Chapter 8

(Rukawa)

I got up and stretched.

"Awake?"

"Ayako…"

She smiled, "Feeling better Kaede? You should go see someone."

"Who?"

"Your Prince Charming, Sendoh Akira," she said.

'Him…' I frowned, "I got nothing to speak to him about. Release him."

"Kaede…you really got to go thank him. It's basic manners. Furthermore, I don't think he'll leave if we do release him," Ayako said with a smile, "why are you so afraid to see him, anyways?"

"I'm not afraid."

"Oh, puh-lease. You think you can lie to me, Kaede? I've known you for 15 years. I dare you to go see him."

"Immature," I stated.

She stared at me.

"Fine. I'll go see him, and tell him to leave."

She grinned, "He's in Jin's lab."

'Why is he there?' I wondered, and got up.

"By the way, don't be too harsh to the guy. His heart is very fragile," Ayako said snickering.

'Baka.'

I knocked on the door. No response. I opened it and spotted him sleep at Jin's station. I frowned and went to the side to take a better look at him. This was the first time I got and taken the chance to study him.

He definitely had some really nice features. He had high cheekbones, perfectly arched brows, slight bronzed complexion, pouty-looking-

He stretched and his arm caught me in the face. I didn't even notice I had move so close to him.

"Ka-Rukawa are you ok?! I didn't mean to hit you. Let me have a look," he said cupping my face.

His most striking feature had to be his eyes, I decided as I gazed into them. They were so piercingly blue, so expressive, so opened and…

I shook my head and pulled away, 'What am I thinking? Do not look into his eyes!'

I turned away, "I'm fine. And don't touch me. Ever."

He sounded worried, "I didn't mean to hurt you. Please don't be angry."

'Why does he have to sound like that?! Why do I feel so bad?' I scowled, "I'm not angry. Just don't touch me."

"No promises. But I'll try very hard to restrain myself," he said sounding all cheerful again, "are you here for Jin? I don't know where he is…"

.

(Sendoh)

"No."

"Are you here for me then?"

He nodded.

I grinned, "You are?! Why?"

"You're free to go," he stated.

"But I got nowhere to go."

"Not my problem," Rukawa said and began walking away.

I wanted to grab his arm to stop him, but I remembered his warning, "Why did you release me? Is it because you trust me?"

He had his hands on the door when he stopped and after a long, long pause, finally replied, "No."

I placed my hand against the door frame just in case he tried to open the door and leave, and asked, "Well, then I got an idea. Care to hear me out, Ru-kun?"

"It's Rukawa."

"Hai, Ru-ka-wa," I said, "you must've heard of the saying: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right? Since you said you don't trust me, I must be an enemy. So you should keep my close, ne?"

"Is that your point?"

"You got a very graceful neck."

"What?"

'I can't believe I said that out loud,' I took a deep breath, "no. That wasn't my point, just an observation. My point is I want to be your bodyguard."

"I don't need a bodyguard," Rukawa stated.

"I think you do, you got such a nice…" I stopped myself before I said something very stupid, "think about it Rukawa. Ok, maybe you don't need a bodyguard, how about a servant? What can you possibly lose, right?"

.

(Rukawa)

I could feel his warm breath on my neck, making me feel extremely uncomfortable, 'Why the heck is he stand so close? What the heck is he thinking? I need to get out of here. He asked me what can I possibly lose? So much…like my sanity.'

"I don't need a servant either."

"But I need you…"

I was feeling hot, 'What is happening to me? I…'

I shook my head, 'No! Stay calm and collected. Those are just words. They mean nothing. Think rationally. You don't even know who in the world he is. No one's going to appear out of the blue and devote themselves to you. You can't trust him! No!'

I turned to him and was about to tell him to get lose but instead I found myself thinking, 'He really needs a haircut bad. It's way too long.'

"So what do you think?" he asked grinning.

That snapped me out of it and I replied coldly, "I can't stop you from following me around like a dog."

'Where did that come from?' I wondered confused, 'did I just agree to him? I should've said The last thing I need is an annoying idiot following me around. Get out of here now. And now I'm feeling bad for calling him a dog…why am I feeling bad?! He's just a stranger, a baka, a-'

He grinned, completely unaffected by my harsh words, "A dog's not bad, it's still in a mammal. At least you didn't say I'm clinging to you like a flea or a tick, which are really pesky. And a dog is a man's best friend."

'What kind of person is he? Why isn't he pissed off? If he truly likes me how can he not be hurt by my harsh words?' I wondered, 'and why do I care whether he's pissed off or not?! Keep your cool, keep your cool. Obviously it's just a game to him. Don't let this baka get to you.'

.

(NP's Leader)

I walked in and looked at the boy hooked up to the apparatus, "What's so special about him?"

My subordinate smiled, "He's not very special. But he is very useful. He'll make good bait for Evo and Dawn."

"He's merely human. Even if Dawn's willing to rescue him, why should Evo?"

She smiled, "I went into his mind. He has much more connections than you'd expect. He use to work for Dawn as a human recruiter. But more importantly is his relationship with Evo's leader, Mitsui Hisashi."

"What relationship?" I asked.

She grinned, "This will shock you. Lovers. A modern day Romeo and Juliet."

I looked at the soft brown hair boy, "So we can use him to lure Evo and Dawn into a trap… Well, since it is your idea. I put you fully in charge."

"Hai. I know what to do. But I request help from a couple of mutants."

"How many?"

"At least 5 more."

"Are you going to use Akagi and Hanamichi?" I asked.

"Yes. They can't be trusted, of course. But they'll fit well into my trap," she said.

"Very well. You may take you pick of 5 other mutants. Keep me updated," I said and turned to leave.

She bowed, "Hai."

.

(Fukuda)

I looked at Mitsui.

"You know in a month Davenport will have the prototype ready for testing."

"Prototype for what?" I asked.

"Something we can use to destroy and save humanity at the same time."

"Which is?"

Mitsui grinned, "You'll find out soon enough, don't worry. I want it to be a surprise."

I didn't like the sound of it. He had a plan like always and we, of course, weren't informed about what it was.

~TBC