Disclaimer: I own nothing less and nothing more than everyone else.

Chapter 6

Akira obliviously and blissfully jogged across campus, hoping to catch Tsukushi before she left. The second he had gotten back to his apartment that morning, there were already a few messages from his mother and sisters, harassing him about when Tsukushi would come over to visit. His usual happy go lucky smile was plastered on his face, even though there was no one around at the moment to see it. It didn't matter. He was happy, unabashedly happy at that. Nothing could bring him down from this high.

"Akira!"

He stopped in mid jog to turn to se her smiling at him. The warm summer breeze blew through her hair playfully, shielding her face from view. Delicate fingers reached up to swipe the annoyance away.

"I was looking all over for you," he sputtered out. "You didn't need to drag Rui all the way over here to help you. I could have come or it would have been nice if you left me a message telling me where you were going."

She casually walked up to him, stifling her own laughter. Out of habit, she interlaced her fingers with his and pulled him to fall into her pace. "I'll remember to do that next time, Mom."

"I resent that comment. I was just worried."

"That sounds like something I would have expected from Tsukasa. Remember when we were kids, and I would always be the one to get lost. He would completely lose it when you guys finally found me."

"Yeah," he chuckled to himself. "You two would scream, calling each other names until you both walked away sulking. Man, you always had a way with making him lose it."

"It's a talent, I guess," she wistfully replied. "Oh god, what was I thinking? People could see us out here." Her hand dropped dead away from his.

"It doesn't matter. No one hangs around school now except a few professors and administrators. In a few weeks, we won't be able to do this in around campus. There will be too many people watching us."

"You mean watching you. I'm just a nobody," she laughed. "No one cares about the daughter of a lowly VP."

"I do," he quietly smiled.

"You're just oozing with charm all the time, aren't you?"

"It's called love." He grabbed her from around the waist and threw her over his shoulder. "I'm not letting you get away from me this time."

"Put me down!" she screamed pounding on his back.

He momentarily paused to think over his options. "On one hand, I could put you down and end up letting you have your way with me. Option two, I could drag you back to my place and have my way with you. Choices, choices."

She stopped trying to wriggle herself free at the recitation of his current options. "What do you mean about me having my way with you?" she inquired. "Why in the world would I ever do that?!" she huffed, appalled by his insinuations.

"Please, I know you can't keep your hands off me."

A scheming idea was growing in her head. She grabbed his posterior throwing him off his guard. She could feel his entire body go rigid as she slid down his chest and her two feet hit solid ground. Placing her palms against his chest, she pushed him backwards causing him stumble backwards onto the lawn. Seating herself on top of his stomach, she grabbed his wrists pinning him beneath her. Her hair dripped down against his cheeks, shading him from the harsh rays of the sun like a veil. Her lips remained a few centimeters from his as her warm breath tickled his lips. "Maybe you are right, but I don't think so." She hopped off him without a second thought to the repercussions of her actions. "Get your mind out of the gutter." She readjusted her clothes and stepped away a few feet, afraid of any tricks he might try.

"You're really cruel," he groaned. "Why do you have to make things so hard?'

"Sometimes, things being hard are more fun. Are you coming or not?" she smirked.

"I think I already have," he sighed as he flopped back down onto the grass in defeat. He patted the patch of grass beside him. "Sit with me for awhile. I want to talk."

Tsukushi peeled the heels off her feet and walked barefooted back towards him as if she were walking a tightrope. The strappy sandals balanced on each of her hands. "I guess, so. I don't need to be anywhere for a few hours. I just need to be back at the house to wait for a delivery at 4." Her body fell down beside his as he inched closer to her to rest his head in her lap. Lazily, she stroked the hair out of his face.

"This is nice," he sighed. "It almost feels like the Great Lawn in Central Park."

"I guess this is the second best thing. All we're missing is the overpriced hotdog vendor, the crazy homeless guy screaming about the apocalypse, and hundreds of other people fighting for a spot. I'm homesick already."

"This is your home now," he corrected her.

"You're right," she grinned. Her hand reached for the chain dangling around her neck, pulling it up to grasp the platinum band clasped to it. "I heard it's supposed to be about ninety eight degrees over there tomorrow. Maggie and Jen must have rented a car to drive out to Robert Moses Beach. We always had a rule that no matter what, once the temperature broke over ninety-seven, we would all call in sick at work and spend the day at the beach. God, I can hear it already. Jen will start singing from one thousand bottles of beer, Maggie will probably get pulled over for going 90mph down the Grand Central, and usually I would be screaming at the top of my lungs at both of them, trying to get them to slow down and shut up. Those are some of the best times we ever had."

"Maybe you should call them later. They probably miss you, too."

"Yeah, I guess. On the other hand, there are certain things I could get used to here."

"Like?"

"Being able to see my family more often, having my own darkroom, real authentic sushi, and of course my favorite person in the world, Rui."

"I'm hurt. I thought you came back for me all this time."

"Hmm... You're somewhere in the list. I think you fall somewhere between hot springs and festivals."

Akira lurched forward and rolled her over onto her back pinning her beneath him. In one swift motion, his head descended upon hers, grazing his lips over hers in a light drugging kiss that soon turned more demanding and rough. After her initial shock, she raised her arms, wrapping them around his and pulling him deeper. His tongue darted out, pushing her lips open to explore the depths of her mouth. A soft moan slipped out of her lips as he moved away from her mouth to trail slow torturous kisses down the nape of her neck. His fingers cupped her head, tugging at her hair. As quickly as he had taken over all her senses, he pulled back.

Tsukushi's chest heaved up and down with each labored breath. At the loss of warmth over her body, she slightly whimpered. Her head was still spinning as she opened her eyes to see the smug look of satisfaction on his face. She reached a finger up to her swollen lips.

"Now that must have pulled me up a few notches."

"Uh huh," she replied still trying to climb her way out of the abysmal daze he put her in.

--------------Flashback------------

The phone incessantly rang on the table beside her bed, refusing to go away. All the while, a huddled figure remained curled up underneath her warm comforter, refusing to bend to the will of the contraption. Tsukushi rolled over and hugged her pillow closer to her head, sighing softly. Sleep was always a good thing.

"Tsukushi! You answer that damn phone before we come in there and kill you!" a masculine voice yelled from the next room. Moments later, the thud of something hitting the wall reverberated in the room along with the rattle of the pictures hanging from it to sway back and forth.

"Fine, fine, fine!" she sighed in resignation. She pushed the comforter away from her body and pounded a fist against the wall in retaliation. "Maybe you two could keep it down in there, too. God are you loud!"

"Don't come a knocking if you see the wall a rocking!" Mike boomed back at her, laughing.

"Don't be so crude!" Maggie screeched. The sounds of the footsteps against the bare wooden floor followed. She slowly opened the door to see Tsukushi upright in bed, arms folded, and intentionally letting the phone continue to ring. "Umm... Sorry about that. We decided to celebrate New Year's a bit early. I knew we should have gone back to his place since our walls are paper thin."

"Forget about it. I think I'm scarred enough for life as it is," Tsukushi shrugged. "I would have gone to sleep in Jen's room, but it looks like she decided to party a little early, too." Her look of annoyance was replaced by a dirty smirk.

"Really?! Who was it?" Maggie whispered.

"You know that really hot sales guy from the Pearl Paint on 23rd St? Six feet of muscles, bad boy devil-may-care attitude, and a smile that just screams I'll do naughty things to you that would make a prostitute blush?"

"No! Not the one with the really nice ass! I always go to him just so I can watch him climb up that ladder to get the canvases at the top. She hooked up with him?"

"Exactly that one."

"Remind me later to jump her for details. Wow! If I wasn't with Mike..."

"You two are too lucky for your own good."

"Me? Lucky?"

"Yeah, you've got Akira going after you. What isn't there to like about the guy? He's rich, deliciously handsome, and he could charm the panties off any woman. I bet he has, too."

"There's nothing going on between us. Two mature adults that are of the opposite sex can function singly as friends. Don't tell me he's gotten to you, too. I swear he must ooze pheromones, forcing all women to fall to his feet. We are just friends."

"Well explain this to me. Where were you all last week? It seems you only came home to pass out and you're out the next morning to god knows where. Your parents left three weeks ago, so I know you aren't with them."

"I took Aiko and Suzume out to see the city. We went ice-skating, saw the penguins at the zoo, stopped by the tree at Rockefeller Center, took the ferry out to the Statue of Liberty... Geez, I think I've seen more of New York than I have in the entire two years I've been here."

"And who else was with you?"

"Akira and your point would be."

"Someone like Akira isn't the type of person who would enjoy babysitting his sisters during his entire vacation."

"He said he wanted to check out some sights, too."

"And I bet he calls you up, saying that his sisters were the ones who wanted to see you."

"You're talking crazy. For the last time, we are just friends." Tsukushi waved her hands emphatically, stressing her frustration in getting the point through.

"Yeah, sure. It always starts as friends. That's what Mike and I said when we decided to consummate our friendship on the couch."

"That's disgusting! People sit on that couch!" Now I need to go get a can of Lysol and some plastic wrap to cover it. I can't sit there anymore. I'm getting sick just thinking about all the times I've fallen asleep there."

"Okay, maybe I've shared a little too much. I think someone's got a little crush on someone else," she sang, while dodging a pillow thrown in her direction. She caught the object in mid-air doing a little victory dance before traipsing back to her own room.

Tsukushi slumped down into her bed and grabbed the phone from its cradle. "Domino's Pizza, how can I help you?"

"Hi, I'd like to order a pizza with pineapple, green peppers, and extra cheese. And while I'm on the line, how about you throw in that delivery girl, Tsukushi?"

"What's up Akira?" she yawned rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "It's only..." she picked up her watch off the table and groaned. "8 o'clock."

"Is it really?" he nervously stated, wincing at his own lack of better judgment to check the time. Back in his hotel room, he silently poked his finger at the finely crafted mahogany desk, feeling rather stupid. He looked up towards the hallway, making sure that he was the only one awake. "I didn't even realize it."

"Did you stay out partying all night again? I bet you just stumbled back to your hotel room this morning. Either that or you freaked the moment you found yourself with some girl whose name you barely remembered and ducked out before she woke up, leaving some lame excuse for leaving in a rush. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. Another woman left confused, abused, and used."

"You make me sound like some lecher."

"And you aren't?"

"I never leave a single one unsatisfied. They get what they wanted and so do I. It's a win-win situation."

"Whatever you say. Getting back to my main point. Why are you calling so early?"

"Oh yeah." A soft rumble of laughter crackled through the other line. "I was wondering what you were going to do today?"

She drummed her fingers against the firm mattress listening to the slight rumble of her stomach begging for food. "I don't know, I didn't really think much about today. My parents already flew back home due to an unexpected emergency with the company. Maggie and Mike are the two maniacs going out to stake a plot of sidewalk, to watch the ball drop in Times Square. Why those two want to spend the night freezing their asses off surrounded by thousands of wasted lunatics is still a mystery. Jen offered to let me tag along with her friends to go club hopping, but I don't think I can handle it. She runs with a whole different crew when it comes to clubbing. I'm not quite up to their par. So, I guess that leaves me with the option of a nice chilled bottle of champagne, my favorite sweats, and the shiny metal ball falling on the television. Sounds about right."

"That's really pathetic, ya know."

"No it's not. What are you planning for the festive day then?"

"Actually the thing is that... Well, my parents suddenly sprung the fact on me that they were invited to some New Year's Eve party by one of the clients. It was really last minute. There's really no one to watch Aiko and Suzume."

"Don't waste another breath because I already know where this is going. You have a hot date and can't stay to watch them. What time do you want me to be there by?"

"Six. You are a lifesaver."

"Yep, that's me. You'll think differently when you see the bill on your mini bar."

She hung up the phone and pulled the covers back over her head. Maggie's insane assumption echoed in her mind, but she quickly dispelled the thought. Although she did have to admit that she did enjoy spending time with Akira, but it was to be expected due to their history together as children. He had grown up to be quite attractive and he did have that way of making her smile and laugh all the time.

Crazy. Maggie was crazy.

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"So what do you want to do now?" Tsukushi asked, unfolding her legs from the Indian position she had remained in for the last two hours.

The night had been filled with room service, freakish amounts of sugar intake, giggles, games, and movies. It was just another slumber party. It was hardly the way she imagined spending her night, donning a pale blue ball gown she had managed to scrounge up in the back of her closet. It was a little tight in certain places, but she managed to squeeze into the taffeta. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress and slunk back into the couch, watching the small bump in her middle from overeating. What better way to celebrate the bringing of a new year than to end the old one with a bang.

"Where did you get that gown? Aiko asked with a mouthful of s'mores dripping from her mouth. She raised a hand to wipe away the melted chocolate around her mouth. "It's really pretty."

"This? It's my high school prom gown. It was the only dressy thing I could find in my closet."

Tsukushi sat up, trying to remember the vague memories of that night. She wasn't even really planning on going in the first place. It was one of those monumental milestones that were a can't-miss. Most girls at school spent their entire high school career planning around it, even dreaming about the guy, the place, the hair, the make up, the limo, and of course, the sacred dress. She got the shoes, the hair, the makeup, and the date. She scored in the date department by being escorted by another exchange student in the study-abroad and her current boyfriend of a year, Kin. All that was left was the infamous dress. They must have gone to every store in the greater New York area to find it, but turned up with nothing. She was seriously beginning to believe that she would end up attending the formal affair wearing the nothing more than a potato sack with holes cut out for her head, arms, and legs.

Then he came along and fixed everything that was wrong in the world. At exactly 6 am the delivery boy showed up with the most stunning gown she had ever seen, with a simple note that said:

Yo,

You do know that indecisiveness will kill you. Saw this through the store window. Hope it's the right size.

-Rui

He came through for her in the end, like always. Who knew the countless hours she droned on and on about the minute details and intricacies of picking out the perfect dress had somehow taken a slight impact on him. Then again, Rui was like that. He listened. He cared. He knew her. When things seemed to be falling into that spiraling chasm of the drain, he swooped in and made things all better. The night went by perfectly. They danced late into the night and much into the next morning. She went in a little girl dressing up like a princess and came out a woman, but that's a story for another time.

"Actually Hanazawa Rui bought this for me."

"Really?" Suzume asked, suddenly deeply interested in the conversation of a certain boy's name. "You know Hanazawa Rui?!"

"Uh huh," Tsukushi happily nodded. "We've been best friends since we were little kids. We talk all the time. Didn't Akira tell you? I've known F4 for what seems like forever, but Rui and I are like this." She took note of the sudden starry-eyed gaze that she fondly recalled as the Hanazawa Rui affliction. Yep, it was exactly that same look every girl had plastered on her face when Rui was mentioned. "You two wouldn't happen to have a crush on him now would you?"

"Umm... No." Suzume blatantly lied. The telltale flush of her cheeks was a dead give away.

"Yes she does!" Aiko squealed, bowling over in giggles. She always turns red whenever he comes over the house.

"So what?! At least I don't have a thing for Doumyouji!"

"Hey, that was a secret you promised to keep."

"Well, you didn't keep mine."

"Okay, okay." Tsukushi waved her hands in the air, seeking some kind of truce amongst the impending argument. "We all know who likes who now."

"No we don't."

"Yeah."

"Who do you like the most out of F4?"

"Yeah, do you like Hanazawa Rui?!"

"I love them all equally. They are all like brothers to me," she defensively blurted out, hoping they didn't notice the pink of her cheeks.

"Speaking of brothers. What about our brother?"

"I think he likes you. Do you like him? You're always together all the time."

The two girls raised conspiratorial eyebrows to each other, hiding the obvious smirks on their faces.

"Hey! Who wants to get some ice cream?"

--------------------------------

"Looks like I'm the last one standing," Tsukushi whispered to herself as she pulled the blanket over the two sleeping girls on the couch. She carefully plucked Suzume from her shoulder and laid her back down, making sure not to disturb her peaceful sleeping face. Stretching her sore muscles, she padded across the room barefoot, grabbing the complimentary chilled bottle of champagne delivered with their room service earlier. The French doors leading to the terrace were opened and shut quickly without a sound.

It was ridiculous to be standing outside on the terrace in freezing January weather wearing a designer strapless gown with no cover at all. She ignored the cold air caressing her bare flash as her body involuntarily shivered. The cork to the bottle was popped open, sending it flying out into the night sky. With an overflowing flute in hand, she raised her glass skywards.

"Happy New Year!" her rather dull voice yelled out into the black nothingness of night. The hint of disappointment was lost to the nonexistent audience.

"I don't know what to think about someone who drinks while on the job," a voice laughed from behind her.

Wracking coughs emitted from her petite body at the shock of being discovered. The glass was placed onto the railing. She spun around to glare at the offensive intruder. "Akira!" she hissed. "What are you doing back already?" She playfully slapped him on the arm.

"Party ended a little bit earlier than usual," he shrugged. "It was pretty much a lost cause when her boyfriend showed up, wanting to beat the crap out of me. No chick is worth that much."

"Aw, poor baby." Her hands rubbed her arms trying to fight the new chill that began to spread through her body.

His eyes narrowed, seeing her lack of proper attire for the outside weather. He shrugged off his tuxedo jacket, and slipped it over her shoulders, rubbing her arms through the soft fabric to warm her up faster. "It seems you guys had your own little New Year's affair going on. Nice dress, by the way."

"If you've got to do a job, you do it with style," she smirked. She would have continued with their mindless banter if not for the realization of their proximity. The small bundle of nerves that had gathered in her stomach only worsened with the fact that his hands had stopped their smooth rubbing motion, still on her sides. Everything froze.

What about our brother?

It always starts out as friends.

Tsukushi shook her head, trying to make the taunting voices go away. It was ludicrous to even think that her and Akira could have something. Her eyes raked over his features taking note of the way the moonlight hit his face at just the right angel, showing off his chiseled facial features. His eyes seemed glazed over with a strange look that was unidentifiable. A wisp of his bangs fell over his eyes that itched to be brushed away.

"You have something over here," he pointed out wiping away at the smudge of chocolate on the side of her lips. Without thinking, his finger picked up the residue. His finger dipped into his mouth, sucking off the sweet substance.

She could feel her face burning up. There was just something about his innocent action that made something stir within her.

"I'm a little glad that I got back here in time," he whispered, leaning in closer to her face. The deep timbre of voice surprised he himself and her.

She looked pleadingly into his eyes, trying to figure out where he was heading with this. Confusion swept over her features. "Why?"

"Because I've been wanting to do this." Akira leaned in and ever so lightly brushed his lips against hers. The gentle caress of his lips lingered even after he pulled himself away. A look of pure shock was written all over his face, questioning her reaction to his impulsive actions. He had yet to process what he had done.

This was Tsukushi.

Her eyelids fluttered open, feeling the loss of his warmth. The cold chilly wind hit her face, blowing her hair into her face. Nothing seemed to matter or make sense anymore.

This was Akira.

His jacket slipped off her shoulders as her arms reached up, wrapping around his neck and pulling him closer. Slowly. Her eyes closed as she leaned, pressing herself against him, returning his previous gesture with a much more brutal force. "Happy New Year," she mumbled.

It was the start of something terrifyingly new and unknown for them both, but they gave in to the thrill of doing it together. For now, the rest of the world could wait, and all that mattered was their exact place and time. The pitch-black sky broke out in bursts of light, streaming the canvas with bursts of colors. From the distance, the toll of the clock chimed in the beginning of a new year and something much bigger than the kissing couple would ever have expected.

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Conventions are always meant to be broken. Only when we break free from the expected into the unexpected do we begin to live. It's not a perfect path, but then again, nothing is. We are always given the choices to choose from what would be inevitably deemed safe and reasonable, or we could choose that second door that opens into that black chasm of the unpredictable.

Tsukushi and Akira opted for the unconventional when it came to the precarious relationship outside of friendship they held. Technically it wasn't even a real committed relationship, agreeing to not hold the other back from better prospects with their open relationship. They came upon the decision when he left after New Year's. She knew Akira was still Akira. He knew she had begun dating her ex-boyfriend. Although they saw each other on a regular basis when Akira would take a flight out to visit her for a few days each month. They knew those few days would solely be for themselves, forgetting about the others. They came down to a standstill of quick weekend flights and phone calls, but was it really enough?

"So, your lover boy is coming today," Jen cackled to herself. Her hunched over figure sat on Tsukushi's bed, waving a nail polish brush in the air, coloring each toe nail with the precision and skill as if she were working on the Sistine Chapel.

Maggie's eyes remained fixed on the glossy photo spreads of the latest Cosmo picking out any outfits that she might consider investing in. "How long has your little experiment been going on?"

In frustration, Tsukushi slammed her laptop shut and swiveled to face her too lackadaisical friends conquering the personal space of her bed. "One, Akira is coming next week and stop calling him lover boy. Two, the relationship we have, which you so delightfully call an experiment, has been going on for six months now. If you get nail polish on my bed spread, I'm going to kill you, Jen."

"Girl, you need to chill," she snapped in return. "I think all this studying you've been doing is screwing with your mind. I warned you it was insane to take summer school. You'll be burnt out before the fall semester begins."

"She's right. All work, and no play makes Tsukushi a real bitchy person to be around."

"Shut up."

"Yeah, the only time she ever breaks out of her PMS cycle is when Akira visits."

"Or when that Rui guy calls."

"Or when Kin drags her out."

"So are you saying I've turned into some sort of misogynist freak?" Tsukushi took off her glasses folding them into her case. The pencil that seemed to have permanently lodged itself into the bun she tied her hair into was yanked out and tossed onto the desk.

"No. We're just pointing out all the options you seem to have." Jen capped off the bottle of pink nail polish, and wiggled her toes to try to dry them faster. She tucked a loose strand of her short black hair behind her ear. "For a girl who is busy all the time with school and work, you sure do get around."

"Oh great, you make me sound like a slut."

"If you ask me, I think that you should dump the whole Akira thing. The whole situation is messy and complicated. You don't need that in your life. I've warned you from the beginning that the friends with benefits rule only leaves you getting burned in the end. If I were you, I would go for Kin. He's actually within a five-mile radius for you to reach him. Don't you agree, Jen?"

The brush glided against her fingernail leaving a flawless line of color. "Leave me out of this. I think it's good she keeps her options open, though. Although it's questionable of how Akira's intentions are. What kind of guy flies halfway around the world to grab pizza and a movie?"

Tsukushi threw up her arms in exasperation. "Don't you two have anywhere else to be? It's getting a little tiring hearing the same thing from you, Maggie. I'm not going to get hurt. We agreed from the beginning that as long as we're having fun we would continue this."

"You never get jealous of the other woman, huh?"

"Why would I? He knows I'm seeing Kin, and he has no qualms with that. I'm not looking for anything serious and neither is he."

She was about to continue her rant, but was rudely interrupted by the ring of her cell phone. "I've got to take this. It's Rui."

"Fine, but don't think this conversation is over," Maggie huffed, snatching her magazine up and storming out the room.

"Whatever." She waved her hand at the hasty retreat of her friend.

Jen stopped beside her, patting Tsukushi on the shoulder. "Don't let her get to you. She's just in one of her moods. I'll go calm her down."

"Thanks."

She picked her phone up off the cradle and shoved it between her neck and ear. "Hey, Rui," she cheerily greeted, knowing exactly who would be on the other line.

"Yo. What's up?"

She picked herself up out of her chair and flopped onto her bed, crinkling her nose at the lingering smell of nail polish in the air. "Tired. Frustrated. Confused. You know, the usual here."

His chuckle echoed from the other line. "Someone's not having a good day."

Tsukushi's eyes closed, allowing her mind to focus on the image of her friend thousands of miles away on the other end of the line. "I'm just tired from all the all-nighters I've had to pull to get some of my projects done on time. I'm struggling a bit to juggle work with school. To top it all off, I just finished getting into a fight with Maggie." She released a sigh of relief at being able to unload some of her burden on someone else.

"Ouch. Someone needs to de-stress herself."

"I'll deal. So tell me what you are up to? Getting into your usual trouble like always? Where are you anyway? I can hear a bunch of sounds in the background."

"The guys decided to take a small trip to the beach. I'm actually outside on the patio right now. You would love it here. Shizuka says hi, by the way. She just left to go for a swim. Soujiro went sailing with his flavor of the week. Tsukasa is somewhere around here."

"What about Akira?" she casually asked, trying to hide the slight rise in her voice.

"Those would be the noises you hear," he laughed. "I've barely seen him the last few days. He picked up some girl he met at a bar a few days ago, and brought her along. Hold on a sec." The line rattled with interference as Rui waved it in the air. "Yo Akira! Close your window!"

"Thanks for ruining the mood, man," a muffled voice yelled back.

"Sorry, about that. Now can you hear me better?"

"Crystal clear," Tsukushi unconsciously gritted out. "So Akira must be having a really good time, huh?"

"Same old, same old. He never leaves home without a girl on his arm. I don't even think he remembers the girls' names. I've seen the guy continue an entire relationship by calling a girl 'honey' or 'sweetie'. I guess it saves him time with learning names."

Her nervous laughter followed. "He's such a man whore. I bet every girl just falls to his feet."

"Hey, are you in there?" a voice asked from the other side of her bedroom door. A few seconds later the door was tentatively pushed open revealing a sandy haired man on the other side. He stepped into the room with a grin on his face.

"Hi. "Tsukushi cupped her hand over the receiver and hastily ordered him to wait outside since she would be done in a few minutes. She waited for him to exit the room before picking the phone back up. "Sorry, I got interrupted there for a minute. Kin just came by to pick me up."

"Oh, I see how it goes. You're gonna ditch me now, after I made the effort to call you. How long have you been seeing this guy already?"

She hopped off the bed, and began rummaging through her room looking for her purse and tossing in her wallet, keys, and other miscellaneous girly things. "A few weeks now. Honestly, I wasn't even going to agree to see him, but he was so persistent about us going out to catch up. I was surprised to find out he decided to transfer schools to come back to the States. I thought he would permanently stay in Japan after he left. It was one of the main reasons we broke up, the distance thing."

"Maybe it's a second chance."

"I guess," she shrugged, then feeling stupid, knowing he could not see her physical action. "We always were good for each other. Right now, we aren't anything serious, but we'll see where this goes. Kin will always be special to me, no matter what."

"The guy wants you back."

"Since when are you so nosy about my relationships? You never cared much before. Not all of us can be blessed with finding our soul mate. Shizuka has made you sappy. I need to get over there and knock some sense into you. But that will have to wait. Kin's waiting. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Okay. Bye."

She hung up her phone and tossed her bag over her shoulder. In a rush, she scrambled to fix her hair a bit smiling at her reflection. She wouldn't let what she heard bother her one bit. After all, it was part of the deal she signed up for. Pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind, she stepped out of her room to meet her date.

There was no room for jealousy when you never had him to begin with.

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Rui hung up his phone, and stared blankly out into the scenery before him. It was an island paradise; one where many would have said they would die happy to be able to spend a day there. To Rui, it was just another vacation get away to add onto the list of many others they had taken. He pondered for a moment over Tsukushi's despondent behavior lately. She seemed to be wrapped up in her own little world with all her activities, and they seemed to be taking its toll on her. Deciding to go spend a few hours in the lounge downstairs, he walked out of his hotel room locking the door behind him.

"Hey, Rui."

"What are you doing out of your room, Akira? I thought you'd be busy entertaining your guest," he dryly responded, taking notice of his friend's disheveled appearance.

"She can entertain herself," he grinned to himself. "Are you on your way downstairs? I'll come with you."

"Um. . . Okay."

They walked in companionable silence towards the elevator. Rui kept his hands tucked into his pockets as he strolled down the long corridor. Every now and then, he would glance to his side seeing some vague apprehension on Akira's face as if he wanted to say something. He chose to ignore it, and let the guy speak when he was ready to.

"So, I thought I heard you talking to someone before."

His gaze strayed from the closed doors of the elevator to Akira's face. A small smile curled on his lips at the thought of Tsukushi. "I was talking to Tsukushi."

"Oh, really? Were you out on the deck that entire time?"

"Yeah. You gave both of us quite a show to listen to."

The amusement in Akira's face dropped, but he quickly masked his change in mood. "I didn't think we were that loud," he mumbled to himself. "So, what's going on with Tsukushi? You haven't talked about her in awhile."

It was a dirty thing to do, but Akira couldn't help himself enlisting Rui as an unknowing spy. There were certain things he couldn't bring himself to ask Tsukushi about. Her best friend, on the other hand, was fair game. It was a double standard. He knew it, but for some odd reason, he always felt a tad possessive over the girl in New York. They had agreed to keep their relationship, or whatever it was, a secret from everyone else. The few who did know about it consisted of her roommates and his family. It was her idea to keep it that way, and he agreed, no questions asked.

"I didn't get to talk to her much. She's been busy with her stuff. Then, Kin dropped by and she ditched me for him."

"Kin?" he asked, recalling hearing that name a few times the last time he visited. He vaguely remembered hearing Tsukushi talk about her ex- boyfriend, who showed up out of the blue one day to see her. "Who's that?"

"He's her ex-boyfriend from high school. They recently got back together. She's been seeing him a lot lately."

Akira blanched at the thought of her seeing an ex-boyfriend. For once, he felt an odd sensation in the pit of his stomach. "I think I need a drink."

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The concept is only burdened more when more than one person is involved. How much are you willing to give up of yourself to be with them? How much will they change for you? They left all these questions remaining up in the air. Why would they care when it was all for fun?

"And you spend hours just lying here?" Akira asked, lowering his sunglasses to meet her gaze.

"Uh huh," she replied, barely sparing him a glance from the book she was reading. Her bare feet kicked up and down in her laying position on the blanket spread out beneath them.

"I'm bored."

"I told you to bring a magazine or book."

"Well, I didn't know I would get tired of checking out the girls sunbathing so fast," he chuckled. A swift jab in the ribs was delivered after the statement left his mouth.

Tsukushi sighed tossing the book aside for now, and pillowed her head on her hands tilting to the side to observe him staring idly at nothing. "Does this mean I have to find ways to entertain you?"

"Perhaps," he grinned. His fingers itched, reaching over to her and tracing lines down the exposed part of her back. Idly, they played with the straps of her haltered top.

"You better move those fingers away before I break them."

"You're no fun."

"I'm just not into the same level of voyeurism as you are. In a public park of all places."

He pouted, losing the one stimulus he was able to find in the last hour. When Tsukushi suggested they spend the day in the park, he thought they would be spending it like all the other couples busy making out around there, Sadly, he was deeply mistaken when she pulled a rather thick book out of her purse and began to read.

"I'm bored," he huffed. "Come on, Tsukushi. I flew out here to spend the last two weeks with you and you spend the precious time with me reading. I suggested we take a little vacation somewhere, but with your internship you had to stay here. I feel like I've barely seen you this entire time. I'm leaving in two days. I thought you would want to spend the time a bit more wisely."

She laughed, knowing exactly what he was hinting at. "I seriously doubt that spending the next two days locked in your hotel room with you trying to grope me and us making out constitutes as spending time wisely. Just enjoy the scenery. I promise we can leave in an hour and we'll do anything you want to do."

His eyes lit up at the sound of "anything".

"I don't mean that, you pervert. God, let me check my bag for something you can do. It's tiring sometimes, trying to think of things to keep you occupied." She grumbled to herself, but secretly enjoyed just having Akira around.

With the frequency of time she spent around him, it was seemingly normal to just spend the day doing her everyday routines with him being around. It was almost as if he was always there like a normal boyfriend, although normal was a bit far fetched.

"Here we go!" she exclaimed pulling out a small tin box. She flipped the lid open and handing him a small sheet of blue paper. "Make yourself useful."

"What am I supposed to do with this?" He dangled the paper in the air, perplexed with how he was supposed to make himself useful with a piece of paper.

"Let me show you. I haven't had time until recently to try out Rui's gift, but now I'm hooked. You fold it like this." She hunched forward with her face intently fixed on making the perfect creases and folds. Her hands swiftly moved with an utmost precision after much practice. When she finished the product, she held it up to admire her work. "That's how you make a paper crane." She gently placed it on the edge of their blanket before pulling out another strip of paper folding a companion for the first one. "Do you think you can do it?"

"I was never really good at origami," he admitted. His hands fumbled with the sheet of paper in his hands crinkling under his handiwork. When he finished the poor crane looked like it had one of its wings clipped or even more accurately, maimed. "Why are you folding these?"

"Well, Rui got me this gift last Christmas. He gave me enough sheets to fold a thousand. They say if you fold a thousand, your wish will be granted."

He raised an eyebrow. "A wish? You actually believe that?"

"Yes."

His hand reached up to pull the hair that had fallen over her face behind her ear. "Can I know what your wish is?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't come true." She looked down at the crane he had folded and frowned. "You're crane looks like it needs to be put out of its misery."

"Hey, I made that with a pure heart and soul, so it shouldn't matter. It's the thought that counts."

"I think you should stop before PETA comes to take you away for cruelty of paper animals." She began packing up the few birds she had folded, and tucked them away in the tin. Akira's monstrosity lay in the palm of her hand as she studied it. "I think I'll keep you, though," she talked to the inanimate object. "You will be named Stumpy since you have a stumpy wing."

"Stumpy!"

She smiled, knowing how easy it was to get him riled up. Not wanting to bother with him sulking for the rest of the day, she grabbed his face and pulled him down into a kiss. "It's the imperfections that make him perfect. Just like you," she mumbled against his lips.

Having his bruised ego soothed left him feeling a tad bit incensed by her earlier comments. The idea of arguing with her now left his mind as she ran her fingers through his hair deepening their kiss. They would have continued until they both were completely out of breath, but the sound of their cell phones going off threw them out of their momentary bliss.

"We have to get that," she sighed tapping her forehead against his. Her breaths came out short and a bit ragged.

"How about we continue this in a few?"

"Fine by me."

She picked up her phone and stepped away a few feet for privacy. By the movement of her hands and the way he face lit up, he knew it was Rui. Akira dug his hand into his pocket pulling out his own phone wondering who would be calling him. He distinctly recalled telling F3 he would be away for some business purpose his father was sending him to. He didn't take a second thought about it and answered the call.

"Hello."

"Hey, Akira," a feminine voice answered.

"Who's this?" He held the phone up trying to read the caller ID.

"I'm disappointed in you. It's Mina. I was just calling to see if you wanted to come out and play tonight?"

He ran the numbers through his head figuring out that it was about eleven at night over there. "Sorry, love, but I'm out of town on business right now. Maybe some other time." He warily glanced up to see Tsukushi tuck her phone back into her bag and settling herself back on the blanket. Her body seemed a bit more rigid than it was before.

"Aw, poor baby. Well, how about when you get back I help you wind down a bit? You can come join me in my hot tub."

"Uh huh." He nervously ran his hands through his hair pretending to seem uninterested by the naughty little acts Mina was offering at the moment. Nothing else could put a damper on his thoughts other than the fact that Tsukushi was right next to him flipping through her book. "Listen, I've got to go. I'll call you when I get back."

"Oh, wait. I also wanted to ask what time you were going to pick me up for the party on Saturday. You remember the charity ball you said you would take me to. I bought my dress and everything."

He vaguely recalled the formal function he had invited the woman to. He was stuck going since his parents couldn't attend. Not wanting to be without a date, he had invited Mina as his date for appearances sake. It would be blasphemy if he didn't show up with a beautiful woman on his arm in public. He cursed himself for forgetting about the benefit. Most of his forgetfulness was due to the time he had been spending with Tsukushi. A lot of things tended to be forgotten in her presence.

"I'll pick you up at seven. I'll talk to you when I get back. Bye." He didn't wait for her reply, choosing to hang up on her then and there. He pleadingly looked towards Tsukushi for some reaction. She had to be either deaf or stupid to not know he was on the line making plans for his Friday night date.

She dog-eared the corner of the page marking her place. "Everything good with you?" she calmly asked.

"Yeah. There's this charity benefit and my parents couldn't go," he clumsily explained. "I couldn't go without a date, so you know."

"I understand." She picked herself up off the ground and began to fold the blanket with Akira still on it.

He jumped up from the ground and grabbed the corner of blanket she was tugging at. "Do you really?"

She folded her arms across her chest and looked up to the sky wishing he would drop the conversation. "I know you see other women, and I'm fine with it. We both agreed not to be bothered by this open relationship. Drop it, and let's go."

"Who was on the phone?"

The look of annoyance on her face faltered, allowing some apprehension to creep up on her, betraying the calm façade she was struggling to maintain. "Just Rui," she nonchalantly replied.

"Oh."

"Don't start with that now?" she half yelled, surrendering to the tension filling the air. "I know what you're dying to say."

"You know how I feel about this entire thing. Why won't you tell Rui about us? Do you know how hard it's been on me, trying to come up with excuses for every time I disappear each month to come see you? Why can't we just tell them that we're seeing each other?"

"I . . . I just . . . " she stammered. Her mouth opened and snapped shut, not finding the words. "I just can't okay. Rui is the last person to know about THIS!" Her hands frantically waved in the air showing the enormous proportions of the topic itself.

"Whatever. All you care about is your precious Rui and what he thinks of you. Heaven forbid that he would find out you're seeing someone like me."

"It's not like that," she protested.

"Then tell how it is."

"It's too hard to explain to you right now, okay? I don't know about you, but I'm leaving." She turned around and snatched her bag storming off across the lawn dodging the loitering crowds on the Great Lawn in Central Park.

"Wait up!" Akira yelled, grabbing her hand, not letting her walk out on the fight.

It wasn't the first time they had gotten into a little spat. The past few weeks, there was a noticeable change in their interactions. It seemed like everything was building up to this moment, when the façade of normal would crumble. The green-eyed monster of jealousy was coming into play. His friends, pride, suspicion, and guilt were a few steps behind.

She continued walking, dragging him along with the brisk pace she was making. The fact his hand was firmly holding onto hers made little effect to deter her from escaping.

"Tsukushi!"

She stopped in mid step, spinning around to see the person yelling her name. Her face paled a bit before a fake smile was plastered on her face. The last person she expected to see at the moment had to show up right now to make the day even more perfect.

"Hi, Kin."

"Hey," he greeted her, a little out of breath from the run over.

"I didn't know you were back in town already. How was your family?"

"Good. I just got back a few days ago. I decided to cut my visit short. I would have called you earlier, but I was holed up in my apartment catching up on the mail and whatnot. You know how it is trying to get over the jet lag. I didn't expect to see you here after you told me how busy you were with the internship and all. Who's this?" he looked down at their interlocked hands.

She reacted as if she were burned by fire with his touch. Her hand was instantly pulled away. "This is umm . . . my friend . . . Akira. He's visiting for a while, and I decided to skip work for a few days to show him around."

"Nice to meet you." Kin outstretched his hand to offer a friendly handshake.

"Same here," Akira gritted out. Thoughts of meeting "the other man" raced through his mind.

"Well, we should really get going now. I'll call you later, Kin." Tsukushi stepped between the two men separating them. A bit of fear flashed through her, hoping that the look in Akira's eyes was nothing.

"Sure." Kin stepped forward wrapping his arms around Tsukushi in a protective manner. He leaned down and kissed her full on the lips giving her little time to respond and process what was going on. "I've missed you," he murmured into her ear. "I'll talk to you soon." With that said, he walked away leaving the aftermath he had caused for Tsukushi to deal with.

She closed her eyes hoping that when she turned around Akira would have miraculously disappeared. Luck was not on her side when she opened them. His face was blank, which could only be the beginning of bad things. "So that was Kin."

"The ex-boyfriend, huh?" he snorted.

"Well, not exactly. He kind of lost that title when we started dating again."

"Have you slept with him?"

Shock etched across her features. "What did you just ask me?"

"I asked if you were sleeping with him. You must be doing something with him to get a response like that from him."

"That's really none of your business." She could feel the anger rising up in her. "Why does it matter if I am? You sleep with other girls all the time, and you make that no secret. What if I am?"

"Then I'd say you're a cheap slut like the rest of them to give it up so easily."

The remark stung like a fresh slap across the face. At that moment, she couldn't stand the sight of him. The hurt was only deepened by the fact that he showed no remorse for what he had said. She wanted to start crying right there, revealing the effect his words had on her, but pride prevented her from giving him the satisfaction of knowing how easily he had wounded her. Her voice steadied, taking away all emotion. "If that is how you feel about me, then I think we don't need to continue this deprecation of my character. I think you should go back to your hotel now. We're both very angry right now, and I don't want to continue this conversation any longer. Goodbye."

He watched her walk away form him and made no move to stop her. Anger consumed him, mixed with jealousy and stubborn pride. He refused to apologize for what he said, but knew he would later regret those words. He did the only thing he knew to do. He went back to the hotel.

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Two days. Two days had passed in the blink of an eye and there he was, packing up the last of his suitcase. While he had predicted his last two days in New York to be much more positive, things didn't work out as planned. After their fall-out the other day, neither of them had made any effort to call the other. Akira refused out of his own stubborn will, choosing to deny he was jealous and had let those hurtful words slip out of his lips like water. So, there he was, spending his last few hours packing alone.

With the last of the gifts he promised his sisters and mother upon his return, he flopped onto the bed. His eyes turned towards the phone calling out to him, but he resisted the temptation. All it would take was a call to end the silent treatment going on between them. His heart begged him to just get over himself and apologize. He was seconds away from breaking his resolve and dialing a number, but a knock at the door stopped him.

He tiredly stumbled towards the door, stifling the yawn trying to escape from his mouth. "Who is it?" The door was pulled open without any thought of who was standing on the other side.

"Hi." Tsukushi weakly waved. She shot him a wary smile, unsure of the flabbergasted look on his face. "Can I come in?"

He mutely nodded his head, stepping aside for her to enter. His heart lifted a bit that she had caved in, coming to see him after the blow up a few days earlier. A tinge of smugness hit him, knowing that she would take the first step to reconcile. No effort or sacrifice to his ego would be made.

She stopped in the middle of the lavish suite with her back to him. There was an eerie calm, which was quite uncharacteristic of her. It was like in the few seconds her presence graced the room, everything stopped for her alone. Her posture remained rigid, and her face fixed in some distant blank expression, completely lacking any emotion at all. Her arms wrapped tightly across her chest, as if guarding some great secret from the rest of the world.

"This ends here."

The words hit him at full force, taking him to utter shock. That small victory he had planned in his mind of being right and her wrong flew out of the window. The statement was foreign to him, lacking any true meaning. He closed the door, which had been left ajar in her swift entrance. His feet moved to approach her, and when his hand reached to touch her shoulder, she took two steps forward, making him miss his target.

"Why?"

A cynical laugh hauntingly echoed in the air. "Isn't it obvious?" she dryly asked. "We were always alike, you and I. We always did like playing with fire. I was the one who believed that the world revolved around freedom and chance. You didn't play by the rules either. Now we both got burnt tasting a bit of reality, huh?"

"You're not making much sense." His gaze hardened on the back of her head. It was annoying him to great lengths the fact that she would not turn to face him. "So, you are cutting the ties?"

"Yes. We always agreed that either one of us could end this when things stopped being fun. They were going downhill for quite awhile. I should have noticed that we were headed in this direction when the visits became more frequent and the calls daily. We were becoming too dependent on each other. You have to admit that this never would have lasted very long to begin with." Her voice strained under the utter bluntness of her words. They were true after all. After ignoring the signs for so long, they all came flying at her in one crushing blow.

"We've fought like this before. I'm not exactly thrilled to end it like this. Would it make a difference if I apologized for the things I said?"

"I've had the last two days to think this over, and this is for the best. I'm doing us both a favor."

"You could at least look at me when we break up," he snorted in distaste.

Tsukushi spun around on her heels, coming face to face with him. They stood a mere foot away, but it felt more like a chasm had thrust them miles apart. "This is exactly what I'm talking about. Look at what we're becoming. I'm starting to not even recognize the person I see in front of me. What happened to the happy go lucky guy I met at Christmas? Where is the guy who suggested that as long as this was fun we would continue this?! I'm sick of all of this!" she screamed, not caring if the people in the next room or down the hall heard her cry of frustration. "I don't like what I'm becoming. I lie to my friends. I feel these compelling urges to hurt those other women you're with. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Maggie sure as hell was right when she said this would end horribly." Hot tears began to streak down her pale cheeks. Her arms hugged tighter across her chest, trying to hold back the furious choked sobs fighting to break free.

Akira stepped over the invisible line keeping him away, not caring what the consequences were. His arms reached out to pull her into some kind of soothing embrace. However, it had only the opposite effect, making her body tremble more violently. She braced her hands against his chest trying to get some leverage to push herself away, but he refused to let her go that easily.

"What can I do to make things better?" His voice cracked slightly.

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. This is about me and not you. I don't know how you feel about this entire thing, but I can't go on much longer like this. Do you know I called you a few nights before you flew out here? A woman answered the phone. She said you were in the shower, and when she asked who I was, I didn't even know what to tell her. I don't know what I am to you. I know for sure that we've passed over that line of just being friends a long time ago. If we do this now maybe we can salvage what is left of this defunct friendship. It hurts. It hurts so much sometimes that I can't breath."

"I don't understand. Is it because you don't like the other women? You have Kin."

"He just complicates things more. It's unfair to him that I do this. He and I actually might have a chance, but not right now. I know he wants more, but I can't. I won't let him close enough because of you." She shrugged herself out of his arms, seeing the rigid stance he took at the knowledge of what was to come. "Are you willing to change? Can you promise me that it could just be you and me?"

His face fell downwards to stare at the ground. The words just couldn't be found to pacify her. In his heart, he knew he wanted more than anything to ease her suffering, but he just couldn't do it. Here she was laying all the cards down, and all he had to do was knock them off the table. His long silence was the least cruel method to answer her question. Any weak attempts at forming coherent sentences would have lead to a massacre on her fragile ego.

She managed to pull herself together, and nodded her head. "I understand." Her light footsteps could be heard as she walked past him towards the door.

"Exactly when did things stop being fun?" His question accidentally came out aloud instead of inside his mind. His mind was still reeling from the fact that for the first time in his entire life, a woman would be leaving him.

"Do you really need to hear it?"

"Yes," he barely whispered. It was masochistic to want to hear her say it. It was her last words to him that would plague him for months to come. Every time he heard those words repeating in his mind, his heart would swell a bit before constricting into a strangling chokehold.

Her voice carried across the room to his almost deaf ears. "When I realized I was falling in love with you."

And with that said, he let her go.

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