Nijuusei

Chapter 8: Moving In…

By Kaen

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

*stars in eyes* 65 reviews…? Could that be right…? Yay! I'm so happy!!  Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing; it really means so much to me. -^^- Like I promised would be in this chapter, I finally got around to the fluff. Well, not yet, but that's simply because you most likely haven't read the chapter yet! ^^& This chapter is the one that I know everyone's been waiting for, that of course being the first Yui/Kokuei chapter! Yay! I actually got mad at myself for writing so much Yui/Hiashi stuff that I contemplated flaming myself. You have no idea how long I've been waiting to get around to this chapter and so I'm very proud of myself for writing it. It's about time, ne? Well, I'll stop rambling and let you read now. Thanks and please review!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"K-Kokuei!" Yui exclaimed, her eyes widening in shock. Even though Kokuei was still mostly obscured by heavy shadows, and sincere smile could be seen etching itself across his face.

"Yui! I'm glad I found you! Did you see those guys around the campus? I was so worried about you!" said Kokuei as he stepped out of the dark alleyway and into her clear view. "I'm sorry I couldn't meet you on time; I really am! I was held up…"

Yui studied his face curiously as he trailed off at his last sentence. It was unlike Suboshi to leave something unsaid, and come to think of it, he did seem to be a little different from the last time she saw him… But, what was it? Yui tilted her head to the side a assessed him from head to foot… Was it…? After a long pause, she finally figured it out.

Vaguely gesturing towards Kokuei's new clothes, Yui hesitantly asked him, "When did you get those? They look new… but they look very nice! You look very handsome…"

Even in the dim light, a distinct blush could be seen spreading across Kokuei's face. He bit his lower lip as he looked down, futilely trying to hide his reaction to her compliment. Yui giggled as she added another point to her score: Yui: 2, Twins: 1.  

"What's so funny?" demanded Kokuei, his narrowed dark-blue eyes contradicting his blushing face. This sight made Yui laugh harder and Kokuei finally gave up on trying to figure out what was so funny. Shrugging, he walked closer to her and stood there until Yui's laugher began to subside in an almost protective fashion. Wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand, she squeaked out, "It's nothing. It's only that… well, you just look cute!"

The blunt reply caused took Kokuei by surprise and he blushed harder. As soon as Yui realized what she had said, she felt nearly equally mortified and quickly diverted her eyes away from him. Kokuei doesn't know me as well as Suboshi did… He could be different now, but… he sure doesn't seem much different. I shouldn't regard them as the same person… A cold wind broke her thoughts as she shivered. It was getting colder already and it had only been a few minutes! Hugging herself tightly, she flashed Kokuei an apologetic grin.

"Kokuei, it was great to see you and to know that you're all right, but it's really quite cold out here and it's getting late. Maybe we could continue this later on, in the daytime and when it's not so cold! After all, it would be best if we could both get home where it's warm."

Kokuei listened intently to Yui's suggestion, his eyes dropping in shame at the last sentence. "Yeah, good idea…" She had said the "h word" that he hated, yet loved at the same time. Yui noted his sudden change in attitude and could almost feel her heart breaking at his miserable expression. It almost looked like he was going to cry…

"Kokuei? What's wrong?" asked Yui softly, taking a step closer to him. "Did I do something to upset you? I'm so sorry if I did-"

"No! It's not that!" reassured Kokuei hurriedly, forcing a smile in attempt to prove his point, "You're right, Yui. You should get home. It is very cold, so you should get inside and I'll just see you later, okay?"

With this said, Kokuei began to turn and tried to walk away back into the alley, but Yui grabbed his wrist and held it tightly as Kokuei's eyes widened in surprise and he turned back towards Yui.

"Wait for just a second, Kokuei… Please?" Yui pleaded, still not releasing his wrist. He stared at her for a moment before nodding and tugging lightly away from her grip. She complied, only to have Kokuei capture her own hand in one of his. She gasped and looked up into his intense dark-blue eyes, which were asking the silent question "why?"

"Where are you going to go?" inquired Yui, her brow creased slightly in concern. He once again looked away from her, but this time, he did give her the answer she had requested.

Making a soft noise, Kokuei shrugged and stated casually, " I don't know, really. The soup kitchen might still be open so I could stay inside there for a little while and get some food and after that…" he chewed his lower lip thoughtfully, "I don't know where I'll go after that. At least it's warm in there, right?"

Yui stared at Kokuei in utter astonishment. He's homeless? How could he be, when Hiashi isn't? Homeless and alone on a frigid night like tonight…   Bringing a trembling hand to cover her mouth, Yui battled the tears that were threatening to spill over. As hard as she tried not to cry, she couldn't help but feel an unbearably heavy sense of pity for her former seishi. Suboshi wouldn't want me to feel sorry for him…Noticing Yui's silence, Kokuei forced himself to look at her face, terrified that he'd see her disgust with his predicament. But he was completely taken aback to see her eyes shining with of sympathy and… something else he couldn't place. And was she… crying? Crying for him? Had he made her cry? Pulling her into a tight embrace, Kokuei began to rapidly apologize.

"Yui, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! I didn't want to tell you because I thought that you'd hate me if you knew. I mean, you're smart and beautiful and aren't out on the streets, but I'm not any of those things! I was afraid that you'd hate me if you knew… Most people do. I wouldn't be offended if you just want to leave now and never want to see me again. I know I don't even deserve to be around you, but I would feel so much better if you could forgive me before I never see you again. Please… I'm so sorry!"

Yui stared blankly in disbelief as Kokuei apologized for being poor. It couldn't have been his fault, could it have been? Did he truly feel guilty about being homeless? Her tears began to fall and she hugged Kokuei back more tightly than he had even dared to embrace her. She merely clung to him, barely believing that a person was given a second chance at life just so that they could live in absolute misery. Yui scowled through her tears. Wasn't there something she could do? She drummed her fingers on Kokuei's back.

"Yui? What's wrong? I'm sorry if I upset you, I truly am. Maybe I should go now?" questioned Kokuei, releasing her smaller form from his arms, but she didn't let go. Kokuei was taken aback at her reluctance to separate from him and was about to ask her his previous question, but she cut him off.

"Kokuei? Are you homeless?" she asked earnestly, pulling back just enough to be able gaze into his stunning blue eyes. She could feel herself begin to lose herself in them and was grateful that Kokuei began speaking when he did.

"I have been for a long time…" came Kokuei's meek reply, his embarrassment causing his gaze to stray again. He didn't notice as Yui eyed him thoughtfully. Could I…? No, that would be impossible… he wouldn't accept that, but them again… Knowing Suboshi… Kokuei held his breath as he bit down on his lower lip. But he also IS homeless and it's so cold out. I'm sure winter will be even worse… Ah, what the hell? Just ask him!

"Kokuei?"

His eyes snapped back to look at her, seeming a little ruffled at her sudden response. "Y-yeah?"

"I would like you to live with me." Yui stated flatly, dawning a serious expression to match. Regardless of whether or not Kokuei was eating anything, he began to choke. Yui watched with him mild amusement, praying that he would accept. After a good minute of coughing, he managed to compose himself and squeak out, "L-live with you? Did I hear you wrong?"

"No, that's right. I would like you to share an apartment with me, at least for the winter!" she pleaded, "Please? I just don't want you to be out in the cold, without food or even a place to sleep!"

Kokuei stared at her with huge, confused eyes. So, he had heard her correctly? But why would she be so… generous? It didn't make sense. He had only just met her yesterday, after all! What in the world made her so sure that she could trust him? Deciding to speak his mind, he asked, "Yui, why do you trust me so much?"

Yui froze at the question. How could she answer that? She couldn't really just say that she had known him in his past life, could she? It was almost as crazy as what she had just asked him. If she kept it up, he'd think she was insane! Answering in the best way she could, she pulled him close and pressed a light kiss to his lips. Pulling away quickly, she looked into his eyes and replied, "Because I care about and I know that you'd never do anything to hurt me. Now, please?"

Kokuei stared at her with wide eyes. Had she really…? Did she…? Was that…? The blush rushed back to stain his cheeks a deep red. She considered that an answer?! Realizing that she was awaiting his reply, he stuttered out, "But-but… I couldn't, could I? I mean, it sounds nice and all, but…"

"But what?"

"It's just that you hardly know me and yet…"

"What is it?" questioned Yui, hiding the growing impatience from her voice.

He sighed. It was an incredible offer that he wanted to accept, but wouldn't that be imposing way too much on Yui's life? But she had asked him… Not to mention that she was making a show of her best puppy eyes. She must have had practice to pull it off that well… Why? Why must she make puppy eyes?! No… Kokuei could feel his resolve weakening and he soon just gave up. Sighing once again in defeat, he breathed out, "All right. I accept. Thank you."

"Great!" Yui squealed as she clasped her hands together, grinning widely. Kokuei eyed her warily. Was she really that pleased with herself? He blinked at the sensation of fingers intertwining with his own.

"Well, let's go then!" Yui chirped as she tugged on his hand, giving him a reassuring grin. Kokuei blush returned as he nodded, doing his best to ignore his mixed emotions. An almost whimper-like noise escaped him as he took notice of how tightly Yui had trapped his hand. It wasn't an iron grip, but it was enough to tell him that there wasn't any escape now. He walked with her in silence, looking much like a prisoner being led to his death and unfortunately for Kokuei, Yui had noticed his tenseness, but being to cold to think anything of it, she continued to drag her captive to the apartment complex without even mentioning her observation. This was certainly insanely generous on her part, And may God help him if he utters one word of protest, thought Yui as she smiled smugly to herself.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Mom! Dad! I'm home!" exclaimed Hiashi as he stepped inside through the front door, closing it behind him.

"Hiashi! My God! Where have you been?! The next time you're going to go out for an hour, at least tell us where you're going! Do you have any idea how worried you father and I have been?! You ought to be ashamed of yourself!" screamed Hiashi's mother, rushing out from the kitchen with Hiashi's father close behind. Hiashi hung his head. He knew that they'd be upset with him, but why hadn't they made an effort to figure out where he was in the first place?! It's not like he could have gotten out of the police station on his own… Wait a minute… had they said that he'd been gone just an hour…? He had been gone the entire afternoon…As his gaze swept the room in confusion, he noticed a bundle of objects tossed near the doorway, obscures by some large boxes… What now…? He began to investigate more closely, but his father's voice pierced his concentration.

"Aren't you even going to apologize, son? Your mother and I have been worried sick, and you don't even bother to apologize? Now, did we bring you up to behave like this, Hiashi?" inquired Hiashi's father, placing and angry emphasis on each word he spoke. His eyes were dark and practically radiating the sense of shame that he was placing on

Hiashi, while his mouth was pressed into a thin frown. Hiashi swallowed nervously. He'd never seen his father quite this upset…

"I'm sorry, mother. I'm sorry, father. I really am... It's just that I…" said Hiashi in a barely audible voice, his eyes downcast and teary. How do I even live with this? It's like a constant guilt trip!

"It's what…?" asked Hiashi's mother, her eyes as equally scornful as her husband's.

Hiashi froze in thought. Had they truly not figured out that he had been gone much longer than a mere hour? Should he tell them about what happened this afternoon? About Yui, and how she helped me…? No, not now and not ever. I'm in enough trouble as it is…  "It's nothing. Well, it's something… but…" he stuttered, fumbling to find the appropriate words.

"What is it, Hiashi?" his mother asked, her annoyance obvious from the way that her dark brown eyes narrowed and how she was pressing each and every word.

"I… just met someone and we lost track of time!" he stated quickly. At least it was part of the truth… "I'm really so sorry! I didn't mean to make you worry like that! I'm so sorry!" To show how truly sorry he was, Hiashi bowed deeply, in the traditional Japanese style that his mother had taught him to do when expressing gratefulness or an apology. He could tell that his parents were starting to lighten up by the way they paused before what was to be the next expected derision.

"So, Hiashi, who exactly was this person who kept you?" asked Hiashi's tall father, his tone of voice sounding rather teasing more than angry. Hiashi looked up at this, noticed his father's teasing expression, and blushed furiously.

"Just a new friend…" he replied vaguely, but soft enough to show that he knew he was still walking on thin, thin ice.

"A lady friend?"

"Err… Yeah…" Hiashi chewed his lower lip, trying desperately to hide the pink that had stained his cheeks. How come Dad always does this? It's like he enjoys seeing me embarrassed! Wait, I know he enjoys this… Am I really that easy to read? Hiashi groaned.

"I was right. Well, we're all right that you are okay and we'll discus the punishment in the morning, understood? Good. Now if you don't mind, "Mr. Lady's Man," your mother and I are exhausted and we shall be retiring for the night. You need to get some sleep yourself, so I'm expecting you to get to bed soon yourself. Do we understand each other?"

"Yes, Sir," a still pink Hiashi responded as he nodded.

"Good. Good night then." With this stiff farewell said, Hiashi's father took his wife's hand and gently led her through the maze of boxes and up the steps. It never failed to amaze Hiashi how easily those two could switch almost schizophrenically from one subject to another… he shook his head. He knew from at least thirteen years of experience that it was fruitless to try to understand his parents, or anyone over the age of thirty for that matter. Sighing, his thoughts returned to the strange bundle that had been carelessly tossed behind the boxes. Shoving the large and heavy boxes aside, he leaned down and gathered the mysterious items that had made up the bundle.

… Clothes…?

Wrinkling his brow in confusion, Hiashi wondered aloud, "What is this?" Heaving another huge sigh, he grabbed the last object behind the boxes, which happened to be… a half-eaten loaf of bread? What the hell is going on around here? First, no one even realizes that I'm gone the entire afternoon, then I get accused of something I did but DIDN'T do, and then I find weird stuff in my house? This just isn't my day… Hold up a second… bread…? Isn't that…?This is too weird!

Hiashi clutched his finds tightly. This all made absolutely no sense! What was going on? Growling in frustration, Hiashi scooped up the rest of the stuff to investigate in the privacy of his room. Still in an aggravated mood, he stood up quickly and snapped of the light switch. Making sure that the front door was locked, Hiashi then balanced his discoveries as he made his way through the disaster zone of his own new home. Being pleased with only completely tripping in the dark twice, Hiashi raced up the steps, down the upstairs hall, and into the safety of his new bedroom. Closing and locking the door behind him, Hiashi chucked the stuff to the far corner of his room and glared at it through the darkness. Illuminated only by a flickering streetlamp from the outside, Hiashi continued to stare hard as he vowed, "I have no idea what's going on, but I swear that I'm going to find out and when I do… I don't know what then, but what's happening to me?! I can't even make sense of anything in my life; not even my own dreams…"

As he had spoken that, Hiashi had cautiously made his way over to his bed and had allowed himself to completely collapse on it. Laying his forearm across his eyes to block out the annoyingly inconsistent light, he could feel his confusion and frustration blurring into only one thought: I need to sleep on this one…  he decided as he kicked off his shoes onto the bare wooden floor. They landed his a soft thud and Hiashi curled onto this side, not even bothering to change into any pajamas. In a matter of minutes, he had completely dozed off and the only presence in the dark room seemed to come from the disorderedly stacked boxes, the unmade, yet occupied, bed placed carelessly in the center of the room, a flickering streetlight that found its way in through the uncovered window, and a small pile of unknown treasures that had seemingly thrown off the life of the room's only resident.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"Oh, will you stop being so damn tense! It's just an apartment complex, for goodness sake!" Yui exclaimed as she attempted to get Kokuei to move gracefully. Ever since they had set foot inside the building, he had been tripping over his own feet and trying to hid himself behind her.

"But it's so… big…" he said incredulously, his midnight blue eyes wide with wonderment. "I think I'm going to get lost, Yui! I can't do it! It was nice of you to offer and all, but I really should be going and not sharing an apartment with you… " he added pathetically.

"You big baby! You'll get used to the size and it's not like we'll be sleeping together or anything!" she explained, for the first time beginning to look as flustered as her companion. Kokuei stopped dead in his already unsteady tracks and had now seemed to be glued to the floor…

"Kokuei?" Yui questioned, her brow wrinkling in confusion. "… Kokuei? Are you all right?" She waved a hand in front of his wide and unfocused eyes. "Kokuei?" He seemed to snap out of it for a brief second, allowing his eyes to focus on something that wasn't exactly Yui's concerned-looking face. His eyes grew unfocused again as a trickle of blood began to stream from his nose… And Yui finally understood what his current frame of thinking consisted of.

"KOKUEI! YOU PERVERT!!" she screamed as she slapped him, hard, across the face. She crossed an arm defensively over her chest as his eyes snapped into focus.

"What the hell was that for?!" he demanded angrily, cupping a hand over his swelling cheek. She just glared at him, her eyes asking him if he really couldn't figure it out by himself.

"Oh… Eh… Sorry?" He flashed her a nervous grin.

"Hmph."

There was a long silence as Yui began to took up the lead to her apartment again, being a little more self-conscious and placing a good seven feet between herself and Kokuei. Oops…? he thought to himself, not being quite sure what to be thinking at the moment.

"This is it," Yui announced as she paused in front of a door. Fishing around in her sweatshirt/jacket's pockets, she finally succeeded in extracting the correct key. Sliding it into the lock, she informed Kokuei that the apartment was rather small. As she opened the door, Kokuei's curious gaze fell immediately on the comfortable-looking sofa, which looked all the better when Yui flipped on the light switch.

"I'll be sleeping there?" he inquired as he pointed to one of the two sofas. He could feel himself already growing tired at just the thought of the soft surface…

"I guess that would be right… Although, I must warn you that they're not fold-out beds or anything… Maybe if we pushed the two together?" she mused, not realizing that Kokuei was already set on the task. He hummed happily as he pushed the coffee table gently aside and pulled one sofa to touch the other in such a way that that the main cushions, not the backs, were touching. It had created a rather crib-like looking bed, but Yui had to admit, it did look quite comfortable…

"Perfect!" he proclaimed proudly, beaming as he plopped himself down on his contraption. Yui stared, astonished at how easily he was satisfied. If that's all it took, life might even be easier… Laughing softly to herself, Yui just smiled happily as she tugged off the jacket and tossed it onto the floor. Kicking off her shoes, she stretched. Turning to face Kokuei's cheerful grin, she said, "I'm going to change into my pajamas, all right? I'll be out soon, and then we could talk for a little while. Would that be okay with you?"

He nodded vigorously from where he was perched behind the back of the sofa, a grin of total delight set across his striking face. Yui giggled and nodded back, closing her eyes in order to hold on the moment just a little longer. Smiling serenely, she slowly opened her eyes and she closed the small distance between her and the bedroom.

"One sec, okay?" With this, she closed the door behind her and Kokuei's view of her was lost. Sighing happily, Kokuei fell back onto his bed and gazed contentedly at the ceiling as he waited. Maybe, just maybe, life might finally t be looking up for him. And for the first time ever, I think I'll be happy…

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Yay! Another chapter is done! I hope it didn't suck… I had such a hard time writing this! Anyways, enough complaining from me! ^^ What did you think? Is it remotely fluffy yet? I swear I'm working on it! ^^& All right, since I decided I like these next chapter previews, here you go! *dramatic music plays* In the next chapter of Nijuusei… another Yui/Kokuei fluff chapter! Only this time… More fluff! And guess what? I've just thought of the most complicated plot this story could possibly take on, so it's going to get a lot more interesting in the next chapters! We're talking incredibly complicated, taking three pages typed, 10-font just to brainstorm. I can't wait to get there, but I promise I won't rush these cuter chapters. Let's see what else is new… Oh yeah! I have another new fic called "If You Give a Seishi a Condom." Read it sometime if you want a really odd display of terrible humor, but please don't forget to review! I'm going to do the Seiryuu chapter next, so if you like it then you're in luck! All right… I think I'm done… Thanks so much for reading and please don't forget that I still love reviews!

-Kaen ^^