make some adjustments for me then?"
"Will it annoy you if I add in something somewhere in between you finishing your rehabilitation and continuing on with your studies?"
"That would depend on what that something is."
He looked at her quietly for what seemed like a long time. Then, way out of the topic, he suddenly asked, "What's your name?"
Kiara raised an eyebrow in surprise. Then she smiled, quite amused. Looking at him in the eye, she said, "Kiara. My name is Kiara Aikawa Kiminagi."
"Kiara," he repeated quietly, taking her hand in his and bending forward until their faces were close and they were eye to eye. "I love you, Kiara. Will you marry me?"
Kiara had trouble breathing as tears welled up in her eyes. Oh God. Oh God. Thank you, God. A little sob escaped her, and embarrassed at the unintentional show of emotion, she put on a cheery face. "What if I say no?"
"You won't."
The confident arrogance she was so fond of! How could she possibly refuse him? "You're right. I won't. I'll be your wife, Mitsui, and the only one."
He blinked once, and then laughed. "What makes you think there'll be others?"
"Just being cautious." She cupped his face in her hands. "I love you too, Mitsui."
His eyes widened for a moment, and then softened and mellowed down to a calm blue shade. "It took you long enough to get there," he chided. "Are you sure you know what that statement means?"
Kiara smiled, knowing it was his way of hiding the fact that what she said had touched him deeply. "It'll be a long time," she murmured slowly. "So much can happen in six years. Are you sure, Mitsui?"
"I've never been more sure all my life, Kiara," he said seriously. He fingered the chains that hung over her wrists. "These chains bind you to this place, but after that my chains will bind you to me," he looked at her full in the eyes. "- and there's no escaping it."
"Good." She gripped his hand. "I'll make you happy, Mitsui."
He pressed his lips on her brow. "And vice versa."
"May there never be a fight, with or without guns, between us again." Kiara added.
From the doors on the opposing sides of the room, Akagi and Fugi's faces popped out. "Amen!" they said fervently.
END.
Just as I'd guessed, ten chapters. Hope that was a good read for all of you! Sorry if you think it ended too soon (or too late!). You can scream all your dissatisfaction at me, feel free to. : )