A/N: This will be a very jumpy chapter. I apologize beforehand.

Part: 5/9

Day 4

(Rukawa)

The alarm went off and I hit it. I yawned, wanting to get up but found it difficult to breath. My chest felt tight...constricted. I couldn't even sit up. I glanced over at the clock, '11…I got an hour, what should I do?'


(Sendoh)

I frowned, 'Where's Rukawa? He's really late. Is he ok? It's been more than an hour now.'

I remember he said he's living in a hotel, I went to the phone booth and flipped through the phone book, 'Hotels…hotels…hotel…ah-ha!'


(Blare)

I frowned and paused, 'Should I go? As a person about to die…should I be doing this? He'll be really sad when I die…I know he will… I can't be so selfish. I shouldn't be so selfish. But…I really, really want be selfish, just this one more time…'


(Rukawa)

I opened the door and found Sendoh standing there with his hand posed in the air about to knock.

He smiled, "Hey! Sensed me coming didn't you? I didn't even have to knock."

I got over my initial surprise and asked, "Why are you here?"

"Well, you didn't show up and I got really worried. Are you, ok?"

"Fine…how did you even know I was here?" I asked.

He smiled and held out his red knuckles, "Well, I made a lot of phone calls to different hotels, and did a lot of door knocking. Why did you have to stay in the 8th floor?"

"Do'aho," I muttered.

"So why didn't you show up?" he asked.

"I never said I would."

"But you never said you wouldn't either," he stated, "guess what I got."

"Rabies."

"No…and that was a terrible guess by the way. Care to guess again?" he asked.

"No," I stated.

"Symphony tickets for 7 tonight."

"So?"

"So, I got two tickets and I'm inviting you," he said.

"Don't want to go."

"But you owe me, remember?" he asked, "drink yesterday."

"You think I owe you a date because you got me a 3.00 drink?" I asked, "what do you take I am?"

"Don't be so angry. I think of you as my friend," Sendoh said.

"Friend…" I repeated.

"Yep. So what do you say Kaede? Will you go out with me?"

After some thought I told him, "It's only 4:30 right now. Come in."

"Hai!" he said.


(Sendoh)

He had a big, nice room, should be quite expensive, "Kaede, you plan to live here long? Looked for an apartment yet?"

"No," he said.

"You can come live with me," I said.

"No!"

"Why not?" I asked pouting.

"Because I don't want to."

I stared at him, "You really don't want to live with me?"

"No."

I sighed but kept my gaze on him, after two minutes of relentless staring, Kaede finally asked, "Why are you staring at me?"

"Two reasons. One, you're the most interesting thing in the room. Two, you won't come and live with me, so I thought I might as well take as much of you in, as I can right now."

He turned away, blushing.

'Kawaii,' it was all I could do to keep from teasing him, "why did you come to Kanagawa, anyways?"

"Because I felt like it."

"What type of guys do you like?"

That got his attention, since he turned back to me and asked, "Who said I liked guys?"

"Wow, defensive. I meant as friends, unless you only have female friends. Do you like guys?" I asked suggestively.

He chose not to reply my question but I prompt him, "Hello…"

"Don't like guys, or girls. Humans in general are annoying."

I laughed, "But I'm human."

"Which is why you're annoying."

"What about your parents?"

"They're dead."

"Oh…sorry," I said feeling uncomfortable, 'baka, Sendoh! I should've pointed out that he was human.'

"Why? It's not like you killed them," Kaede stated calmly.

"…"


That night:

(Rukawa)

The symphony was good but I felt very sleepy. I yawned discreetly and tried to stay awake, to keep my eyes open, but failed. The music was very soothing and I felt more comfortable than I had in a long, long time.

The last thought in my head before I fell asleep was, 'Am I feeling this way because of this baka next to me?'


I felt a hand gently pat my cheek, "Wake up Sleeping Beauty, don't tell me you need to be awakened by a kiss like in the fairytales."

I blinked and realized my head was resting on his shoulders, "Baka."

He laughed, "Guess not. How disappointing. Come on, I'll take you home."

I got up and wiped my cheek which felt moist, 'Yuck! Was I drooling! That's terrible.'


Akira drove me to the parking lot and stopped the car.

"Gomen."

"Huh? For what?" he asked.

"For sleeping."

Sendoh smiled, "Don't worry about it. I didn't mind. Come on I'll walk you back to your room."

"No need."

"But it's dangerous for someone as beautiful as you to walk back alone."

'Dangerous? Probably a lot more dangerous with you around,' I thought and stated, "I can take care of myself."

"I know you can take care of yourself but wouldn't it be better if someone else took care of you?" he asked and added, "and it is the gentlemanly thing to do at the end of a date, ne?"

'Date?'

"Most importantly though, I want to stay with you a bit longer."

"Don't say such things."

"Why?" Akira asked, "it's the truth."

I tried to open the door but it was locked, "Open the door."

"What are you so scared about?" he asked.


(Sendoh)

"You should know how I feel about you," I said.

"No, I don't."

"Then I'll tell you now. I love you."

"Liar," he muttered.

"I can be a liar, I've been known to lie at times, but never to someone I love," I stated.

"How can you love me when you don't even know me?" he challenged.

"I do know you. I know you're able to give me a feeling I never had before, and I believe this feeling to be love. Time is irrelevant, all that matters is how we feel at the present moment. And don't you feel like we've known each other forever?"

Kaede frowned.

"You feel the same way too, right? Maybe you can deny my love for you as being real, but can you deny your feelings for me as being real?" I asked.

Kaede finally stopped tugging on the door handle.

I couldn't help but think, 'Power locks, what a wonderful concept.'

I reached over and turned his face towards me, "You do love me, right?"

He was still.

"Please tell me yes, anything else will devastating."

Kaede finally nodded.

I leaned over to kiss him. He didn't move away or fight it. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to enjoy the moment, to forget everything as he moved closer to me.


"So…we're here…"

Kaede nodded.

I didn't want to let go of his hand. I don't think I ever want to let go. I never wanted to keep something so badly, "Maybe I should move in with you."

Kaede blushed, "That's a bit fast, don't you think?"

"Fast…yeah…"

"I should go inside," he said.

"Yeah, I guess you should."

"Well, you got to let go of my hand first," he pointed out.

'Let go…' I looked at him, "how about one more kiss?"

He nodded and closed his eyes.

He looked so angelic and trusting at the moment. I leaned over and kissed him on the forehead, "Good-night. See you tomorrow, kay?"

He looked surprised and nodded.

I let go of him and ran off, 'Can't believe I told him or that he feels the same. But I guess you got to take a risk or two. What to do tomorrow?'

TBC

A/N: I got slight writer's block and don't know when I'll be updating…wish me luck