The Last Hurdle

by MetaSigma

Michael has gone back to America, however with Yuu in Kyoto for college and Miki going to Toryu University a new rival has entered the picture. Will he pursue Miki or will Miki somehow fall for this guy on her own? Ch 6 up Story will be completed in time

5. A Promise Revealed

The Last Hurdle – A Promise Revealed

Sunday afternoon…

Aaron and Miki decided to walk Yuu to the train station considering school was going to be starting again the next day and Winter break would be finishing. Aaron finally had gotten crutches but was still getting used to the pain in his shoulders from hunching on the things for hours at a time. Aaron had his headphone on considering he hadn't heard any music for a few days and figured he's butt out of the conversations regarding Miki and Yuu. Besides, since that fateful night there had been a lot of different things that had happened. The very next day Miki invited him out on a date! Aaron did remember that Yuu had other plans so maybe to MIKI it was a date; ok Aaron thought the same thing mind you, but it still was very awkward that he was going on a date with someone else's fiancée. Now considering the fact that Yuu had slightly given it's blessing made him confused, but nonetheless he enjoyed himself wholeheartedly. Being limited because of a broken foot they could only go as far as Aaron's foot let them, but that still allowed them to go shopping down town. Miki looked more like a little schoolgirl as she giggled looking at stuff and asking Aaron if it looked good or not. What made it worth it though was the expression on her face when Miki found something she really liked but freaked out at the price and left thinking she'd never get it. Aaron chuckled to himself remembering the look on her face when he walked over with the said item in a bag. Miki was in total shock wondering where he got the money to buy something that expensive. Aaron just shrugged and replied it was one of his little secrets she'll have to find out somehow.

"Aaron!" Miki pulled one of the headphones off his head and said into his ear snapping him out of his trance.

"Huh! Wha? Oh…sorry about that. I must have zoned out on the music."

"Careful you don't zone out and walk into the street," Miki giggled.
"Wouldn't be the first time."

The trio continued to talk as they worked their way to the train station. Eventually they reached the station and noticed found out that the train heading back to Kyoto was leaving early. So Yuu would be leaving a little earlier than Miki had expected. Instead of an hour to hang out and eat lunch it appears that Yuu would have to leave within a matter of minutes. "So much for having lunch together," Miki pouted.

"Oh don't worry about it, it might be better you don't eat any of the fast-food hun," Yuu teased.

"Yuu!" She yelled and flailed her arms at her fiancée. Aaron and Yuu laughed as Miki continued to flail about at Yuu. Yuu looked at Aaron with a smile and asked, "Hun can I have a minute alone with Aaron?"

"Hmmm? What for Yuu?"

"I want to talk to him for a second about something," Yuu gave her a re-assuring smile.

Miki nodded slightly confused and ran off to give the two a few moments alone. Once Miki was far enough away Yuu's expression turned serious and he almost stared Aaron down. Aaron raised an eyebrow not backing down from his stare and said, "So what do you need to speak with me about?"

Yuu smiled suddenly throwing Aaron off balance and said, "I want you to make me a promise Aaron."

Aaron blinked a little confused but nodded, "Sure, what's going on?"

Yuu looked over at Miki who was busy looking at postcards, "Take care of Miki for me."

"Huh?" Aaron blinked and narrowed his eyes looking for an answer to this sudden bombshell that was dropped, "What's your game Yuu. I may not know you like Miki does, but this doesn't sound like you."

Yuu chuckled, "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure you were as tough as you seem sometimes."

"What has that got to do with anything?"

"I want you to take care of Miki for me."

"Huh!" The train announcer called the last time for departures to Kyoto.

Miki came running back over and hugged Yuu one last time, "Take care hun, and I'll see you later," She kissed Yuu and stood next to Aaron smiling.

Yuu waved at them as the train doors whooshed shut and took off for Kyoto. Miki waved and ran after the train smiling, as Aaron stood there befuddled as to why Yuu had asked such a strange question. Miki didn't choose Aaron over Yuu did she? Aaron shook his head realizing that couldn't be true. Miki kissed Yuu like a couple would. Miki walked back over to Aaron in smiles and wrapped her arm around his. Aaron blinked confused and asked, "I'm totally confused. You kiss your fiancée and then you wrap your arm around me? I'm so lost."

Miki took her arm off him and said, "You don't want me too?"

Aaron replied, "I just don't want your friends to get the wrong idea is all Miki."

"But if you're just escorting me home respectfully then there is nothing wrong with that is there?"

Aaron chuckled, "No, there is nothing wrong I guess, but how can I move if you're occupying one of my hands I need to move with?"

Miki chuckled silly and replied, "I didn't think about that."

"Boy you really are clueless sometimes." Miki laughed embarrassed and sighed. Slowly the two of them started on their journey back to the house.

"That must suck for your parents that they couldn't come to say good-bye to Yuu," Aaron said.

"It's ok, they said good-bye before we left, and besides they're busy all the time."

"As I can see." Aaron could only think about what Yuu had said to him.

"I want you to take care of Miki for me..."

"Aaron?" Miki looked at Aaron noticing he was completely zoned out. She called again, "Aaron!" Aaron snapped out of his trance and looked over at Miki who was concerned, "Is everything ok? You seem like something is bothering you."

Aaron shook his head, "Of course everything is fine Miki. I'm just tired from all the stress of these stupid crutches. They kinda hurt after leaning on them for so long."

"I'm sure you must be hungry as well."

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse!"

Miki chuckled getting used to his frequent use of expressions, "Well when we get back home I'll whip you up something to eat."

"You sure? I can always snag something on the way."

Miki nodded, "Of course! Besides YOU don't think my cooking is that bad."

Aaron laughed hesitantly and replied, "That's true."

Koishikawa household…

As soon as Miki entered the house Rumi peeked her head out toward the door and said, "Ahh! Miki! You got a phone call from your friend Meiko while you were gone!"

"Meiko called? Did she leave a number to call her back on!" Miki sounded excited.

"Hai. I left the number on your desk in your room," Rumi smiled and looked at Aaron, "and how are you feeling today Aaron?" Rumi asked Aaron as Miki bolted up toward her room.

Aaron chuckled and said with a smile, "I've been better Rumi, but I'll be fine."

"If you want I'm sure Jin would be willing to play some video games with you for a while."

"Ummm, I think I'll pass. I'd just rather relax for a bit, and besides, Miki said she'd make me something to eat so I'm just going to keep off my feet, maybe write or something."

"You write?"

"Yeah, it's a character I created a LONG time ago back in high school, and I've just been writing since."

"That's wonderful! Why haven't you posted any of your works?"

"Uhhhh to many copyright infringements I guess," Aaron chuckled.

"I see, well as long as you do something you enjoy," Rumi responded in her normal upbeat self.

Aaron walked over and sat down on the couch bringing out his laptop that he had brought with him from overseas and plugged his headphones into the sound jack. He turned the laptop on after verifying he had plugged the AC-Adaptor in let the computer boot up. Aaron pulled out his microphone hookup that applied to his headphones and plugged it into the appropriate jack on the side of the laptop as well. After the computer had finished the booting sequence Aaron pushed the button on his watch to make sure he wasn't being translated as he talked and started typing furiously. As he wrote he talked into the mic and from time to time would swear under his breath. Miki came bounding down the stairs giddy with glee and rushed into the living room. She looked at Aaron who was typing quite quickly and was speaking into the mic in English she couldn't really understand. She tapped Aaron on the shoulder, and Aaron stopped talking and looked up at Miki asking in clear English, "What's going on Miki?"

Miki blinked not quite sure of what Aaron just said but responded to what she thought he said, "What about home?"

Aaron blinked and laughed turning the translator back on and said, "Sorry Miki, I said what's going on?"

Miki squealed happily, "Meiko and her husband are coming to town next weekend!" Aaron shook his head totally lost. "Meiko is my best friend. She and I grew up together in high school, but I don't get to see her that often because she lives in Hiroshima with her husband."

"I see, and how old is she?"

"Eighteen."

Aaron whistled, "Wow, talk about young."

Miki nodded, "She and her husband are perfect for each other though. I'm so envious! I can't wait to get married!"

Aaron chuckled, "Yes, that would be a big dream of most girls wouldn't it." He stared back at the screen of the laptop and sighed.

"Aaron?" Miki looked at him confused.

"Nothing," Aaron smiled and stretched, "I'm glad you get to see your friend again."

"Hey you should meet them!" Miki nodded.

"Uhm…I wouldn't want to be a wheel. They're married, and not to mention they are your friends."

Miki sighed, "Ok, then how about we make it a double date?"

Aaron's face went into a what-the-hell face and he could only stutter a response. "M-Miki are you crazy!"

"What! I mean it wouldn't be a bad thing would it? Besides you won't feel like a wheel then!"

Aaron couldn't believe what he was hearing despite the fact that he LOVED the idea. The fact was what everyone ELSE was going to think when suddenly she was holding hands or doing ANYTHING datish with someone OTHER than her fiancée. Reluctantly he nodded and said, "No you are right. I just can't believe how carefree and honest you are about this. What are your friends or better yet your best friend going to think when they see you with another guy that they don't even know? Or for that matter if you tell them it's a date!"

Miki blushed and said, "Well, I mean it won't be a REAL date."

"Miki, when you say a double date, I don't think it's a fake thing."

Miki blushed more and replied, "Well I just want you to meet my friends! Is that so bad!"

Aaron smiled his warm smile making Miki cool down and said, "No, I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I'm just shy at times I guess." Aaron never even hinted about the fact Yuu had asked Aaron to 'take care of Miki'.

Miki smiled calmly and said, "Thank you so much Aaron. You have no idea how much this means to me. Now how about I make you something to eat?"

Aaron chuckled and nodded, "Sure."

Miki skipped into the kitchen as Aaron let out a sigh. "A date with our daughter?" Jin said slowly moving his head out into view along with Youji.

"Oh GREAT," Aaron thought trying to grin sheepishly, "Now I'm going to get some kind of be good to our daughter speech."

Jin and Youji walked around Aaron a few times as if they were sizing him up. Jin looked at Youji and then back at Aaron before asking, "You are aware that our daughter is going out with Yuu do you not?"

"Uhhh, yes?"

"And you have no ill intentions?" Jin continued his harsh questioning.

"Jin, trust me I'm in no position to even think about such things, and I'm well aware of what's going on. Besides, Miki only asked me to make me feel less out of place when meeting her friends. I'm not after anything!"

Jin looked at Youji. Youji nodded and smiled happily laughing, "We're just kidding Aaron. We know you're just doing it to meet Miki's friends." Jin laughed as well having fooled Aaron completely.

"Scared you good didn't we?" Jin grinned.

Aaron tried to force a laugh and said, "Y-Yeah! You got me good…a haha haha…" Aaron sighed again and thought, "Yes I can see what Miki means about weird parents."

Later that night…

Aaron lay in his bed unable to sleep. His mind totally pre-occupied by the transactions of what had happened during the day. He was so glad to be able to go out on a date with Miki, and most likely the fact she was so…open to doing it so quickly might have shocked and even scared him a little. He was expecting a more…embarrassed version of Miki to ask something like that. Not an outspoken and open Miki. "What did he mean though?" Aaron thought trying to decipher Yuu's last words to him before he left.

There was a knock at the door and Aaron looked over at it where he heard a quiet voice say, "Can I come in Aaron?"

Aaron agreed, "Sure."

Miki came in and looked at him slightly embarrassed. "Ummm, I wanted to apologize if my dad gave you a hassle earlier today."

Aaron chuckled, "it's not a problem Miki. Nothing that can be done about it now."

"Aaron," Miki looked a little embarrassed, "I want you to know I will consider this a real date, and don't worry I'll take care of everything so please don't worry about anything."

Aaron blushed, "Well that's up to you, I mean I don't want you to feel odd because of me."

Miki shook her head, "If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have asked you to go out on a date with me."

Aaron chuckled, "I guess so, and honestly…I'm honored to go on a date with someone as wonderful as you Miki."

Miki blushed and smiled, "Thank you. Well I better let you get some sleep."

Aaron waved and looked at the ceiling once more. His heart was running in circles like a little kid, but his mind was undecided about so much. He sighed and looked at his watch turning the light on to check the time. "Only 11:30," he thought. "I need to take a walk and clear my head." Aaron tried to sit up but looked down at his leg, "This thing is going to wake up the house if I'm not really careful." As carefully as he could, Aaron got off the top bunk of the bed and slowly lugged his way down the stairs. It appeared to be a rather cold night out so he wore an extra shirt as a precaution to keep the cold out and put his headphones on blaring music. He quietly closed the door and slowly walked away down the street. Unbeknownst to him Miki saw him leave the house and wondered what he was up too. She knew he would head out at night, but she wanted to know where and why. She quietly slipped out the door and as best she could began to follow him down the street keeping her distance so as not to arouse his suspicions. Somehow despite lugging a cast on him Miki was surprised he was moving with relative ease like it wasn't even on his leg at all. She shivered a little as the cold air was starting to get to her small frame but she kept moving forward following. Miki looked at her watch and noticed a couple of hours had already passed by and she was unfamiliar with the part of town they were in. She could feel the fear slowly starting to creep over her and the cold air already chilling her getting worse. She needed to find somewhere to warm up and soon. Due to the unfamiliar settings she decided the best way was to catch up to Aaron. However in the time she had looked around unsure of what to do she had lost Aaron and was now cold, scared, and in a part of town she really wasn't sure about.

She called out hoping Aaron would somehow hear her, "Aaron! Aaron! Come on Aaron where are you?" She got no response from Aaron. What she DID get however was unwanted and unneeded company in the form of a gang.

"Heyyyyyyyy, well isn't this something!" one of them said grinning widely.

The apparent leader of the group snapped his fingers as if signifying something and the rest of the group quieted down as he sauntered up to Miki. The leader stood a few feet from Miki and said grinning with pride, "You seem to be out a little late tonight there girlie. Are you looking for a good time or somethin'"?

The rest of the gang hooted and hollered and again the gang leader stuck his hand up again silencing everyone. "N-not r-really," Miki meeped out in fear. She wanted to run away but the fear and cold had her legs stuck solid.

"You seem to be a little cold there, how about I help…warm you up," the gang leader said moving forward so he was mere inches from her face.

"N-n-no!" she thought, "Move come on Miki MOVE!" she couldn't muster the energy to move away, "Yuu! Yuu! Where are you?"

"You know I TRY to have a nice walk for the evening and instead of that I see you guys stirring up shit where it don't need to be stirred up!" A voice said from behind the large gang group.

The leader turned around and screamed, "Who are you!"

The man chuckled, "My name?" he shrugged, "What does it matter?"

The leader grinned, "Good point. You are just a nobody, one who most likely should keep his nose out of other people's business!"

The man chuckled and came into light, "Well I guess I just don't learn that quickly." Aaron walked into view and smiled.

Miki couldn't believe the luck of everything, but knew he didn't stand a chance against an entire gang let alone ANYONE with a broken foot. "Look buddy I'll cut you a break. Just mosey on out of here and we'll let you live."

Aaron held his laughter in before he burst out laughing, "Please, say that again for me. I need a good laugh right now!"

"Arrogant bastard! We'll shut you up good! Get him guys!"

The gang members grinned with confidence and attacked, "Yaaaaaahhh!"

"Try and get through THAT!" The leader turned his attention back to Miki.

Miki wanted to scream out but could only think, "Yuu! Where are you! Save me please! I'm so scared!"

"Now…how about a kiss…" the leader said slyly grinning and moving in.

"Excuse me," Miki saw a finger touch the leader's shoulder. The leader turned around and was roundhouse kicked away over into a building, and was completely knocked out in one kick. "Sorry about the delay there Miki," Aaron scratched the back of his head with a embarrassed smile. Miki stood in place tears streaming down her eyes she was in so much fear. Aaron retracted his smile and looked at Miki concerned, "Miki?"

Miki sniffed finally able to move and she thrust her body into Aaron crying loudly, "Where was Yuu! Where was he when I was in trouble!"

Aaron could feel Miki's cold body and removed his coat putting it over her gently as she cried out for Yuu feeling completely abandoned. "It's ok Miki, shhhhh, it's ok. You're safe now." Aaron's breath was coming out quite a bit more as the night air continued to cool. Miki continued to cry as Aaron embraced her for a few more minutes. Eventually Miki looked at Aaron who was smiling warmly. She could feel her body calming down and warming up.

"Aaron," she muttered as she could feel her body fading into sleep mode. She passed out in Aaron's arms who blinked as Miki seemed much more comforted and calmed.

"Greeeeeeeeeat!" Aaron thought, "Now I gotta carry her home." He chuckled and gently picked her up and carried her home making sure she was bundled up well enough so the cold did not get to her. Aaron could feel the cold starting to nip at him as well and shook his head. "Sorry cold you can get me tonight, but you leave Miki alone," he thought heading back toward the house.

As they were heading home Aaron heard Miki whisper in her sleep, "Aaron…" Aaron looked at Miki's calm sleeping figure and heard her finish, "Arigato." Aaron smiled gently continuing on his trek home.

The next morning…

Miki sneezed mightily and moaned pulling the thermostat out of her mouth, "102.1." she handed it to her mother.

"How did you even catch a cold! For that matter how did Aaron catch one at the same time as you?" Chiyako asked.

Miki shrugged not wanting to explain everything that happened last night. Even she did not understand how she got home. All she remembered was waking up on her bed with Aaron's coat on her keeping her warm. She slowly dragged herself up the stairs unable to got class today due to her illness and knocked on the door to Aaron's room. "Aaron?" she said looking hazily at the door.

"Come on in," Aaron's voice resounded slightly hazed as well.

"I had 102.1, what did you get?"

"104.3."

Miki's eyes were slightly shocked not at how high the temp was, but at the fact that Aaron act like he was in much better shape than the temp was suggesting. "How are you even able to be up about if your temp is so high?"

"I've been through a lot, and my body seems to heal a lot quicker than most bodies."

Miki couldn't believe someone out there could heal so much quicker than her. She turned to leave the room disappointed and stopped at the door. She turned around and asked Aaron who was simply typing away on his laptop, "Aaron, how did I get home last night?"

"You don't remember what happened?"

Miki shook her head, "After I saw the gang it was all kind of a blur."

Aaron stopped typing and looked over at Miki, "Well…it's kinda hard to explain what happened."

Miki shook her head and responded, "I most likely wouldn't believe you if you told me anyways."

Aaron raised an eyebrow and responded as Miki started heading out, "I saved your life."

Miki turned around and looked him directly in the eyes searching for any hint of falseness to his statement. Eventually she asked, "How? There were at least 40 to 50 guys there! Not to mention you have a broken foot!" She coughed having talked louder than she should have.

"I told you Miki, there are things about me that I don't reveal to people," Aaron looked back at his laptop feeling distant as he said that. "I did beat every one of those gang members, and then you cried on me for a few minutes before you passed out most likely due to the cold air and being in such shock. I placed my coat on you so you wouldn't get cold and carried you home afterwards."

"So that's how his coat got on me…" Miki thought.

"If you still don't believe me then why were you following me in the first place?"

Miki blushed a little and turned around saying somewhat peeved, "Well why were you outside in the first place!"

"I needed to clear my head Miki."

"And you couldn't talk with me!"

Aaron sighed and shook his head, "Well you know I WOULD but it's about…" Aaron stopped and shook his head, "You wouldn't understand."

Miki was getting flustered and yelled at Aaron incoherently feeling very faint all of a sudden. Aaron turned to see her breathing heavily her face very flush like her fever was getting worse. Aaron hopped off the bed and yelled, "Miki!" He picked up Miki and carried her to her room; placing her on her bed, where she slowly opened up her eyes and noticed Aaron was smiling gently.

"Aaron…" she whispered and then passed back out.

Aaron sighed and put her blankets over her body to keep her warm and placed his jacket on top once again. "Sleep well Miki," Aaron smiled and exited the room.

Miki tossed a little in her sleep and incoherently mumbled a few things as she dreamed. She slowly opened her eyes and looked around to find herself lying on her bed. Slowly she moved out from under the covers and felt surprisingly good like she was in tiptop shape. She slipped out of bed to realize she was already dressed into something for the day like she had gotten ready for class and then decided to catch a nap or something. She cautiously moved out her room toward the hall hoping not to wake Aaron and walked down the stairs looking around. It appeared as though the room was empty and it also felt differently. It was very very different feeling. A feeling like…barren, like no one had lived in the house for days, maybe even months. Miki looked around the house and could find no one anywhere she looked. After a few minutes of looking she wondered, "Where is everyone? Why does this place feel so dead?"

A knock came from the front door and she ran over to it opening it to reveal nothing. She blinked looking outside at the open space in front of her and looked around outside. Again it seemed very barren outside like people had not lived in the city for months. Everything was clean and pristine, but the feeling was that of emptiness and loneliness. Unsure of what to make of everything going on she turned around and faced what appeared to be Yuu. "Yuu!" She smiled happily and went to embrace him. Instead she passed right though Yuu and stumbled to the ground. She shook her head and looked behind her to see Yuu smiling. "Yuu? What's going on?" she began to get scared.

The figure of Yuu just smiled and then waved walking away slowly, "Gomen Miki."

Miki tried to get up to follow him but her legs did not allow her to get up. "NO! YUU! COME BACK!" She screamed as the ghostish figure of Yuu continued to move away. Miki cried feeling all alone all of a sudden and shook her head hoping that this wasn't true that Yuu was not leaving her. "Why Yuu! Why! After everything we've been through! You're throwing it away?"

"Miki…"a voice called out. Miki continued to sob as the voice called out again, "Miki…" Slowly lowing her hands from her eyes she could see another figure standing in the doorway.

"A…aron?" She looked at what appeared to be Aaron. He was smiling quite warmly. The same smile he'd used so many times to calm Miki down or cheer her up. "P…please don't tell me…you're leaving me too?"

Aaron chuckled, "Why would I leave you Miki? I love you. Don't you love me?"

Miki looked at him her legs slowly giving her strength to get up once more. She stumbled and was caught by Aaron. She seemed shocked he was real and looked down to notice there was no cast on his foot. "Aaron…your foot."

"It's fine. I'm a fast healer remember?" Miki looked into Aaron's face and could see the warmth and calm in his eyes. She could feel her body begin to tremble and Aaron asked, "Are you cold?"

Miki responded softly, "No, I'm just…scared."

Aaron responded softer, "Well don't be scared. I'm here for you." With those words Aaron slowly moved his head in and kissed Miki. Miki closed her eyes and could feel such passion and excitement in his kiss, yet the tenderness was there.

"Aaron…" she thought as she indulged in her feelings for him and allowed him to continue to kiss her.

"Aaron? She's dreaming about Aaron?" Rumi thought watching her daughter mumble in her sleep and turn from time to time seeming a bit uncomfortable.

Next day…

"Her fever has finally broke it appears," Youji said removing the damp cloth from Miki's forehead and reapplying a cool one once more.

"Has she still been mumbling about Aaron?" Rumi asked.
Youji nodded, "Yes, most of the night it was either incoherent or she was definitely saying his name."

"What is she dreaming about that involves Aaron?" Chiyako pondered placing a finger to her chin.

"I couldn't tell you."

"Could Aaron have done something to her? Placed a curse on her or something?" Rumi asked.

"Come on now you guys," Jin shook his head, "let's not think of obtuse sounding ideas just because she says Aaron's name."

The parents heard a slight moan behind them and they all turned to look at the source of the moaning. Aaron caught their gaze and rubbed his hair a little bit asking, "Ummm, do I have morning breath or something?"

"Aaron, did you notice anything strange about Miki yesterday?" Rumi asked concerned.

Aaron shook his head, "No, she just talked to me for a few moments and then passed out. I carried her to her bed and made sure she was ok and left. Nothing else."

"Nothing else?" Jin said narrow eyed.

Aaron looked at Jin with a forced smile and laughed, "Yes Jin I'm serious 100 that's all it was. Why? Is something wrong with Miki!"

"Well for some reason she's been mumbling your name all night."

Aaron raised an eyebrow and replied, "Really…well that's interesting."

"You're sure you don't have an idea of what's going on?" Chiyako asked once again.

Aaron shook his head, "No, I'm afraid I don't have a clue as to why." "Could it possibly be because of what happened the other night?" Aaron thought.

"So what did the professor say about your foot injury?" Youji asked Aaron changing the subject.

Aaron chuckled and responded, "Well, he said take the time I need to heal because he'd rather not have me put any undo pressure on my foot, and besides, he said he'd stop by when he needed me to grade stuff for him. Sort of a lackey type thing and I'm sure I'm going to get swamped with stuff to grade."

"At least you're still getting to do your studying abroad."

"Yeah I'm happy for that as well." Aaron looked at his watch and responded, "Well if you'll excuse me I have a shower that's begging to be used." He lugged his cast-ridden foot away down the stairs toward the shower.

"Well we better get to work," Rumi said looking at her watch, "Should we leave Aaron in charge of taking care of Miki?"

"With her fever down I don't think he'll need to worry, besides his temperature actually went up last night to over 105."

"What! What's he doing walking around then! He should be in bed!" Youji responded shocked.

"He said that he's feeling fine and he doesn't look bad at all either. It's like his body doesn't know it's at 105 degrees."

"Perhaps we should have a doctor look at him?" Jin pondered.

"No, we can't force him to do something he doesn't want to do," Chiyako responded.

"We'll deal with that later, right now we should get to work," Youji responded getting up and leaving the room. The rest of the parents nodded and exited the room in orderly fashion.

The next day…

Miki got up and stretched out having vanquished the dreaded fever from her body. It was a beautiful morning and Miki raised her arms in delight repeating her firing up phrase, "Yooooosh! Today is going to be a GREAT day!" She changed out of her sleep clothes and into her school clothes for the day and smiled feeling MUCH better. She knocked on the door to Aaron's room and said smiling, "Aaron! Get up! It's time to get ready for class!" There was no answer and again she knocked, "Aaron?" Still no answer and she slowly opened the door to make sure everything was ok. On the top bunk lay Aaron papers strung about and a book over his face. The light he was using most likely to read the papers was still on and she could hear slight snoring coming from under the book. She giggled and poked him a few times getting no response.

She poked him a third time and got him to mumble out, "Die Xlophis…"Miki was a little confused and poked him again getting another mumble out of him. "That's…Meta'll…"

By this time Miki wasn't too happy he wasn't waking up and moved him quite a bit harder. "Wake up sleepy head!" she said chuckling.

Aaron bolted up suddenly with one hard snore and said, "BLAST!" He looked around and noticed he wasn't in dream world anymore and moaned falling back onto the bed, "What time is it, Miki?"

"Time for class!"

Aaron chuckled, "Yeah, about that whole thing. I won't be going to the actual class until my foot heals."

"Ehhhh! What!" Miki was shocked.

"Yeah. Sorry to burst your bubble there Miki, and speaking of class…I gotta finish grading these papers."

Miki looked at one of the papers and responded, "Hey! These are-!"

"The papers from class, yes I know. I'm the one grading them. The professor figured since I can't go to class to help him he's going to drop off the stuff he needs me to grade and such."

Miki nodded, "I see."

"Like a slave…" Aaron mumbled under his breath.

Miki giggled again and replied, "Well if that's the case I better let you get grading and I'll get to class. I only have English again today so I'll be home for a bit before I head off to work."

"You WORK?" Aaron turned his head toward Miki like it was a shock.

"Of course I do! I've been working at this ice cream shop named Bobson's for a little over a year now," Miki retorted.

"Hmmm, I'll have to come see you when you work one of these days," Aaron said smiling and finished, "I bet you look really cute in your apron."

Miki blushed and replied like she was mad, "Aaron!"

"Aright aright, I won't harass you at work, but I still want to see what you look like in it," Aaron teased.

"I'll let you see what I look like before I head to work, how's that sound?"

Aaron rubbed his stubble chin and replied, "Fair enough. Hopefully I'm done grading all these papers by then."

Miki nodded and waved, "See you later Aaron!"

Aaron waved and passed back out on the bed.

Later that day…

Miki sauntered back into her home after getting done with class and walked upstairs to her room. She changed into her Bobson's uniform and twirled around in it. She chuckled and walked out of her room and knocked on the door to Aaron's room. "Aaron! I'm home and I want to show you something!" Again she tapped on the door and said, "Aaron come on now! You were the one who wanted to see me in this!" She opened the door frustrated and said as she opened the door, "Aar-ahhhh!" Miki jumped back as she opened the door and noticed Aaron on the floor white as a sheet and covered in sweat. "Aaron! AARON!" She yelled checking him for a pulse and could feel he was VERY warm. "Holy crap! What is his temperature at!" She plugged the thermometer into his prone mouth and waited a few seconds before checking. "110.7!" She looked at the thermostat in shock. "How the hell did his body get so WARM?"

She looked over to notice Aaron was trying to get up SOMEHOW and heard him mumble, "Must…get to waters…need…to heal…" Aaron turned his head toward Miki and looked like he was possessed. A chill went up her spine and she trembled as Aaron tried to get back to his feet. Aaron almost got to his feet and then fell and hit his head as he fell back to the ground. He let out a dazed moan and started breathing heavily like he was back in control of his own body. "Crap…" Aaron mumbled slowly as he rolled over onto his back and continued mumbling, "I so need water…"

"Aaron!" Miki said scrambling to her feet. "Hold on! I'll get you some water!"

Miki rushed down stairs and got a glass filled it with water and rushed back upstairs. She handed it to Aaron who instantly drank it clean. Slowly Aaron began to catch his breath a little easier and he tried getting back to his feet. Miki helped him back to his feet while Aaron chuckled hoarsely, "Guess I'm not as resilient to illness as you."

Miki blushed and responded fiercely, "Well excuse me!"

"I should be ok now. I was just dehydrated."

"You looked like some kind of possessed demon more than just dehydrated."

Aaron closed his eyes and thought, "CRAP! That wasn't supposed to happen in front of her. I hope I didn't mumble out something she's going to grill me on!" Aaron forced a smile and responded, "Trust me, that was the dehydration demon."

"Why haven't you been taking care of yourself? You're worse now than you were a couple days ago!"

Aaron felt wobbly in the legs and flopped to the ground taking Miki with him. "Ack! Miki are you ok?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah, just a sore bum is all."

"Sorry, a lot of the reason is because I've just been making sure you're doing ok. I mean with your parents gone someone should be taking care of you."

Miki blushed and flailed, "Are you crazy! Look what happened!"

"Look Miki," Aaron changed to a serious expression on his face, "I'll be fine, but I would NEVER forgive myself if ANYTHING happened to you!" Aaron stopped realizing what he had just said and turned away from Miki totally embarrassed.

Miki was embarrassed as well and smiled slightly replying, "A-Arigato…"

"Gomen…"

Miki shook her head, "Don't be, after all…there are things about you I don't know right?"

Aaron turned around to see smiling. "Miki…I…"he sighed and smiled trying not to worry about it anymore.

"So, how do I look?" Miki said twirling in her Bobson's outfit.

Aaron chuckled, "You look like a cute little high schooler."

"HEY!" Miki's face was flustered.

"I'm kidding! I'm kidding! You look really cute in that honestly," Aaron smiled.

"Thanks," Miki smiled back.

"So what time do you have to work today?"

"Noon to 8pm."

"I see," Aaron looked down at his watch, "So you got a couple of hours before shift I guess."

Miki nodded and got back to her feet. "Yup, did you finish the work the professor gave you?"

Aaron slowly got back to his feet with Miki's help and nodded, "Yeah it's all done. Although I could honestly say you might want to work a little harder, your English is a lot to be desired."

Miki looked flustered and replied, "I know…"

Aaron chuckled, "But you've definitely improved since the first time I met you."

Miki was actually embarrassed at his compliment and shook her head, "Arigato."

"You can let go of me now Miki, I should be ok, as long as I stay hydrated that is."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, nothing I haven't encountered before."

Miki hesitantly let him go and noticed he wasn't as white as before, adding to the confidence of what he said. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Miki asked feeling somewhat obligated to help him.

"At this exact moment I just need to drink plenty of fluids. I only hope my temperature never exceeded 108 degrees or else there could be problems down the road."

"Actually Aaron when I took your temperature not long ago you almost hit 111 degrees," Miki said shyly.

Aaron about passed out from what she said and wobbled over to the bed smacking his head against the upper bunk board and falling flat on his face once more, "I'll refrain from using choice words," Aaron moaned as Miki helped him back to his feet.

"You sure know how to get beat up you know that?"

"Don't remind me," Aaron chuckled and finished, "However this is still nothing compared to what I've been through."

"How about I get you some more water. You may feel better and your body may start to cool down."

"Not a bad idea." Miki hurried back downstairs and got a much larger glass of water as well as a pitcher full of water in case Aaron decided he needed more. When she returned back upstairs Aaron was laying on the ground passed out again breathing heavily looking even worse than before. Miki freaked out setting the water and pitcher on the ground and scrambled to get a pillow and some blankets.

"You really get into some crazy situations Aaron," Miki thought as she made Aaron look as comfortable as she could. She ran downstairs to the bathroom and got a washcloth and a pan with some cool water. Rushing back upstairs she doused the cloth in the cool water and placed it on Aaron's forehead. It seemed like steam was rising the moment the cloth touched his forehead and Miki seemed a bit startled. Aaron mumbled a little more as Miki placed the thermostat back into his mouth to measure his temperature. She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw he was back down to 104. Still quite high by human standards but WAY below what he was at earlier. "Seriously though, what would cause his body temperature to be so high in the first place?" Aaron seemed much more at peace than he was before and Miki smiled thinking, "he's actually pretty cute when he sleeps." She shook head blushing, "What am I thinking!"

Miki could feel her heart thumping loudly and it was almost scaring her how bad she was studying his sleeping face. "Miki…" Aaron mumbled as Miki jumped back snapped out of her trance, "Arigato…" Aaron took a relaxing breath and was sleeping peacefully.

"You're so overdramatic Aaron," Miki chuckled, "but that's one thing I love about you. You know when to be there for me. Thank you so much." She removed the cool cloth from his forehead and reapplied a cool layer of water to it twisting the excess water out and re-applying it to his head.

Saturday morning…

Today was a big day for Miki and her already boisterous attitude was in full force. It had been a while since she had seen her friend Meiko and was very excited to see her once more. It had been close to 6 months since the last time she had spoken with her even over the phone as each of them were busy taking care of other things. Miki was thankful Aaron would be able to join them considering the massive flu he had picked up a week ago was finally out of his system. He seemed back to his normal self as well, which made Miki seem much more at ease. Miki got dressed up in her best clothes and put on make-up as well. She wasn't out to impress anyone, but obviously this was a very important date to her! She looked in her mirror and smiled almost giggle like this was her first date or something. "Perfect!" she thought as she walked over and knocked on the door to Aaron's room. "Aaron!" she tapped gently. As usual there was no answer and again she tapped on the door and slowly opened it. However this time there was no one inside the room. "Empty?" Miki looked around confused. "Could he already be downstairs?" Miki thought shutting the door and slowly walking downstairs. No sounds could be heard from downstairs however and Miki was a little weary. "Where is he? This isn't like him to not be around. Not to mention he's got a cast on his…wait…I hope he didn't go out somewhere." Miki sighed knowing that Aaron would pull something like that. Even though she only knew Aaron for a matter of weeks she knew enough to know he would take off at a moment's notice if he needed to just because he could. "He's totally ruined our plans!" Miki slunk onto the couch. "That jerk! I hate him!" She puffed her cheeks and sighed once again. "Why of all days did he have to cop out today?" The front door opened and Miki looked over to the archway intersecting the front door. In walked Aaron without a cast on his foot. "Where have you been?" Miki yelled at him not noticing he was no longer wearing a cast.

"Ummm. The doctor's office?" Aaron pointed to his foot no longer in a cast.

"What are you…the doctor said it'd be weeks before he'd be able to take that off!"

"I told you, I'm a fast healer," Aaron said chuckling.

Miki didn't have time to find out what happened only that if she and Aaron didn't leave soon they'd be late. She sprang up and pushed Aaron out the door literally and then said, "Come on! We're gonna be late!"

Train station…

Meiko looked at her husband smiling and then back at her watch thinking, "It's not like Miki to be late."

Meiko's husband looked at the expression on her face and replied smiling, "Knowing Koishikawa-san I'm sure she'll be here soon."

Meiko nodded and agreed, "You're right. I'm just so anxious because I haven't seen her since our wedding."

Namura placed his hand on Meiko's shoulder and responded, "I'm sure she's just as anxious to see you as well, and I'm glad we had some time to come visit."

Meiko nodded and turned around to see Miki running toward them with a large smile on her face. "Meiko!" She squealed and ran over hugging her friend.

"It's been so long since I've seen you!" Meiko smiled in her mature tone.

"I know! And Na-chan! You look wonderful as well!"

"Why thank you Koishikawa-san!" Namura smiled and chuckled.

"Didn't you say you had someone else with you?" Meiko looked around.

Miki blinked a few times and turned around looking for her 'guest'. "NOW where did he go?" Miki sighed.

"Did you run to far ahead perhaps?" Namura asked.

Miki laughed embarrassed and said, "No, no I'm sure he'll be here any minute!" Miki said waving her hands. All of a sudden there was a loud crash behind Miki and she had the worst feeling Aaron was somehow involved in it. "Oh no…please don't tell me," she thought looked depressed. A crowd was gathering around the interior of the train station and it appeared as though a fight was about to get underway.

"Come ON, I didn't even touch it!" Aaron said pointing to the thug knocked out unconscious next to him, "He's the one who did it!"

"Don't even try to tell me it was him! I saw you," Aaron's accuser pointed back.

Aaron raised an eyebrow and then grinned slyly responding, "Oh…I get it. I had a feeling you looked familiar. You're that spineless bastard that tried raping my friend the other night!"

An uneasy murmur went through the crowd and a few of them ran away. "Huh? Wait, I recognize you now! You're-!"

"Yes, yes I'm the one that kicked the unholy crap out of you and your entire band of idiots."

"Oh you have NO clue how happy this makes me!" The gang leader grinned with glee.

"Aaron!" Miki screamed pushing her way through the group of people and coming out next to him, "What are you do…ing." Miki recognized the gang leader from the other night and quickly got behind Aaron asking him, "What the hell is HE doing here!"

"Hell if I know, trouble just seems to follow me around like stink on a pig."

"Hah hah. Can we please go?"

"Hey! Tell the bitch over there she better say her prayers!" The gang leader whistled and instead of 40 or 50 around 300 people rushed through the crowd and got behind the gang leader.

Miki cringed and Aaron groaned, "How about we leave NOW!" Miki suggested.

"Look they're only after me, you get your friend and her husband out of here."

"Aaron!" Miki tried to object but noticed the intense look on his face and instead of finishing nodded.

"And Miki!" Aaron said as Miki dashed away.

Miki stopped, "We'll meet back at your place! Trust me I won't abandon you!"

Miki nodded and rushed back over to Meiko and Namura. "Come on we gotta get back to my house quick. There's a bit of trouble and we need to get out of here."

Meiko looked slightly confused and looked at her husband who responded, "Is everything all-!" A guy suddenly went flying past them screaming as he flew by.

"Trust me!" Miki said looking totally embarrassed and trying to smile.

Meiko nodded and took off with Miki leading the charge.

Koishikawa house…

"Miki…" Meiko said winded, "What is going…on?"

"Meiko, you wouldn't believe me if I…told you."

"That seemed to be a rather interesting way to meet your friend," Namura smiled trying to keep the conversion light.

"Namura!" Meiko said slightly surprised but more flustered with his response.

"Is he even going to be ok?" Meiko asked Miki.

Miki of course wasn't sure but tried to comfort her guests nonetheless. Minutes passed by that seemed like forever-in Miki's mind, and she was starting to get antsy. "Meiko," Namura looked at wife.

Meiko smiled and nodded. Meiko walked over and put her hands on Miki's shoulders and said in her gentle voice, "Hey, we believe everything will be ok. You need to believe in him!"

Miki shook her head and replied, "You're right, Meiko. Hey! I know would you like some tea while we wait?"

Meiko chuckled and looked over at her husband who nodded, "We've got time. We might as well."

Miki walked into the kitchen and put some water into a kettle and set it on the stove. As hard as she tried she could feel the thumping in her chest and the worry in her heart. It was getting so bad she wanted to burst into tears. "You fool Aaron, why are you always trying to act so macho all the time? You won't let me in and then you try to act like it doesn't bother you! Are you really that hurt that you can't even feel the pain it brings anymore?" Miki barely heard the kettle whistling and quickly took it off the stove and set it on another burner. She grabbed some teacups as well as some saucers and set them on the tea tray. She brought the tray out and set it on the living room table forcing a smile as if nothing was bothering her. "Here we are!" Miki said in an over the top mode voice that Meiko instantly picked up on.

"Miki…" Meiko said trying to force her friend out of her worried mode.

"Meiko it's fine! I'm sure he's already on his way back to the house now."

"Miki…"

The door to the house opened up and in walked Aaron looking like he hadn't been touched. "Word!" he smiled broadly.

Meiko and Namura were unsure of what to make of Aaron's expression. Miki however knew exactly what to say and stormed over and slapped Aaron, "Miki!" Meiko was more shocked than anything.

Miki tore into Aaron, "You JERK! What are you doing trying to be all heroic!" Miki's eyes started welling up and she could feel her anger and fear coming out. "What if something had happened to you! What if you had been HURT!"

Aaron looked back at Miki intensely but did not respond. Instead he looked over at Meiko and Namura and said, "Pardon my rude entrance, but would you please give me and Miki a moment?"

Namura nodded, "Of course."

"Come on Miki," Aaron said grabbing her by the wrist firmly. Miki was ready to lay into him once more after they were alone, but Aaron never gave her the chance to begin. The moment they stopped upstairs Aaron took command of the situation and began; "Now look I'm sorry I ruined everything I didn't mean to do it! I didn't even DO anything back there and how I ran into those guys I couldn't tell you WHY it happened!" Aaron rammed his fist into the wall angrily and Miki's sudden frustration went away as she could see Aaron was actually opening up a little to her. He'd never screamed or anything of the sort, never once shown any sort of emotion other than kindness and for once he was actually open about things. He continued, "It…just doesn't matter where I go, or what I do. It's like I'm a magnet for trouble. Where I go trouble seems to follow, and it's not that I even LOOK for it! It just seems to find me! I was worried that you would get caught up in everything that's going on in my life all of a sudden and…I was worried you'd get hurt because of it. That's why I leave some nights, and that's why I did what I did today. If I had done nothing they would have come after you Miki. I KNOW they would have. Hell I found three of them following you, as you escaped so don't tell me I don't know for sure. Miki…I just want to make sure your safe. Sometimes I overdo it, and I get caught up in the fight, but my whole reason is because I want to make sure people don't get hurt caught up in something that doesn't involve them. I didn't look for what happened today. I was really excited…I'm ecstatic to meet Meiko and her husband. You have no idea how glad I am to meet your friends. I still want to make this day memorable for you no matter what, and I want you to believe that I'm dead serious about that. Protecting you is my #1 priority in the universe…you and you alone Miki. Please understand that…"

Miki's tears did not stop and she buried her head into Aaron's chest crying, "Thank you…" she cried, "thank you so much for opening up to me finally!"

Aaron sighed and gently embraced her, "I'm sorry. I'll try not to make you worry about me anymore."

Miki shook her head, "No! What you're doing is protecting me! I know you'll be fine no matter what happens. I trust you Aaron. You've protected me since the beginning. Thank you so much!"

Aaron smiled and nodded thinking, "I see what Yuu meant now by taking care of Miki. I guess she's just as much of a trouble finder as I am. Don't worry Yuu…I'll take good care of her. Don't you worry at all."