My Everything

Chapter 18: Seeking comfort

Everything seemed to be polished with a gleaming coat of white. Everything was so…………………………………..sterile.

"He's in here," the dark haired man guided the blue eyed girl to a door marked Intensive Care- Suite 07. "Because of your father's position he's been given the best suite in the hospital," he added wryly and Akina merely nodded numbly in response.

Now that she was actually in the hospital and standing in front of her father's door she wasn't at all certain that she wanted to see her father- not if his condition was as bad as everybody made it out to be.

Her father had always been a strong figure; she couldn't bear to see him in this kind of state. She squeezed her eyes shut, effectively blocking the tears' escape route.

"Aki-chan?" Kenzo noticed how her hand was clenched around the doorknob. "You don't have to see him right now. You can always come back and visit later."

"I-I," Akina faltered before determinedly swallowing back her choked tears. "I want to see him now."

With that she twisted the door knob and stepped into the room. Her emerald flecked orbs darted over to the bed on which her father, seemingly lifeless, lay oblivious to his surroundings.

There was a sharp intake of breath from the petite girl before she stepped forward to her father's side with a reassuring smile from the young man.

The colour had all but drained away from the older man's face, leaving him with a somewhat gray pallor. His chest rose and fell with shallow breaths and tucked in tightly in the crisp white sheets made it appear as though he had aged 20 years.

Collapsing into the chair next to the bed, Akina's head fell onto her father's arm, her shoulders shaking with silent tears.

Kenzo merely dragged a chair over to her side, and Akina twisted around to fall into his arms, her tears dripping onto his azure silk shirt.

"I'm sorry," he simply told her and Akina's head snapped up, emerald flecked orbs glaring angrily at him from underneath a sea of tears.

"You're sorry? How is that supposed to help? You could never understand-" Akina broke off, words failing her.

"I could never understand what you're going through?" Kenzo quietly finished her sentence. "In case you've forgotten my father died from a brain tumor when I was 9."

"I'm sorry Kenzo," Akina sniffled, her stomach twisting itself into a cold knot. "I shouldn't have snapped at you like that."

"It's okay," Kenzo assured her, "It's understandable considering your current situation."

"It's just that, I don't want to lose Dad, I can't lose him. When Mum died there was a gaping void which I though I'd never fill, but lately since-" At that the dark haired girl abruptly trailed off and Kenzo merely nodded understandingly. Kai. "But now, if Dad dies, I'll be alone, truly alone."

"You will never be alone Akina," Kenzo tilted her head gently up so that their eyes met. "Haven't I told you a million times before? I'll always be here for you, no matter what."

"I know Kenzo," a ghost of a smile flickered over her lips but vanished as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm being so stupid, crying and everything. I'm sorry, it seems that I've made your shirt wet."

Kenzo chuckled, Akina still managed to worry over such trivial things at a time like this. "It doesn't matter. I think I have 3 other shirts like this anyway."

The laughter seemed to choke in Akina's throat and no matter how hard she seemed to try, there was no way for her to stop all the tears which now flowed seamlessly from her eyes.

"I shouldn't be crying, I need to be strong now, strong for Dad." Akina wiped an arm over her face to scrub away the tears which only continued to flow stubbornly.

"It's okay, go ahead and cry," Akina blinked at him once, twice through her tears before falling completely into his arms, crystal tears trailing watery paths down her cheeks. "It'll be okay Akina-chan," the dark eyed man murmured soothingly against her silky raven tresses.

The blue haired teen swiftly ducked the punching bag which swung dangerously close to his head and assumed his fighting stance before his fists and feet broke out in a flurry of movements, each of all aimed precisely at the center of the punching bag.

After several more minutes of numerous combinations of kicks and punches, Kai stepped back from the still swinging back and wiped his brow.

He had been at it for nearly 2 hours now, he had nearly lost track of time. He stumbled wearily over to the bench and slumped down. Perhaps it hadn't been the best idea to train non-stop for two hours. He was in danger of collapsing of pure exhaustion. His 2 hours work out session had done nothing to distract him from all thoughts of Akina. But even though he tried as hard as he could to block all thoughts of Akina, they still managed to push past the barriers and filter into his mind.

Closing his auburn eyes, he back leaned against the brick wall, his breath coming out in gasps but his eyes jerked open when Akina's tear-filled eyes drifted into his mind.

He could not afford to think of Akina now. She was safe from harm this way. Never mind if she was hurt, Akina was strong, she'd get over him. In time she'd find somebody else, somebody else she'd love, somebody who wouldn't endanger her.

"Hiwatari-sama?" a voice crackled through the intercom. "You have a visitor. She's waiting for you in the lounge room. Should I send her up?"

At the mention of 'her,' Kai's chest tightened.

Akina had come to see him?

Sighing, he crossed the room to the intercom, "I'll be right down."

As he descended down the spiraling staircase he firmly told himself that he'd just tell Akina as gently as he could that she shouldn't come to see him anymore.

But a little voice in the back of his mind whispered that it would have been a simple matter for him to have a servant turn Akina away.

Kai adamantly refused to admit to himself that he wanted to see Akina. Perhaps in time, like in a few years, he'd be able to see her without his chest tightening at the very sight of her.

Rounding around the corner, Kai stepped into the tastefully furnished lounge and the words were already forming, prepared to push Akina away once more but his mouth dropped open.

Instead of his slender raven haired girlfriend- ex-girlfriend, he corrected himself absently- he had expected to see perched on the edge of a black leather sofa he was confronted with the sight of an extremely smug looking blonde who leaped up immediately when he appeared in the doorway.

Kai halted, not quite sure if his eyes were deceiving him or not.

What the fuck was Melissa doing here?

Where was Akina? She was the one who was supposed to be here.

"Surprised to see me honey-bun?" Melissa sauntered over to the blue haired teen, her hips swinging in a too-wide arch.

Honey-bun? Kai's auburn eyes widened incredulously.

"I was so worried about you when you suddenly left the classroom that I just had to come and see if you're okay." Melissa pouted as she sidled closer to Kai and the auburn eyed teen instinctively stepped back to avoid coming into a 2meter radius within the blonde.

"What are you doing here?" Kai glared frostily at Melissa.

"Is that anyway to greet your future fiancé?" Kai struggled to keep his face impassive. Future fiancé? What the hell was going on?

"If you think that I would ever consent to marrying you than I'm afraid you must be delusional."

"I see you are surprised to see me. Your words wound me Kai-kun," Melissa hissed, her thin lips twisting into an ugly scowl before turning upwards into a falsely sweet smile. "Who were you expecting to see? Your dear Hiragazaki?"

"Don't even start," each syllable was clipped as Kai struggled to restrain from smashing Melissa's smirking face with his fist.

"Or what? Your little ex-girlfriend," Melissa emphasized the ex, "can't do anything. She's powerless weak; I can't even begin to imagine why you would even want to have anything to do with her." Kai's hands clenching into fists and his left brow twitching were the only visible signs of his accumulating rage. But Melissa, too wrapped up in her gloating, was too occupied to notice these minor warnings. "Why would you want her when you could have me? I am everything- I have immense power at my disposal, my family is extremely wealthy and I have the beauty supermodels can only dream of."

"As I pointed out before, you are delusional. You don't have any power at all, your father is nearly bankrupt due to your lavish shopping sprees and you are an ugly, spiteful, resentful bitch who only takes joy in the pain of others. And yet you have the nerve to ask me why I would choose Akina over you?" The words flowed out of Kai's mouth accompanied by a short bark of laughter. "You really are something you know that?"

"Why you-" Melissa howled and her fist flew through the air but was calmly intercepted by Kai's hand which closed over hers in an icy iron-clad grip.

"If I never see you again it will be too soon." Kai spat storming off, "I want you off the property immediately. If you choose to hang around security will have to escort you off the premises. Don't ever come near me again- I've already broken Akina's heart, don't tempt me to break your neck."

The raven haired girl was led out of the hospital, still sniffling and dabbing at the tears in her eyes.

"We'll be going back to my apartment." Kenzo informed the chauffer crisply.

"Your apartment?" Akina caulked her head to one side in confusion.

"Yes, you need to sleep. You might not be feeling it now but the jet lag will catch up to you."

"But I thought I'd be staying at a hotel."

An amused smile tugged at the corners of Kenzo's mouth. "A hotel? No, I can't say that your father would approve of that. And I don't think it would be a good thing for you to stay in one of your father's apartments by yourself right now." There was a pause while Kenzo apparently contemplated this thought. "There's more than enough room in my apartment. Unless you have any objections that is?"

Akina shrugged her shoulders and Kenzo took that as her consent.

Akina had almost forgotten that Kenzo had gone through a stage when he was 10 where he had determined to become a lawyer. He had studied all the law books he could get his hands on and talked to her in legal jargon and being the 8-year-old she was at that time, she hadn't any idea about what he was on about. Of course eventually that phase had passed but since then Kenzo had always been able to structure his arguments in such a way that he was able to subtly persuade another to share his view.

A wry smile twitched at Akina's lips, many people had always remarked that Kenzo had a natural charisma which drew people to him like a flame draws a moth. Of course being extremely good looking also had something to do with it. Girls always seemed to flock to him, swooning as he turned his midnight eyes their way. But Kenzo had always been a serious, determined and self-focused boy since he was young. In primary school, while boys his age were playing football and wrestling Kenzo was sitting aside studying the periodic table. In middle school while his friends were flirting and chasing after girls, he instead had enrolled in a pharmaceutical course and by the time he was 18 he had already completed a university course and earned himself a Bachelor of Business and Commerce degree. He had been the son of one of her father's friends so after graduation he was offered a position in her father's company. And now here he was, two years later the Director of the Hong Kong branch of the Hiragazaki Company.

But even with his successful career, Kenzo had still remained the same person he had been when she had first met him when she was 5-years-old. Quiet, reserved, regarding everything seriously with those dark midnight eyes.

"Akina-chan? We're here." Akina blinked, her train of thought interrupted as she realized that Kenzo had opened the passenger door and was staring at her expectantly. "What are you thinking about? I've been speaking to you for the past few minutes but you spaced out."

"Huh? I have?" They entered a towering silver domed building and an elevator's door slid open smoothly.

"Yes, you have." Kenzo smiled wryly and pressed the 'penthouse' button.

"You live in a penthouse now?" Akina arched an eyebrow curiously and the dark haired man grimaced. Last time she had visited him he had been living in a modest two bedroom apartment.

"Yes, your father insisted that I move out of my two-bedroom apartment into living quarters more suitable for a Director of the Hong Kong branch." Midnight eyes rolled in Akina's direction.

"Ooh, all high and mighty now aren't you?" Akina teased lightly as Kenzo held the door open to allow her to slip through first. Akina eyed the penthouse, her almond shaped orbs taking into the simple yet tasteful furnished penthouse. "I see you've certainly moved up in the world."

Kenzo's reply was to merely shrug his shoulders and thanked the chauffer who had set down Akina's small bag near the door. "This is only a one-bedroom apartment so you can have my room and I'll take the couch."

"Oh no Kenzo, I couldn't do that." A frown creased Akina's features. "The couch will be fine for me."

"Don't be stupid Aki," the young man nudged her gently towards a closed door which obviously led to a bedroom. "What kind of person would I be if I allowed you to sleep on the couch?"

Sighing Akina reluctantly went into the bedroom with Kenzo following closely behind her carrying her bag. Kenzo had always been as stubborn as she was.

The dark haired girl glanced around her friend's bedroom, not particularly surprised at the simple furnishings- a large double bed covered with forest green sheets, bedside tables and a door leading off to what she presumed was a walk-in-robe.

"Hungry?" Kenzo inquired, tugging open the door which as Akina had predicted led to a walk-in-robe.

"No, not really. Just tired."

"Well if you need anything just ask me," Kenzo exited the room with a shirt and a pair of pants bundled in his hand and closed the door behind him.

Sighing, Akina dug through her bag, scowling when she failed to find a pair of PJs. Damn. In her hasty departure she had forgotten to pack a pair of PJs. Rolling her almond shaped eyes at the ceiling, she left the room but immediately came to a halt.

Kenzo's back was facing her and he had already changed into a pair of loose khaki pants and was in the process of taking off his shirt.

Akina must've made some sort of sound because the dark haired man turned around, almost as if he could feel her gaze.

Akina's emerald flecked orbs were drawn his well-chiseled body, her eyes running over the muscle contours of his abs.

"Akina-chan?" Kenzo's voice cut through the daze in her mind and Akina's cheeks immediately heated up when she realized that she had been staring.

"Huh?" the petite girl replied intelligently, forcing her gaze away from his chest.

"Are you okay?" Kenzo's dark eyes scrutinized her with concern. Had she just been staring at him?

"Oh." Akina suddenly remembered why she had come to find him in the first place. "I forgot my PJs."

"Hm, well I'm sure we'll be able to improvise." Kenzo, still shirtless, walked back into the bedroom with the blue eyed girl trailing after him.

"Take your pick," a wide array of shirts stretched out on both sides of Akina, ranging from pale powder blue to midnight black as dark as Kenzo's eyes.

"Err………….." Akina murmured, pulling a pale powder blue shirt off a hanger as she quickly pushed away the memory of having to pick out one of Kai's shirts so long ago.

After donning the shirt, she walked through the apartment, looking for the dark haired man.

After passing through a stainless steel high-tech kitchen with a computerized fridge, she slipped past a glass sliding door to find Kenzo leaning against the railing of an expanse balcony which overlooked shinning lights of Hong Kong.

"Aki-chan," a lopsided grin tugged at Kenzo's mouth when the raven haired girl joined him at the railing. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Akina answered quietly as she turned her emerald flecked orbs towards the flickering lights below.

"You should get some sleep; you've had a rough day."

"That's an understatement," Akina muttered and shivered as a breeze swept past, sweeping up several strands of her dark hair.

"Your father's a strong man, he'll pull through," Kenzo assured Akina dropping an arm over her slender shoulders to shield her from the breeze. "Anyway, I want you to go to sleep now."

"You can't tell me what to do," Akina retorted childishly and Kenzo regarded her with amusement.

"I can and I will." He rolled his midnight eyes at her before ushering her off the balcony and towards the bedroom. "Besides, I always know what's best."

Several hours later, almond flecked orbs stared up at the darkened ceiling. Akina had been lying in bed for some time now and even though she was tired she couldn't seem to sleep- her mind was buzzing with fragmented thoughts.

I wonder what Kai's doing right now…………………….

……………………..I hope Dad will wake up soon………………

……………………….Ivy seems nice, I can tell that Tala really likes her……………..

…………………….Kenzo's really filled out nicely since I last saw him……………..

Akina quickly shook her head to clear it of that last thought, ignoring her rapidly heating cheeks. Where had that come from?

Here she was thinking about how fine Kenzo's abs were when Kai had broken up with her less than 24hrs ago.

Kai.

Just thinking of him caused a fresh wave of pain to wash over her.

Scowling in the darkness, Akina impatiently pushed off the blankets and padded out of the room barefooted with the intention of helping herself to whatever was in Kenzo's kitchen. She was hungry come to think of it which wasn't all too surprising considering that she hadn't eaten since the plane.

"What are you doing up?" a stern voice cut through the still night air and Akina pivoted around to confront the dark haired man who was seated on the couch in front of a laptop resting on the coffee table, thin black framed glasses framing his midnight orbs, making them appear even darker than usual.

"I could ask the same thing of you," the dark haired girl retorted changing her direction from the kitchen to towards Kenzo.

"I'm working. You have no reason to be up." Kenzo stated simply, as Akina dropped down onto the couch beside him.

Ignoring the young man's protest, Akina peered over his shoulder at the illuminated laptop screen and shook her head in disbelief. "You're doing work at-" her head swiveled around to glace at the clock behind them, "3am in the morning?"

"I'm used to it," Kenzo informed her before a frown appeared upon his chiseled features. "But you're not. Don't make me tell you to go to sleep again. You didn't answer my question before, why are you still up anyway?"

Akina hesitated for a moment, chewing her lower lip before answering. "I can't sleep."

"You can't sleep?" Kenzo's frown grew as he studied her closely. "Why not?"

"I-I can't stop thinking about Dad and-" Akina's voice faltered for a moment and Kenzo waited patiently for her to continue. "And Kai."

"Akina-chan, you know I have no experience in these matters, but I'll do anything I can to help you." Kenzo wrapped an arm around her and Akina rested her head on his shoulder, her pale blue orbs brimming with unreleased tears. "Look, you're colour-coordinated; your eyes match your shirt"

Kenzo knew it was a lame joke but he was willing to try anything, if only Akina would smile again.

"Kenzo," the whisper fell from Akina's lips as she nestled her head in his chest a single tear escaping from the corner of her eye as Kenzo gently smoothed back her hair.

"Kai I believe we need to talk."

Kai whirled around to confront the tall figure of his father who stood in the doorway of his bedroom.

"About what father?" Kai quirked a slate eyebrow.

"I think you already know," the older man seated himself in a leather chair opposite his son. "Did I or did I not inform you that if you were to pursue a relationship with Hiragazaki Akina that it would be a long-term relationship?"

Kai's auburn eyes narrowed. He had been anticipating this discussion with his father but he had not expected that it would occur so soon.

"This could not have come at a worst time," his father scowled deeply. "The Asian business sector is being thrown into turmoil and chaos since Li fell into a coma."

"Li? Hiragazaki Li?" Kai questioned, his mind frantically piecing together what his father had just told him.

"Who else?" his father waved his hand dismissively.

"What exactly happened?" A numb feeling became apparent in the pit of his stomach.

"You truly didn't know?" The older man regarded the blue haired teen coolly for a moment. "Your girlfriend's- or should I say ex-girlfriend now- father fell into a coma last night."

"What?" Kai froze at hearing the news.

"I heard she flew into Hong Kong last night after immediately receiving the news," his father mused aloud. "I suspect that she'll have to take over the business temporarily, at least until Li recovers. I'll have to speak to her myself when I go to Hong Kong tomorrow."

"You're going to Hong Kong?" Kai's mind was now racing with a dozen different possibilities.

"Of course," his father replied smoothly studying his son whose hands were now gripping the armrest of the chair.

"When do we leave?"

Sorry for not updating for a few weeks….been really busy lately but now that things have slowed down I'm hoping to update more. Anyway, hope you liked the chapter and please remember to review okay?