Tawna took the next week offline. Instead of coming home straight after school, she went to watch the boys soccer games or to the hospital or out to go shopping with Hirelena and Raine. The redhead was surprised to run into Tomonari's parents while she was out one afternoon. After an awkward conversation, her mother informed her that even though most of the doctors at the hospital had given up on him, his parents were not going to take him off life support because they still believed he would make it through this.
"Have you heard from Mai lately?" The junior asked, wanting to know how her friend's girlfriend was handling this.
"She's at the hospital everyday. She seems to have gotten better though. For a while she looked so miserable but now… she seems to be doing okay."
Tawna nodded. Now that the freshman was feeling better maybe she would have to talk to have a talk with her.
Sumiko surprised her by showing up Thursday night and informing her to bring all her friends over the next night to watch some of the newest blockbuster anime movies. Tawna spread the word and even persuaded Alyanae's offline player Tsukeike to take an afternoon off from her part-time job and join them at the apartment. The only ones she couldn't get a hold of was Kite and Hikaru, which oddly enough, hadn't been reachable all week.
With a group of teenagers and Sumiko and Mrs. Saganachi, they were a little pressed for space, especially in the small main room to the apartment that led into the kitchen to the left and the spare bedroom that sat directly in front of the TV a good ten feet back, right under the stairs to the top floor.
After a little talk and much persuading by Yue and Lena, Tawna gave in to the seating arrangements. If they were all going to enjoy the movies, some small sacrifices would have to be made. Yue had taken a seat right by the end of the couch in Tatsu's lap, snuggling against his chest, while Keita sat right next to the brown-headed senior, Lena in his arms as well, her small hands clinging to his outer silk shirt as she shifted to see the TV. Nenji had spread his tall lean body out on the floor, his chin resting on his hands while Raine was lying next to him, half in his embrace as he turned, pulling her closer. Tsukeike was sitting next to them, leaning back against Hiko's legs. Shinta was next to her, laying his head tiredly but blushingly against the older woman's shoulder. Mrs. Saganachi and Sumiko were taking up two of the places on the couch while Hiko took up the third, Tawna resting embarrassingly in his arms.
The redhead swallowed. She was never going to let her sister and her friends talk her into this again. Yet Hiko's body was warm, he was totally relaxed with the idea and she knew she would have been a lot less comfortable crammed on the floor with the others.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly, amber eyes looking back at him when the movie started to pick up and everyone seemed to get into it.
"Yeah." He responded just as quietly, amethyst looking down at her. "I'm fine. You don't weigh a thing." He told her with a smile.
Her cheeks went crimson. "That's not what I meant. I mean…are you okay that I'm this close to you? I don't want to be a bother-"
A finger on her lips silenced all her soft protests. "Tawna, you're never a bother."
She nodded her head, her eyes flashing back to the TV, but she couldn't hide the fact that she was blushing horribly. A little while later, she swallowed, but moved slightly, laying her head against his chest and a hand against his shirt. His only response was wrapping a small arm around her. The movie had lost her interest. It was a funny, she thought almost bitterly, to think of all the things that had lost her interest this week. It seemed the only comfort she could take in was in her friends. She sighed, closing her eyes tiredly. Lying this close she could hear Hiko's strong heartbeat beating rhythmically in her ears. His soft pulse was a sound that slowly lulled her away from the chatter of her friends and the sound of the anime to a deep sleep.
"Tawna! Tawna! You have to get up!"
The redhead bolted up with a start, her head knocking straight into Hiko's jaw. "Ow!" she cried, moving back irritably for a moment before she realized who she had run into. "Oh, Hiko, I'm so sorry!" she called, letting her forehead go when she saw him holding his jaw."
He grinned down at her. "You're fine. You're more then fine."
"Tawny! Your Mom said it was okay that you keep the computer!" Lena busted out, her green eyes shining.
"Lena! Hiko was going to tell her." Raine yelled at her, growling.
"Oh. Sorry." She grinned sheepishly.
"What are you all going on about?" the redhead blinked still sleepy.
"Mom went upstairs, but we've been arguing and talking for a while." Sumiko spoke up. "And well, the fact that Mom had had a conference with your G-Study advisor and on the deal that's going on kinda came up…and all your friends argued your case and well, Mom's going to let you keep the computer."
"……." The girl's amber eyes finally sparked. "No way…" she hugged the nearest person to her, which just happened to be Hiko. "You serious? You're not kidding?"
"Would we kid you?" Yue asked with a bright smile.
"Welcome to the computer-owning universe like the rest of us." Tatsu nodded.
"Congrats." Keita added.
"Wow…" she grinned, looking at all her friends after a moment, letting the thought sink in. "What time is it anyway? How long did I sleep?"
""Almost three hours. It's past eleven." Tsukeike told her, standing up. "And because its getting late I need to get out of here. I have work tomorrow morning early."
"Ow…that's no fun." Hirelena pouted.
"Yeah, but that's life. See you all online soon." She smiled at the group as she headed out, her long brown ponytail swishing against her back as she let herself out.
"So what now? I'm here for the evening." Yue asked, glancing up at their hostess.
"I think we should hook up the Playstation and get the gaming started." Shinta grinned. "I brought it with me, just for that purpose."
"Fine, but don't think you're going to beat me kid. Yesterday was the last time I'll ever let you win." Tatsu retorted as the freshman began hooking up the machine.
"He doesn't have to beat you if I kick your ass first." Keita shot him a teasing glance.
"I think you should stick at soccer. It's about the only damn thing you're good at." The chocolate-headed senior told him coldly, but with an arrogant grin.
"If Keita can't beat you, I think I could." Hiko smiled at him. "Or Nenji."
"I think I can take you Tatsu-kun." Lena stuck out her tongue at him.
"Not a chance in hell kid." He replied, hitting start as the game loaded. "Rules simple. You lose, you hand the controller over. I'll start since I will be the hardest to knock out of play."
And so Tatsu played through Keita, Nenji, Hiko and Shinta as well as making Lena bust out in sniffs with her defeat.
"You wanna try?" Hiko asked the girl sitting in his lap, offering her the controller.
"Sure…how do I play?"
"Button bash." Raine told her as the fight started.
"Oh! There you go Tawna! Kick his butt!" Lena cried, jumping up and down. "You got him!"
"Don't think so." Tatsu gritted his teeth, but held in the match just enough to throw Tawna's character off the ledge.
"Here, I'll try." Sumiko grinned but took the controller. Tatsu was out of the ring in three seconds. "That's what you get for taking out my little sister."
Tatsu's jaw fell open. "No way bitch! I declare a rematch!"
"Tatsu, you got beat. Hand it over." Hiko told him calmly.
Grumbling and muttering he gave the controller to Yue. "You're going down next time!" he hissed, glaring at her.
The matches continued on into the late hours of the evening, Tawna passing out on Hiko when she got to tired to keep her eyes open. She was awakened the next morning by sunlight streaming in the window in the kitchen, falling directly into her face through the slits in the blinds. Blinking she looked down on the floor where Tatsu, Yue, Lena, Tatsu and Raine and Nenji were passed out on the floor. Shinta had fallen asleep on the Playstation controller, the screen replaying the default opening movie over and over. Sumiko had curled up next to them, her head lying against Hiko's leg to sleep while they had all passed out.
"Nice to see there's someone up besides me."
"Hiko!" she whispered happily looking up at him.
"Good morning." He smiled tiredly. "Hope I didn't wake you."
"No you didn't. How long have you been up?" she asked softly.
"All night." He told her those exhausted purple eyes sparking with life slightly. "But it was worth it to see your pretty face first thing in the morning."
"You could have left you know, when you got tired. Put me on the floor or something. I would have been fine." She told him, still staring at him. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and with his long black hair falling over his shoulders and in his face like that, he looked exactly like his online character.
"I wanted to stay with you. I like being close to you, you know. Makes me feel like I have someone to protect." He reached up, running a hand through the crimson locks framing her face. "Your hair's a mess. You need to comb through it." His finger's traced down across her cheek, running a thumb across her pale skin. He leaned forward, closer to her.
Tawna swallowed. This was way to familiar. Her heart was picking up speed and she was feeling uneasy all over. A lock of raven hair brushed against her cheek as his face got inches away from hers. Those hazy violet eyes slowly closed as his lips softly brushed against hers.
The girl's eyes shot open, immediately filling with tears as well as shock. So, it had been true. Her sister's teasing…she had been right. Hiko had liked her all this time. Somehow she had known too, and not wanted to realize it. She was afraid that she would hurt his feelings somehow if she acknowledged that she had known. But this…this wasn't what she wanted.
She pushed him back, a hand on his chest keeping him away. His eyes opened and his face went crimson. "I'm sorry." He said glancing down and away from her. "I'm sorry, I just…didn't know any other way to get my point across." He ran a hand through his bangs. "I think I'm in love with you Tawna." He told her. "And…there's really nothing I can do about it, I know. But I wanted you to know. I had to tell you, if I wanted to feel any better."
"Hiko…" she swallowed. "I can't honestly say I don't care about you. That would be a lie. But you know there's someone else who means a lot to me…and despite what's been going on, I can't deny that. I don't want to hurt you." She sniffed, tears running from her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you by telling you no, but there's no way I could have any close relationship with you when I already love someone else."
She collapsed against his chest in sobs and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to him. Despite what she had said, he felt relieved. He was happy that her feelings for this guy were true and now that he knew there was no possible way he would have her, he could give up peacefully, let his heart mend and go on with his life instead of trying to think of how this could possibly work. Holding her like this, he realized with an uncanny smile, that this would be the last time he would ever get to be this close to her. But, to have her in his arms for one night, to be able to remember this…that would be enough. When she pulled away, he would have to let her go.
"Tawna…" Lena sat up, blinking her eyes and then staring at the two. "Hiko, what happened?"
"I'll tell you later." He whispered to her. Tawna had quieted by now, clinging to his shirt. "Tawna?"
She sat back and looked up at him. He smiled back, placing a hand on her head. "I have to tell you I don't like the guy for what he's done to you, but if he sees half the things I see in you, he should come crawling back to you soon enough. And if he doesn't, I'll make him." He stood, picking her up and then resting her on the floor. "I have to get going. I have stuff to dot his afternoon and I really need to get home and sleep for a while." Grabbing his glasses from the small table by the couch he smiled. "Good luck, and I'll talk to you soon. Lena, tell the others I'll see them later. Bye you two."
He turned to go but a small grip on his wrist made him stop for a moment. Turning back he stared down at the redheaded girl with surprise.
"I want you to know Hiko." She told him, her amber eyes shining. "That I've always admired you for the way that I can fall back on you. You're always there for me when I need you. I hope…this doesn't mean…I won't have you there when I need your help?"
He smiled. "You have nothing to worry about. There's nothing that would keep me from getting to you if you're in trouble, and that will never change."
As he left, Tawna slumped down on the floor. "I can't believe…that went the way it did."
"What happened?" Lena asked quietly moving around bodies to get to her friend.
"Hiko told me he loved me…" she swallowed. "And I told him I love someone else. I set things straight with Hiko but now…I have to set things straight between Balmung and I."
"And it's taken you a week to figure that out?"
Turning they looked at Raine who was sitting there listening to the conversation.
"I've been running from the problem." Tawna admitted glancing at the ground. "I figured if I didn't get online, I wouldn't have to deal with the fact that Balmung wasn't there with me anymore. And that didn't solve anything. I have to remember that I'm doing this for Tomonari who's in the hospital and not for myself. Regardless I need to be trying to solve this mystery and make amends with Balmung. Even if he still won't be by my side, I need to try and make things right. I need to stop feeling guilty, feeling bad for myself and do what needs to be done, because Hiko just did the same thing for me."
"You've got the power to set this right, I know you do." It was Yue speaking up now. "You're one of the most loveable and sweet people that I know Tawny. We're all standing behind you, remember that."
"You guys…" the girl sniffed. "Thanks."
"No problem." Lena told her, hugging her.
"It's not like anything's changed you know." Raine replied joining in the hug.
""We're still there for ya in the end." Yue smiled, hugging all three girls in their group hug.
Once everyone had left, Tawna got up, took a shower and got online. Opening her inbox, her eyes widened at the message that had been left last night from Balmung. He asked that she meet him at the following keywords tomorrow at noon.
"Tomorrow then," she responded softly, determination setting her voice.
Later that evening at night school, she filled in her friends of the letter and asked Tatsu to spread the word to Yue and Alyanae of what was going to happen. Tomorrow they would all be there to back here in case anything serious happened.
Savana arrived in the area just as the last of her party arrived. "We were wondering where you were." Yue told her with a smile. "We thought maybe you'd chicken out."
"So did I."
Turning they saw Balmung enter the area, Raquel following a few steps behind him, her teal-blue eyes flashing angrily.
"Balmung…" The crimson-haired blademaster swallowed.
"So we meet again." Raquel glared at her. "Thanks for what you did to my character. I really appreciate it."
"That was my doing not Savana's and only because I think you deserved it." Alyanae shot back.
"I don't think a hacker has place to open their mouth right now." Balmung snapped.
"Get to the point birdie buddy." Eji spoke up, ignoring the blademaster's comment completely and even putting a hand on the handle of his sword for good measure. "You're wasted enough of my time already."
The swordsman stared at him, but dare knew another fight with him would prove useless. "I only called Savana here, but since you all gathered, it's fine enough since you'll all be hearing soon enough. As you may or may not know, CC Corp's Magazine publication is hitting its 5th anniversary."
"Really? Sweet!" Lena smiled.
"The Admins and the executive board have been arguing back and forth about this issue and at the last moment I was pulled into it. They want Orca and I for the cover, which means way to much attention on the game. I've been asked to log off the game for the next week or so, and even when I do come back, I have to go into hiding for a while. If I need to contact any of you for any reason, I will send you an e-mail. Until then," he flashed a look at Savana. "Our mission is put on hold."
Raquel snorted irritably as the two stared at one another for a few moments. "Alright, alright. You all have been notified, so you can leave now. Especially you. Get out of my sight newbie." She replied haughtily, waving Savana off.
"Alright then." She smiled, nodding her head slightly. "Congratulations Balmung, that's a real honor. It was nice seeing you again." As much as she wanted to say, as determined as she had been, she lost it all when she was looking at him. There was no way she could tell him the way it was supposed to be, the way she wanted it to be.
He nodded at her, those emerald eyes hiding the tiniest spark of the friendship they had once had. "Thanks. It was nice seeing you again too."
She swallowed. This was how it was going to be. Nothing more then strangers. It was almost too much to bear when she looked at him. Before she knew it she had logged out of the area, headed into Mac Anu and found the familiar keywords that would take her back to where it all had started.
"Savana!" Lena cried as she gated out. She too left, followed by Raine and Yue, trying to find their fleeing friend.
"You…" Eji growled, his hot temper flaring up at the way Savana had ran from the situation.
"Looks like it's time for us to leave." Raquel smiled up at the white-haired blademaster.
"I think so too." He turned his back on the group, offering a hand to the blonde long-arm.
"I'm-"
"Enough Tatsu." Hiko put a hand in front of the other heavy blade. Looking over at him, he smiled. "This is my fight."
"Hiko?" he blinked, surprised by his actions. Hiko, try and PK someone? That was new.
"Balmung, I would suggest you don't turn you're back on me!" Hiko stepped forward, challenging him.
The blademaster stopped. "And why would that be?" he replied.
Gritting his teeth the onyx-haired swordmaster charged him, swinging his massive sword from his side out to hit the warrior. Those wings launched his opponent in the air, spinning him around to land a good ways away. "You know for someone I used to consider a friend and party member, you have persistently been getting on my nerves since I realized you joined Savana's side."
"You're jealous of me, right?" he smirked. "You've been mad at me for closing the gap between Savana and me, and you've been taking it out on Savana." That smirk changed to a frown. "She doesn't deserve it!"
"Yes she does!" Raquel cried infuriated. "She's been telling Alyanae to do things to my character, like give me this form and putting that armor break spell on me. She's a cruel person!"
There was a flash of silver and then a blade pointed against her neck. "Lady, I used to PK people everyday. Slaughtering one more is not going to do a damn thing to my conscious or my feelings, especially when all you're spilling is lies."
"Keita!" Balmung growled at him, watching the blademaster hold a sword to her.
"Savana did not tell me to do those things." The elven hacker spoke up. "I did them on my own, after you persuaded me into following your horrible plan. You didn't tell Lord Balmung about how you talked me into thinking that Savana was harassing him, and how you and I came up with that plan to erase her from the game completely, did you?"
Long ivory bangs jerked into the blademaster's view as he turned his head, his emerald eyes widening. "What?"
"It's true. If you look at Savana now, the reason she looks so different is because she is completely different. I erased her from the game after listening to Raquel babble on about how completely terrible she was. And then I found out it was all just a plot so she could get you to herself. When I found out what had really happened, I reconstructed Savana and designed her with some of the newer features not even let out into the game because I felt bad for causing her so much trouble." Alyanae explained.
"She…she told me that she knew Savana IRL." Balmung started after a moment, looking at her shocked. "That she knew Hiko and Savana were dating and that she…"
"I wish I could of informed you of all this earlier. Told you so we wouldn't have had to go through all this now." Hiko told him with a slight smile. "It would have saved our little blademaster a lot of pain. I will tell you Balmung, I do love her, but I'm not going to get in her way, because she openly loves you." He gritted his teeth, suddenly angry and frustrated. "She's cried over you, because she thought you hated her. Do you know how hard that is to watch?! Do you know what it feels like?! To know that I love her and she loves you?!"
"Hiko, man…" Eji swallowed, looking over at him. Alyanae cast the heavy blade a surprised glance as well. Grem bowed his head, his eyes closed tight, and Nenji just watched, not sure what to say.
"If you can't tell me you don't feel the same toward her, that you don't care for her, then I know you're lying and you're no better then she is." He cast a quick glance to Raquel.
Balmung had his head down, eyes hidden through long white bangs. "I…"
"You win, alright?" Hiko started, softer this time. "She's yours, as long as you don't make her cry anymore."
"I…" he swallowed. "I won't. You're right…she doesn't deserve it."
"Lord-" Raquel started and felt the blade press harder against her skin.
"You take one step and I'll kill you. That simple." Keita told her coldly.
"Now, I think you better go find her and apologize." The heavy blade told him with a slight smile.
"…" He raised his head, emotions shifting and changing in his eyes as he tried to steady himself again behind his cold persona. "I don't even know if I can set it right at this point." He said weakly. "She probably hates me."
"Tawna? Hate anyone?" Hiko stared at him a minute and then shook his head. "Impossible. The only thing she wants right now is you. She's thinks you hate -her-. Go, and try and make things right, okay?"
He nodded at him, before his gaze changed to the long-arm. "Do you any plans for her?" he asked.
"I think between Keita and Eji, we'll figure something out." He told him.
With another nod, the winged swordsman gated out.
Hiko leaned up against his massive sword. "It's finally over." He sighed. Now all the pain in Tawna's life would disappear. He felt satisfied that he had done the right thing, but the pain in his own heart was still there. He sighed. Time would be the only thing that could fix that.
"I'm impressed." Alyanae stepped up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"You did it!" Nenji ran up to him, grinning. "You okay with it?" he asked after a minute, his cerulean eyes shining worriedly.
"I'm fine Nen." He smiled at him. "I'm more then fine. Things are going to work out fine for Tawna now, and as long as she's happy, I'll be happy."
"So, uh, Hiko?" Eji spoke up, jade eyes casting a mischievous glance at him. "What do we do with her?"
"Absolutely nothing! You people are so mean! You ruined my plans! I can't believe Lord Balmung would go running back to that newbie player! What a-"
A strong hand came down across her face, silencing her.
"You only wanted to be with Lord Balmung for his looks and his power. You know nothing of the relationship between Savana and him. It goes deeper then the fact that she's a newbie player, or the fact that he's one of the most popular. You can't win against someone who has more heart then you'll ever have. You're chances are over. I would suggest you stop acting so high and mighty and accept the game for what it is."
"But I've been looking for Balmung for so long! With that accomplished, what am I supposed to do?!" she asked, tears forming in her eyes as she spat the question angrily.
Keita let her go, resheathing his blade. "It's a game. Try and have fun with it. Yes, it can get serious, but only if you make it that way. Try and relax and enjoy yourself. That's why the creators made it."
"Rachel, you've always been about what's popular and what's going to get you anywhere in life. Playing this game isn't going to get you anywhere." Alyanae told her with a slight smile. "But having fun and being satisfied that your character has become an accomplished warrior and player in this huge world. That's all you can do."
"And personally, we have fun doing that." Grem cut in as well with a smile.
"I would suggest getting over Balmung, since you were just using him anyway and finding out what this game is really about." Eji added.
Raquel swallowed. "I…I might try." She smiled, acting haughty again. "If I get into it." With that she gated out.
"You think the others found Savana?" Nenji asked after a moment.
"Do you think Balmung has?" Hiko asked with a smile.
Savana had retreated back to the corrupting temple, the area where she had first met Balmung. Sitting down on the steps, she hung her head and rested her arms on her knees. For a while she just sat there, but as the thoughts started to resolve in her head, she sighed.
"I guess…I can get used to this, if I get the chance to see him every now and then." She murmured. "Just getting a chance to look at him, makes me forget whatever it is that I'm going to say. I don't want to sound stupid so I guess it's best that I just care for him from far away."
"Talking to yourself again?"
Her foxy ears twitched at the sound of that voice, before she looked up amber eyes wide. "Balmung?"
"That was always one of your cutest features." He smiled at her. "I figured you'd be here. You're so predictable." He paused, his gaze looking up at the destroyed sky. "I'm sorry. When I heard Raquel say that she knew you, and that you were dating Hiko, I got upset and then when you had told me you were going to a soccer game with a friend of yours, I guessed it was true…I was so mad that he could get your attention so easily…I apologize."
She got up, running to him, wrapping her arms around him, resting her head on the heavy metal breastplate covering his chest and broke down into sobs.
"Hey…I told Hiko I wouldn't make you cry anymore." He said softly, wrapping his arms around her. "Do…" he swallowed. "Do you hate me, for putting me through all this?"
"No!" she shook her head immediately. "How could I? I care about you so much…I couldn't hate you."
He buried his head against her wild crimson hair, finally resting his chin on her head. "Can you forgive me then?"
"I forgave you the moment you went wrong. You don't have to ask now." She looked up at him, smiling. "Can we go back to the way things were Balmung? Can I be by your side and in your arms, if you'll let me?"
He nodded and she hugged him again. All the confusion…the chaos…it was all gone now. "I'll make it all up to you I promise, somehow…"
There was a beep as flashmail went off above them.
"I have to get offline now." He explained after a moment. "The Admin want me off. I'm breaking orders by staying online." He dropped a quick kiss on her forehead before distancing himself from her.
"Balmung one last thing," she swallowed. "What about Raquel? What happened between you two?"
"What happened between us?" he blinked. "Nothing. Mostly dungeon adventures and what not. She's not very good mind you. I don't see how a player who's played that long could be so inexperienced at leveling. I left her with Hiko and Tatsu to deal with, so hopefully she wasn't PKed. I figured they'd talk some sense into her, like they did with me. In any case," he grinned. "I'm glad to have my old partner back. I'll e-mail you when I get a chance."
"Alright. See you in a week!" she waved back as he gated out. Sitting down on the steps again, she stretched out. Was it all really over now? "Hikaru's going to want to know about this…"
Tawna saved her money for the entire week and ran into the nearest bookstore on Friday right after school. She had been downtown for a field trip and she figured while she was there she might as well check to see if they had any copies. The CC Magazine had hit newsstands on Tuesday and since every store near her house had sold out already.
She spotted the thick glossy magazine on the bottom rack. "Man the last one too. Am I lucky or what?" As she reached to grab it, the copy was snatched up by someone from someone else who had ran to the stand from behind her. "Hey, what's the big idea?" she asked. Her fingers had barely been on it too…
"Sorry honey, but I think I deserve it, since I personally know the guy and all."
'That voice…' the junior turned, surprised. "Raquel?"
The pretty blonde-headed woman took a step back. "Wha- how?" she swallowed. "Oh…no. Savana."
"Yeah it's me." She smiled. "I was in the neighborhood. I didn't think I get to meet ya, but I did remember Tsukeike said you lived near her and she lives somewhere in the downtown area. What's up?"
"I just got out of school and figured I' come find the magazine. Didn't realize I'd end up finding you." She sighed after a moment. "Here." She held out the book. "It's yours."
"Nah, that's okay." She shook her head. "I don't need it really." She walked past her towards the front door.
"I don't need you to pity me because you won!" she yelled after her.
The girl turned, brushing locks of crimson out of her face. "I'm not. It's just…if I buy that book, it's going to end up torn up, cause all the pictures of Balmung are going to go on my wall. And, well, that book's to good for that. See ya."
The college freshman watched the younger girl go, surprised. "Tsukeike might have been right about you after all Savana…"
The junior got on the subway and took the ride to the station nearest her house. "Man. Oh well, the truth was told. Every picture of Balmung would have ended up on my wall, so I guess it's a good thing. Now I got more money to put in my Playstation account anyway. Shinta got me addicted to that stupid console."
"Tawna!"
Turning she glanced over just as a motorcycle stopped by the curb. "Hop on."
Recognizing the bike and the long black hair flowing from underneath the helmet she, got on behind him, wrapping her arms around him. "Hey Hiko, evening!" she called just as he pulled away and sped down the highway towards her apartment.
Pulling into the parking lot, he stopped the bike and let her get off while he undid his helmet. "Evening." he replied, putting the helmet under one arm. "This is for you."
He handed her a small white bag that had been tied down in the compartment at the side of the bike. Curious she opened it and gasped at a copy of the CC Corp Magazine. "Where'd you find a copy of this?!" she asked him.
"I bought it Tuesday morning, but I haven't seen you since. I kinda got the feeling you were avoiding me." He told her, adjusting his glasses.
She blushed. "Kinda. I didn't know what to tell you after you helped me and Balmung get back together again. I felt kinda guilty."
"No more guilt, alright. All that's past us now." He put a hand on her head and ruffled her hair. "And besides, I told you I'd be there for you when you needed me right?" Heading toward the building he smiled back at her. "Now come on. It's movie night and I ain't going to be late."
She smiled down at the copy of the magazine and then at him, running to walk in the house with him. 'Hiko…thank you, so much…'
I cannot help it
I couldn't stop it if I tried
The same old heartbeat fills the emptiness I have inside
And I've heard that you can't fight love
So I won't complain
Cause why would I stop the fire that keeps me going on?
Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in the world
But without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love
Turn out the light now
To see is to believe
I just want you near me
I just want you with me
And I'd give up everything only for you
It's the least I could do
Cause when there's you, I feel whole
And there's no better feeling in The WorldBut without you I'm alone
And I'd rather be in love with you
-CHAPTER TEN END-
CLOSING COMMENTS: It's done! It's done! It's done! -dances in circles- People, I give you all of my story in it's first season! I'm kinda sad to see it go though. I like the song and all; it was my inspiration for so long. The song, btw, is Michelle Branch "I'd Rather Be In Love" from her album Spirit Room Track #9. I kinda didn't want this chapter to be as mushy as it was, but one of the things I do when I'm writing is allow my fingers to do much of the talking and when I looked at this chapter and the actual rough copy I had written down there's a huge difference. Still, I'm happy with the way it turned out and rather proud of it, despite the fact that this chapter is probably one of the least descriptive I've written. I will start on chapter eleven ASAP, I had to take my break or this would have been finished sooner.
--Sora Tokumi Kazuma--
