Well. Sorry I haven't updated for so long. I'll explain why later, read and enjoy!

CHAPTER 17

Ayame and Shigure had taken up guard postions outside the door. Kagura and Rin escorted Akiko down the hallway. Akiko went into the room and Rin and Kagura quickly ran around to 'guard' the windows. They really just wanted to spy on what happened. Fortunately, Akiko had the foresight to close the curtains. Hatori was still staring blankly at the wall. Akiko stared at the back of his head for a few seconds, wondering why he didn't say anything. "Hatori?" She said.

"...a dream..." He mumbled.

"Hatori, are you all right?" Akiko demanded.

He stood up and spun to face her. "Of course not!" He laughed aloud "This is all a nightmare. I'm just asleep!"

"H...Hatori?" Akiko stammered. He NEVER laughed. At least, not in her memory.

"Yes?" He appeared to have turned back into his old self. She sighed with relief.

"Are you feeling all right?" She asked.

Hatori didn't reply.

"Why are you acting like this? Honestly, you've been acting so strange that if it was anyone else, I'd of thought you've gone insane!"

"Me? Insane?"

"The bloody sock puppet! You just laughed! And you kissed me. What is with you?"

Hatori blinked and didn't reply. Akiko sank down in a chair and sighed. "Seriously, is something wrong?"

"I...don't know. The sock puppet..." He smiled slightly. "It just seemed like a funny idea at the time. And, this is all a dream. I can do whatever I want."

"Hatori, this isn't a dream."

"Isn't it? There's no way this could happen in real life."

"Right. You turn into a seahorse when a girl hugs you in real life and you can't believe that I can turn into a girl because of some screwed up magical medicine?"

Hatori frowned. "You do have a point. But, if this isn't a dream..." He blushed suddenly.

Akiko grinned. "Yes, everything actually happened."

Hatori sat down. "So I suppose you're going to claw my eyes out. I'd like to take this oppurtunity to apologize."

Akiko's smile disappeared. "And what are you apologizing for, exactly?"

"Well...that fight we had a little while ago was mostly my fault. I shouldn't have said what I did."

"That was my fault, too."

"And for making you think I was crazy."

Akiko raised her eyebrows.

"And..." He swallowed. "for kissing you."

Akiko tilted her head slightly. "Why did you kiss me, anyway?" She asked.

Hatori shrugged. "I didn't really mean to. I...wasn't thinking."

"Whatever." Akiko said diffidently. Hatori sighed and looked away. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Akiko suddenly started giggling. "When did you convince yourself this was all a dream?" She asked between giggles.

Hatori sighed. "About fifteen minutes ago," He admitted.

Akiko stopped giggling. "So," she asked "You didn't think you were dreaming when you kissed me?"

"No," Hatori replied. "May I ask where this line of conversation is going?"

Akiko smiled again, but it was her old smile, Akito's smile. "No."

"Well...?"

"My brain is hating you right now, Hatori." She said suddenly.

"What?...just your brain?" Hatori was confused.

"Yeah. My body is wanting you."

"This is definitely a dream."

Akiko sighed in exasperation. "How many times do I have to tell you this isn't a bloody dream?"

"At least one more."

"THIS ISN'T A BLOODY DREAM!" Akiko yelled, jumping to her feet.

"Calm down, Akiko. I know this isn't a dream, I'm just joking."

Akiko sank back down into her chair. "You really have gone crazy," she muttered.

"No, joking is my way of dealing when I don't know what else to do. Which does not happen often, let me assure you."

"Oh." She was quiet for a moment. "Well, I guess I'll go, then." She said, rising to her feet again.

Hatori stood too, and nodded at her. She walked toward the door, but stopped just short of it and turned, a devious smile on her face. "Oh," She said. "I forgot something." She walked back slowly until she stood directly in front of Hatori.

'She's definitely going to claw my eyes out,' thought Hatori despondantly. He didn't move, just braced himself.

She reached upward and grabbed his face, pulling him down and kissing him hard on the lips. To her surprise, Hatori closed his eyes and kissed back. After a minute, she let go of his face. "There," She said. "Now we're even." She turned and walked toward the door.

"Wait," said Hatori, half to himself. Akiko turned and looked at him questioningly.He raised his head. "We're not even. I didn't kiss you like that."

Akiko looked surprised. She evidently hadn't expected Hatori to say that. "Well, what do you want to do about it?" She asked, genuinly puzzled.

Hatori suprised himself by walking towards her, tipping her face up and kissing her again, the same way she'd kissed him moments earlier. He let go and she stumbled back a few steps, surprised. She composed herself slightly. "But we're still not even, then. You've kissed me twice." Hatori raised his eyebrows at her. She smiled at him, standing on the tips of her toes and brushing her lips against his. Then she pulled back and frowned. "Forget pretense. I'm bored. You wanna keep kissing?"

Hatori frowned. She did look bored, but... his body wasn't about to let him pass this up. He backed her against the wall. She tilted her face up and closed her eyes.

An hour later, Kagura and Rin had abandoned their guard positions at the windows. The two of them, Shigure and Ayame were sitting outside the room, playing poker. Okami poked her head out of a room and announced that dinner was ready.

"We'll be there soon," called Shigure. He turned back to the others. "What are they doing in there?"

Ayame shrugged."Think they've killed each other?"

"Let's just open the door and announce that dinner's ready." Suggested Kagura. Everyone nodded in agreement.

Ayame flung the door open. "Dinner's read-" He stopped mid-sentence and gaped at the scene before him. Rin and Shigure high-fived.

Hatori and Akiko quickly broke apart and glared at the group before them. Akiko stood, straightening her clothes. She switched her glare to Hatori. "This didn't mean anything. Got it?" She stormed out of the room. Everyone gave her a wide berth. Hatori sighed and stood.

"So, what's for dinner?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

I hope you enjoyed that...spoilerwarning.-.-

As for whyI didn't update for so long, sorry. I got another of those "I didn't read your story, but Akito IS a girl" reviews. It pissed me off...sorry, again. "sighs"...

well, next chappie coming soon, I hope. Seeya