Forgiven Heart

Written By: Fujiwara Zakuro

Chapter 3: After All These Years

Izumi quickly fixed her blouse and pants and then walked up the path to Kouji's manor. It was a really expensive-looking piece of property. Izumi came up to the porch to be greeted by Kouji's ice cold blue eyes. She heard that he wasn't as outgoing after their break-up in college, so that familiar glint of loneliness was back in his eyes.

"What are you doing in Miami?" Kouji asked, not bothering to even say hello. Izumi thought for a moment. "Well... um... I just came to see you." She said as she tried not to sound flirtatious or something. Kouji nodded and stepped aside. Izumi just stood there, probably dreaming of something. "Well, are you coming in?" Kouji impatiently asked. Izumi snapped out of her thoughts and entered Kouji's house.

There was nothing too special about his abode. It looked like a typical Kouji setting with its dark colors. "Come with me." Kouji ordered. Izumi followed him to a small room. There were a few chairs and a low coffee table. The chairs were cushioned but casual and the coffee table was simple. An expensive radio set stood by the wall and a pile of CDs were stacked beside it. "Go sit while I get us a drink. What do you want?" Kouji asked. "Some Ginger Ale would be nice. I'm not into coffee... bad for the stress, as I'm told." Izumi said. Kouji turned on his heel and rushed to the kitchen. While he did that, Izumi examined the furniture and CDs while being careful not to touch anything that Kouji wouldn't want her to.

Kouji was in the kitchen pouring drinks. He got two glasses and two cans of Ginger Ale. While he did this, he was talking to himself. "What is she doing here? I thought she never wanted to see my face again." Kouji murmured. He shrugged and brought the fresh drinks back to the living room.

When he arrived back in the living room, Izumi was sitting in a bored position. Kouji took a chair beside Izumi and handed her drink to her. "What is the real reason that you come all the way to Miami?" Kouji asked. Izumi sighed and went silent for a while. "I wanted to come and apologize for what I did to you 5 years ago." She finally said. Kouji smiled... something that he rarely did nowadays. "There's no need to apologize, Izumi-chan." He said. Izumi was surprised when Kouji called her 'Izumi-chan'. "But I broke both of our hearts." Izumi protested with tears almost coming to her eyes. Kouji lightly embraced her. "Please don't cry. Let's just talk about our most recent lives and forget about the past." Kouji said comfortingly; all of the coldness was gone from his tone. Izumi smiled.

For the rest of the day, Izumi and Kouji had nice conversations and talks about their lives. "What happened to Amaya and Kouichi?" Izumi asked Kouji at some point. "Amaya became a famous singer, as well. Kouichi is our manager." Kouji explained. Izumi nodded.

This went on until night. Izumi finally noticed the time and decided that she should leave soon. "Well, it was nice catching up with you. But I gotta go, it's late." Izumi said while getting up. Kouji furiously tried to find a reason to make her stay. And suddenly, an idea came. "Izumi, it's dangerous in Miami after dark." Kouji slyly stated as Izumi turned around. She raised one of her eyebrows and asked, "What are you suggesting?" She turned around to see a cunning smile on Kouji's handsome face. She remembered all those times that his smile made her want to kiss him so badly. "I want you to stay for the night." Kouji smirked. Izumi raised her eyebrows at this. "Which room, should I sleep in?" she asked suspiciously.

Well, her suspicion was incorrect, because Kouji made her sleep in the room next to his. Izumi was slightly disappointed, but hid it very well. Kouji helped her get her bags inside the house. "Good night, Izumi-chan." Kouji said. "Good night, Kouji-kun." Izumi said. Kouji grinned when she said that. When Izumi entered her room, Kouji began to feel a pang of sadness. What would happen if he told her...?

AN: There's a lot to find out in the story, so please keep on reviewing and reading. After this story, there are two more until the series is finished. This will be the greatest project that I've ever had.