Konichiwa!

         Again, thank you for those who reviewed last chapter.

Disclaimer: Something that is never mine cannot be mine. Kinda weird, isn't it?

Chapter 5

Second thoughts

         "Yu..Yuuhi...?" Chidori whispered. It was as if time stopped. Neither of them made a move.

         "Chidori!" Yuuhi took a step forward. He wanted to hug her and never ever let her go.

         "You..must be mistaken! I am not Chidori! My name is...is... Nuriko!" Chidori took a step back. Random thoughts flashed through her mind.

         "Nuriko? But how did you know my name, Chidori?" Yuuhi asked sarcastically. What did he do wrong?

         "Well...um...it's none of your business!" Chidori tried to run away but Yuuhi was too quick for her. He grabbed her right wrist.

         "Chidori! Why are you doing this to me?!" Yuuhi said. He never let go of Chidori's wrist.

         "Leave me alone!" Chidori tried to break free but to no avail.

         "Yuuhi! It's a girl!" Aki came running towards them. He wanted to tell Yuuhi that Aya gave birth to a girl. Imagine how shock he was to see Chidori. Yuuhi was caught off-guard with Aki's sudden appearance that Chidori got the chance to break his grip. She ran as fast as she could.

         "Chidori! Wait!!!" Yuuhi tried to run after her but the people blocked his path.

         "Is that really Chidori?" Aki stood frozen behind Yuuhi. His mind still did not register what happened.

         "We must find her! She may still be in the hospital." Yuuhi ran outside.

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         "Why are you panting?" Nuriko asked. Chidori just popped out of nowhere.

         "I...met someone and...long story..." Chidori tried to explain.

         "Are you okay, Chidori?" Hotohori asked.

         "Yeah...just need to rest," Chidori collapsed on the chair.

         "Do you want to go home now?" Hotohori asked. It was already late afternoon.

         "Good idea. You two go home while we'll follow later. We still need to pick up some things for the restaurant." Nuriko said.

         "Who will watch over Tasuki tonight?" Chidori asked. She has now recovered.

         "Could I?" Mitsukake asked. The others nodded.

         "We'll go now, shall we?" Hotohori smiled at Chidori. Chidori felt her face blush.

         "See you later!" They waved back at them.

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         "You saw Chidori?" Toya asked. They were in Aya's room. She was still sleeping.

         "Yeah. She is that girl. I can't be mistaken," Yuuhi said. It took a lot of time and effort for Aki to persuade him to come first and tell the others what happened. Aki literally had to drag Yuuhi.

         "So, can I go now and find her?" Yuuhi asked. He was tapping his foot impatiently.

         "It would be better if we resume the search tomorrow," Suzumi said. She took Yuuhi's hand, "What matters is that we know that Chidori is in town."

         "But I can't wait till tomorrow!" Yuuhi stood up and proceeded to the door.

         "It is better to wait than be sorry in the end," Aki muttered. Yuuhi dropped his hand from the doorknob and went back to his seat.

         "Okay, I'll wait. But first thing in the morning, I'll go search for her."

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         It was already sunset. Hotohori and Chidori reached the restaurant. They were preparing the restaurant. They only have an hour before it opened.

         "Who was the man that you met?" Hotohori asked. Chidori looked up.

         "Um...I rather not talk about it. Is it okay for you?" Chidori said, barely above a whisper. She looked at Hotohori who had his eyes hidden beneath his hair.

         "Okay... " he said, "but I want to tell you something... Hotohori walked in front of Chidori and hugged her tightly.

         Chidori was utterly shock. There were just so many things that made her shock today, "Ho..Hotohori, are you alright?"

         "Chidori..." Hotohori broke the hug to look at Chidori straight in the eyes ."I...I...love you..." he whispered.

         Chidori was speechless. For the second time that day, random thoughts flashed through her mind. She also noted that she is heavily blushing.

         "I loved you since the day I saved you..." Hotohori continued. He was blushing, "I never thought I could find someone like you..."

         Chidori's eyes widened. She then let out whatever there was in her mind, "Are..are you serious?! There are other girls there, why me?" She mentally slapped herself for her last statement.

         "We're home!" As if on cue, Nuriko's voice rang through the air, breaking the eerie silence between the two. Hotohori let go of Chidori and smiled at her, as if he did not confessed.

         "Oh, thank you for fixing the restaurant!" Nuriko exclaimed. Chidori did not if it was her imagination but she noted that Nuriko's voice was higher than usual.

         "That was nothing!" Hotohori smiled warmly. He then proceeded to the back door. As he passed by Chidori, he whispered something that made her blush even more.

         "Because I love you..."

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         "Please come again!" Nuriko chirped. They were now preparing to call it a day for the restaurant.

         "I never thought that working in a restaurant is so much fun!" Chidori exclaimed as she went to clean the counter.

         "We have fewer customers today. Oh, that's okay. At least we could rest earlier," Nuriko said, more to herself.

         "Nuriko? Are you alright?" Chidori noticed that Nuriko was lacking her usual enthusiasm.

         "Huh? Oh! Yes, working in a restaurant is fun!" Nuriko continued to wipe the desk.

         "What's the matter?" Chidori asked. Just then, the door of the restaurant opened. A man with black hair entered.

         "I'm sorry but we are already close," Chidori said. The man just continued to walk to the counter.

         "It's been a long time, Kamui." Nuriko said. She then gave him a cup of coffee.

         "Er...do you know each other?" Chidori asked.

         "He is Shirou Kamui. He is a regular customer, though I haven't seen him for a while," Nuriko explained. "We are up to a story, aren't we?" Nuriko settled herself beside Kamui. She motioned Chidori to do the same.

         "I should have listened to you, Nuriko," he started, "I should have listened to you..." He ran his hand to his hair.

         "Why? What happened?" Chidori asked out of curiosity.

         Kamui smiled bitterly, "She died. She died without knowing how I feel about her."

         Nuriko covered her mouth as tears gushed from her eyes. Chidori just looked puzzled, "Who is 'she'?"

         "Monou Kotori. She is my childhood friend and the woman I love," Kamui said. He just looked blank. His voice did not carry any emotions at all.

         "But..how?" Nuriko choked.

         "She just died. Her weak heart can't take her loneliness anymore," Kamui said.

         "Loneliness?" Chidori whispered.

         "Her parents died along with her brother in a car crash. If only I told her how much she meant to me. She could have lived longer. I could have taken away her loneliness...." a tear escaped Kamui's eye, "It's all my fault."

         Silence ruled over them. The news was just unbelievable. Nuriko patted Kamui's back while Chidori pondered on what happened.

         "If only I could take her back. I'll do anything to be with her again," Kamui said. He smiled bitterly.

         Kamui hit a spot. Chidori's eyes widened. His situation is like hers. She smiled to herself bitterly. It couldn't be that Yuuhi will do everything for her. It couldn't be...

         "You are lucky to still have the person you love," Kamui said as he wiped his tears, "That is why you must not waste the chance, Nuriko." He smiled to her. Chidori was again puzzled.

         "I can't. He loves someone else. I am now happy that he found her," Nuriko said bitterly.

         "Thank you for listening. I must get going now," Kamui stood up and paid for his coffee. He waved and walked into the cold night.

         Nuriko and Chidori looked at his retreating form. They were silent for a while.

         "Well, we must now sleep. It's late," Nuriko said as she locked the door.

         "Nuriko, who is the man you love?" Chidori found herself asking. Nuriko stopped for a while and faced Chidori.

         "He is now happy. I rather not talk about it," she smiled. "Anyway, what will be your answer?"

         "Answer?"

         "To Hotohori's confession..." Nuriko's smile fell a little. Chidori blushed. 

         "I...don't know.." she admitted. Nuriko took her hands.

         "I'll be very happy if you accept him. He loves you so much," Nuriko tried to smile but to no avail. Chidori noticed it.

         "You mean...Hotohori is..." Chidori's eyes widened as Nuriko turned away.

         "I can't answer him if it would hurt you. And besides, you two look great together," Chidori smiled. Nuriko was shocked.

         "He'll be sad if you don't answer him," Nuriko said.

         "I have decided," Chidori smiled and went upstairs leaving Nuriko

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         Chidori was lying on her bed. She can't sleep. Her mind kept flashing her the image of a certain chef.

         She gave up sleeping and walked to her window. She enjoyed the sensation of having the night breeze touch her face. She sighed.

         "Do I still love Yuuhi?" She found herself whispering. A voice in her mind answered her question.

         'I know you love him so much. Why can't you go back to him? Why do you keep on denying your feelings! Do you want to experience the pain Kamui experiences now? Haven't you learned anything from him?'

         Chidori flinched. The prospect of having Yuuhi dead was scaring her. "I don't want to...but he loves Aya so why will I interfere?" She whispered.

         'You are the only one who believes in that lie.'

         "Lie? You saw him. You saw him!!!" Chidori shouted. Tears poured out of her eyes.

         'Why don't you ask Yuuhi directly? By that, you will know the truth.'

         "What is that truth? That he loves Aya?" she said sarcastically.

         'You know the truth...' the voice suddenly faded.

         Chidori sat by the window for a while. She was pondering on what that voice was telling her. She suddenly stood up. She smiled to herself.

         "I'm going to see him tomorrow."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------To Be Continued...

         So what do you think? Please Review!!!

         Yup, next chapter will be the last one.