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Chapter Two - Deccelerate

Ayuru groaned as he opened his eyes. Rolling over, he stared at the small silver clock that said it was 8:40. Groaning, he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He had to get to work soon. Sighing, he pushed himself off the bed and towards the bathroom.

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"Good morning Gi-san. You're early today." Ayuru's lips quirked slightly at the old florist's remark. The elderly man carefully put together Ayuru's arrangement, wrapping the roses in white tissue, and then plastic wrap. A light purple ribbon tied around the bouquet, hiding the tape that fastened the wrappings together. "So how have you been? It has been so busy that we never exchange any words."

"I'm quite well, Tekuda-san. How have you been lately?" The old man smiled as he began to ring up the blonde's order.

"I have been visited by all my grandchildren. Cna you believe that little Sakura-chan is already talking? Just yesterday it seems she had come out of her mother's womb." Ayuru nodded his head, not really understanding the man's nostalgia. "Well, there you are." He handed the man his credit card, watched as the man slid it through, putting the charge onto the card. He handed the card back to the blonde, and smiled. "You'll understand when you have children, Gi-san," he finally said, before the blonde left, nodding his head to the old man. He sighed, walking in the frosty, late November air. His feet took him to the local cemetery. He walked around the silent area, being the only living being in sight. He finally stopped at a large grave stone. Upon it, in large inscribed kanji, read "Gi". He bent and placed the flowers before the carved block. Finally, after some silent thoughts, he bowed his head, and turned around, walking away from the large grave stone.

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"Hey Kyou? Come out here." The dark haired chef shrugged, handing his utensil to an assistant chef. He walked out into the hall to see Ayuru standing there with his cell phone in his hand and a bouquet of gladiolus? "Do you have any idea what these may be?" Kyou shook his head as he stared at the bouquet. It was strange, seeing those flowers. Not many people knew but those were Ayuru's favorite type of flowers. They had been his mother's favorite as well. The flowers were quite young, still not fully bloomed, their rich reddish-orange petals closed tightly. Kyou then frowned, plucking out a small envelope from between the leaves

"Why don't you read the card, Ayuru?" he asked dryly.

"Oh. I didn't see that." Ayuru grabbed the envelope, opening it to pull out the card, as he handed the dark haired chef the flowers. Kyou watched quietly as Ayuru first frowned, they looked skeptical, and finally a dark look set over the blonde. He stuck the card back into the envelope, and took the bouquet from Kyou, heading for his office.

"Oy! Ayuru! What is it?" The blonde took in a deep breath and then looked over at his best friend.

"Nothing," he finally replied. Kyou scoffed as his friend walked away, but he didn't question it. He knew the blonde would tell him, sooner or later.

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Ayuru sighed as he stepped into his office.

"Stupid fucking poem," he muttered as he threw the flowers down on his desk. He then took off his coat and placed it on the back of his chair.

"I see you got the flowers." Ayuru jumped at the voice. He turned and wished he hadn't. It must have been some cruel joke. Those distinctive blue eyes, that golden hair. That vision staring back at him.

"Ayuru!" The laughter coming from the thin young woman made the young man smile as he swung her around. Her bonny blue eyes twinkled, laughter leaving her pink lips. She was beautiful. He stopped then suddenly, bringing her closer to him, hugging her dearly.

"I love you," he whispered, his voice sincere, his eyes reflecting the heartfelt emotion.

"I know," she answered. She hugged himself, her face tucked into his collarbone.

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"AYURU!" The blonde male kissed the young woman's sweaty brow as she screamed in ecstacy. She was his first, and his first love.

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The blonde stared in silent shock at what he saw. Spinning on his heel, he left the way he came, leaving the young woman he loved with a heated embrace with another male he knew.

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"Ayuru,. I'm sorry," she whispered, brokenly. He didn't turn, holding the glass of scotch in his hand, his knuckles white. She knew he was angry, but she hadn't meant for this to happen. She hadn't meant to do that to him.

"Just leave me now. Just leave," he finally spoke, his voice barely above a silent whisper. The female nodded as tears streamed down her porcelain cheeks.

"I'm sorry," she whispered as she closed the door. The male finally closed his eyes, trying to calm the storm that raged inside of him.

"Taria." Ayuru finally spoke as he woke from the trance. He looked at the woman sitting in front of him. She had changed. She had grown out her hair again, it seemed, the golden strands left open to brush against her waist. Her features had matured as well. Her eyes no longer large and innocent, now just staring at him strangely, theirlustrouss twinkle gone. Five years had changed her.

"How are you Ayuru?" she asked pleasantly, her voice calm.

"What are you doing here, Taria?" he answered, coldly, curtly. She smiled brokenly, a remorseful quirk of her lips.

"I don't know really. I wanted to see you. See what had happened to you."

"You mean after you left?" The question was rhetorical. She knew that, but she wanted to answer, needed to answer.

"Hai." It was silent, Ayur now standing at his window, staring out at Tokyo. Oh how similar it seemed to the two, her sitting watching his back as he tried to ignore her and control the pain inside. "I left him after about a year. He wasn't interested in a long term relationship. So I left. I packed and left, moving to Kyoto. I now currently live there."

"So why are you here?" Ayuru quietly asked, trying to control his anger and his sorrow.

"I wanted to see some old friends, visit the old hang outs. You know, see my past."

"But why are you here?" He stressed the word 'here', wanting to know why she sat in his office, tormenting him. He spun around, allowing her to see the raging fire in his eyes. "What do you want from me, Taria!" He grabbed her thin shoulders tightly, shaking her slightly.

"I wanted to make amends!" she finally answered as she broke down, tears falling form her eyes. "I wanted to make things right again! I wanted to make up for my mistake!" Ayuru let go of her immediately as if burned by her touch. He spun around then.

"Did you think you win me back, Taria? Did you think I was going to open my arms to you as if nothing happened?" he asked mirthlessly. Taria took in a deep breath, getting control on herself again.

"Iie," she answered, sniffling. She stood up then, grabbing her coat. "I'm sorry I came here. I thought maybe I could make things right. But I guess you can't rewind time. I'm so sorry Ayuru. I truly, deeply, from the bottom of my heart hope that one day, you meet someone who will cherish you completely. In the way, you deserve. Sayonara," she finally whispered as she turned around, walking out of the office.

"Sayonara Taria," Ayuru whispered quietly, as he watched her leave.


(A/N): Ahh! Illusions-chan writes angst! It's the sign of the apocalypse!

LOL. But seriously, that was some major angst! Crap! This is what happens when you force a poor teenage author to read Greek tragedy!

Anyway, I wanted to make sure that everyone understood that the writing in italics is all flashback.

Also, in this chapter, you meet Taria, who someone from Ayuru's past. I'll explain what exactly happened later, but in this scene, I just needed to write it to show that Ayuru : (1) is not obsessed with his job and is human, and (2) he's been hurt before.

Taria is actually a character from Seiren Den, the Nakago novel. I recommend that everyone reads it. You'll cry at the end. I did. I felt so bad for Naka-chan! Illusions-chan glomps her SD Nakago plushie In this, however, I've kind of made Taria into a bitch, which has made me dislike her all together. (Bah! Great job!)

Also, big props to my lovely beta-reader and personal Dr. Phil, Pinkpanther141. You rock girlie!

Anyway, as always, please leave your comments, thoughts, suggestions, WHATEVER!

Review and Recommend!

Till next time, Ja!