A/N: Hello again. .:nervous laugh:. Sorry it's been so long. If you're reading my other story and already read my new chapter, you know that I've been bored out of my mind and not sleeping at all and I'm sorry for the wait. But I'll just get right into the chapter this time. WARNING: It's hot again, chapter written under the influence of sleep deprivation, Pepsi, ice cream, and loud music. (Linkin Park and others)

Chapter 4: Confession

She's not going to like finding out she is engaged, Koenma mused as he sat at his desk. He was contemplating how he was going to inform her. I'm sure she'll change her mind once she sees her fiancé. Kiyoshi was blessed with a godly figure. He snorted in disgust at the fact that his lesser cousin looked more like a god than himself and he was rather jealous of it. He sighed. "I'm sure she'll forgive me for this," he said aloud.

At that moment, Takara burst into the office with tear-stained cheeks, Botan trailing not far behind with a look of urgency on her own face. Koenma instinctively jumped up from his desk and ran to his sister. "Takara! What's wrong?" he asked, holding her shoulders firmly.

The tear-filled violet eyes were raised to look into his own amber eyes and he could see the rage behind them. "What's wrong?" she retorted. "I think you know very well what's wrong!" She stepped back, wrangling herself free from his grasp, and looked him dead in the eye. "I am not getting married!" she screamed at him.

Koenma gawked at her in surprise. "You know?" An irritated glare from her reprimanded him for stating the obvious and he mentally kicked himself for saying something so foolish. He sighed and looked at her sadly. "You have to get married. Father decreed it. But you don't have to worry. Your fiancé is quite the eligible bachelor. Well, he was, until he was betrothed to you," Koenma rambled.

Takara rolled her eyes in annoyance. "I assume you are talking about Kiysohi, the tall, dark-haired, blue-eyed boy in Father's throne room?"

Her soft glare never left his face and he began to wonder how much she actually knew. "So, you've met our handsome cousin?" Takara's eyes widened ever so slightly and judging from the stunned expression on her face, Koenma guessed she hadn't known that.

"Our c-cousin?" she stammered.

Koenma nodded. "He's the Prince of the Makai. While our father oversees all the dealings in the Reikai, Kiyoshi's father, our uncle, oversees the Makai. Kiyoshi is an only child. True, our father oversees everything, but his brother was given the Makai to personally look over. Once the wedding vows have been exchanged, you will probably move to the Makai with them."

Takara's fury had subsided and now she was left with tears. "It's bad enough I have to be married, but now I have to leave my home too?" The tears flowed freely down her face, arms hung limply at her sides as she stood, her gaze never leaving his. He took a step towards her again and hugged her close. She returned the warm embrace and he was glad to hold her until she had cried herself dry.

"Come on," he said softly. "You need some sleep." She nodded in agreement and allowed him to escort her back to her room. "You have a big day tomorrow."

"Yes," she replied softly. "Yes I do." She waved him good night and shut the door behind her. He walked back to his office to file things away and sort his thoughts before he, too, retired to bed.

Takara leaned against her door for some time after Koenma left her. Her head was swimming with thoughts and plans of escape and she began to feel dizzy. She went over to her closet and grabbed a couple of skirts and blouses and put them in a light-weight travel bag. She also put a brush and water canteen in the bag. Then she changed into a pair of sweatpants and a light tank top. Turning out her light, she crawled into bed and decided to sleep for a while.

She heard Koenma go into his room right next to hers and knew he must have been tired as well. She fell asleep rather quickly and when she woke up a few hours later, it was already the middle of the night. Crud, she thought when she realized she'd slept longer than she had planned. She crawled out of bed and re-made it to look nice and neat for the next morning.

Quietly, she grabbed the bag she had packed earlier and walked out of her room and shut the door behind her. She turned to walk down the hall when she stopped and looked at the door that led into Koenma's room. She bit her lip as she contemplated whether she should say good-bye or not. She stood still and silent for almost five minutes as she argued inwardly with herself before finally deciding. I have to tell him. I need him to know, she thought.

Takara quietly turned the knob and gently pushed the door open. She poked her head in and whispered his name. "Koenma," she said. When she didn't receive a response, she walked in further and shut the door behind her. "Koenma?" she said, this time a little louder.

His back was to her and he rolled over in response to her voice. "Takara?" he asked rather sleepily. She nodded and he propped himself up on his elbows. "What are you doing up?" He sat up fully and Takara was thankful for the darkness to hide the blush she could feel rising in her cheeks. Koenma often slept shirtless in warmer weather.

Her voice was nervous as she spoke. "I wanted to say good-bye," she told him and her confidence returned to her. "I am not going to be married and so I am running away." She could see himtilt his head slightly to one side as though he didn't fully comprehend what she was saying.

It startled her when he motioned for her to come sit on the bed next to him. "Why are you so against this marriage, Takara?" he asked her. "Father knows what he is doing and it is probably best for you to agree with his wishes." He hoped she couldn't sense the despair in his own voice as he spoke.

If she noticed, she didn't give any indication of sensing it. She merely shook her head, causing her hair to fly about. "I don't want to be married! Why should I marry someone who I do not love?" She looked at him, her eyes hard and questioning.

Koenma shrugged. "You may come to love him. I don't know much about him, but I am sure he is very nice."

Takara snorted in disgust. "I'll never be able to love him, no matter what you say." She looked away and her eyes scanned the dark room as she tried to avoid his steady gaze.

Hiseyes never left her soft form, however, and he replied with a question. "Why not?"

He could see her shoulders stiffen and she cast her eyes to the floor. She remained silent for a moment, but when she found her voice again, she stated simply, "Because I am already in love with someone." She continued to gaze at the floor and she fell silent once again. Koenma was unsure of how to respond without sounding nosy, but Takara felt compelled to continue. "I have loved him for a long time and I don't think I could ever stop loving him. I don't want to be married because I fear I will have betrayed him in my heart and I do not want to have to leave him."

Koenma knew then thatshe was thinking of him. He felt so stupid for not having seen it sooner. He had thought she always wanted to follow him around because he was big brother. He didn't realize that she loved him, or even that he loved her. He had always discarded thoughts of her because she was his sister and felt she would never love him because of their true relationship. He was stunned speechless by her confession and yet was inwardly relieved.

When he didn't respond, Takara's heart sank. She looked at him and searched his face for any sign that would tell her if he hated her, disgusted her, or never wanted to see her again. She stood and turned to go but he grabbed her arm. "Wait," he said softly. She bit her lip and turned to look at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I won't ask you to love me," she said firmly. "But please come with me. I need you with me." Her violet eyes pleaded with him and his thoughts were far from the thought of leaving her alone. He nodded and she smiled again. He thought back to the very first time she had ever smiled at him, the day of her birth, when he held her for the first time and he could see again all the love she held for him in her heart. He melted and did not resist the impulse to kiss her.

It had surprised her, to say the least, but she was glad to finally know her love for him was reciprocated. She returned his passionate kiss and wrapped her arms about his neck as he pressed his hand firmly on her lower back and behind her head, pulling her closer to him. They were lost in each other as they consummated years of unspoken love and reveled in the closeness of their two hearts as though they were one. The young children of King Enma lay holding one another in heavenly bliss, softly speaking with each other, unaware that their bliss was only temporary and that their troubles were only beginning.

A/N: .:twitching rapidly:. Ok, I apologize if that seemed too soon, but if I didn't write it now, this story would drag on forever and it already seems to me that it might. I think I've figured out the ending, but I don't know how to get there from here. Don't think that Kiyoshi is just going to disappear and don't think that King Enma is going to be happy for his children. Much chaos will ensue in the next chapter of Forbidden Love and it sure is forbidden. About the whole prince of Makai thing. I hope Koenma sort of explained it. I thought of how in Greek mythology, Zeus was given the heavens and earth, Posiedon was given the sea and Hades was given the underworld and thought I would use that concept here. So although Kiyoshi's father is nameless as of yet, he won't disappear either. There are lots of twists to come, I promise! I hope the whole Takara and Koenma scene at the end didn't totally sneak up on you all.Man, I can't believe I just wrote that. .:shudders:. Oh well, Ja ne!