Chapter Four

"Kohana? Kin? Are you two up there?" called Akako up the staircase, her voice echoing off the thin walls.

Blinking and lifting up his head as the sound of his aunt, he reluctantly released his grip on Kohana and exited her room, appearing at the top of the stairs, trying to fake a smile for her, "We got bored with the snow so me and Kohana are looking for something else to do." He explained, hoping his aunt would believe him.

Watching his expressions carefully, she nodded and released the railing, stepping down onto the floor and smiling kindly, "Alright then. Just try not to make a mess up there. You two tend to be quite brutal with one another."

"We won't, Aunt Akako." He assured and headed back towards Kohana's room, knowing it surely was not boredom that was troubling them.

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Kin watched from his seat at the lunch table, the following week at school, with a glare as Joey walked up behind Kohana where she sat, one table down, with Rei, Rori, and Ren. He clenched his fists slightly when suddenly Joey leaned over her shoulder and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, setting a white carnation down on the table in front of her.

Her face drew into an instant blush, a faint yet pleased smile playing across her lips as she reached out and ran her fingers along the flower's stem, "I apologize for not making it to the snow war." He heard Joey say, "Mother was ill and father was terribly worried. Seems she is having a baby…"

"So I was right." He thought, diverting his gaze quickly as Kohana glanced over at him from her table, causing him to grin in satisfaction, "And she knows it too."

"It- it's alright, Joey." Kin heard her stammer, "We had a feeling that was the case."

Nodding with a smile, Joey turned and walked back to his group of friends across the lunch room. Just as he was out of sight, Rei, Rori, and Ren burst into simultaneous spurts of laughter and giggles, Kohana soon joining in as well.

Squeezing her way out from between her triplet cousins, Kohana snuck over to Kin's side as his eyes were locked on something in another direction, "Kin?" she asked, watching him nearly jump out of his skin as he whipped around, letting out a deep sigh of relief as he saw who it was who'd startled him.

"Have fun over there with our dear cousin Joey?" he asked, trying to sound bored while flicking a carrot slice from his tray, glancing up at her.

"Kin, remember how I said I always look forward to Joey's visits?" she questioned, watching him nod and glance back to his tray, " Well…I thought about it over the weekend, and I finally figured out why. See…I've always been an only child, well until recently…sort of…anyways…Joey has so many siblings that thinking of him as a brother, means his siblings are my own. And since he's close to my age, it's almost like having a twin brother. You know?"

Blinking a bit, he looked up at her, "A brother? From the way you were crying it sounded like…"

"Like what?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing…forget I said anything…"

"Oh. Well, alright." She got up and started back to her table, stopping briefly, "Kin?"

"Yeah?" he asked, mentally kicking himself in his stupid little head.

"I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school today?" she asked him, her eyes downcast to her foot scuffing at the floor.

A sudden smile plastered itself across Kin's face, he couldn't believe it, was she giving him a chance? She just basically apologized for her behavior and the words she spoke of Joey, giving him the completely wrong idea. So…does that mean she actually is giving him a chance?

"Uh, yeah! Sure! No problem 'Hana!" he exclaimed.

"Really?" she smiled sweetly.

"Yeah. So…I'll meet you outside your class at the end of the day then?"

Nodding, she smiled to herself triumphantly and walked back to her table and her awaiting triplet cousins.

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By the end of the day, only a few minutes remained until the long school day would end and Kohana would meet with Kin. Anxiously waiting, she tapped her pencil eraser against the desk, her foot fidgeting as she stared out the window, not seemingly able to keep her limbs still.

"Am I really that nervous? But…why? It's only Kin, I'm only his cousin, it's not like he's never been over before. So there's no reason I should be nervous…right?" she sighed to herself, gripping onto her pencil in hopes to calm her nerves down just a notch.

Sure enough, the bell chimed and all the students of the school packed up their belongings and filtered out of their classes, voices flooding the halls as the children met up with friends, talking about anything they could to ease their minds from the exhausting school day.

Surprisingly, Kohana looked around as she gathered her things, noticing she was in fact the last one in the room. Even the teacher was gone, "Probably just out to supervise the others in the halls." She thought.

Just as she was about to exit the room to go find Kin, she slammed into something, or was it someone? She couldn't quite tell, having been knocked to the ground, her books scattering out on the floor beside her. Rubbing her head, she felt two strong hands grasp onto her arms and lift her back to her wobbly feet. Stumbling slightly, she opened her eyes to look up at who had caused her fall; standing before her, arms on hers, was none other than the person she had anticipated most, Kin.

A faint blush coloring her cheeks, he smiled down at her, blushing a bit himself. He kneeled down and gathered her books neatly in his arms, standing back up and tucking them under his arm, "Sorry 'bout that, 'Hana. Are you alright?"

Nodding up at him, her face only reddened more as he used her short name. "Few people call me that…" she noted, "But people do tend to call me by that name…so why am I blushing now that Kin is using it?" she gulped and motioned to her books, but he only shook his head, signaling that he had them and that she was not to argue.

He reached down and hesitantly touched the edge of her cheek, noticing her blushing; his breath caught and stomach turned into knots, "What is she doing to me?" he wondered, noticing that she only blushed more at his gesture.

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Walking down the hall back towards the classroom, he stopped, hearing a rather quiet conversation being held within the room. Seeming to recognize the voices and concurring that they did not belong to any teachers or other adults, he stepped into the doorway and stopped in his tracks. There they were, Kin and Kohana, his Kohana, with Kin holding her books, stroking her cheek, making her blush.

Shocked, angered, and even a bit hurt, he tried to play it cool, not wanting to upset his Kohana. He leaned his slender form against the doorway casually and crossed his arms over his chest, perking up a brow seemingly curious, he cleared his throat, catching their attention.

"And what do we have here?" he asked, eyeing the two.

Jumping back a little, Kohana found herself back in reality, turning her head to see Joey, she felt her heart sink down into her stomach.

"Kohana asked me to accompany her to her house, Joey. I'm helping with her books, does that bother you?" he glared.

"Not in the least. I'm glad you've finally matured enough to be a gentleman towards our dearest cousin. She doesn't need all those bruises from your rough-housing, childish, behavior." He grinned, nodding at Kohana, "Mind if I tag along? I forgot a book in my desk and came to get it, of course the busses are already gone, father is working and I would hate to burden my pregnant mother to come all the way out here to bring me home."

His anger apparent in his features, Kin lowered his head and sighed, knowing Kohana would not allow a cousin, a "brother", to be left at the school until his father could find the time to come get him.

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"Joey dear, would you mind helping me with this?" Akako asked, nodding over to the cutting board on the counter as the boy walked into the kitchen. Though he was only nine, he was taller than his ten year old cousin, Kin, and was also better with knives, surprisingly. His father being a writer and his mother not being that great of a cook, he seemed to have developed skills all his own, though he did seem to inherit his father's whim and love of women.

"Of course, Aunt Akako." He replied with a grin, mentally cursing his pregnant aunt, picking up the knife and slicing at the freshly washed leeks Akako had placed down for him, "You are looking quite lovely this evening if I might add." He grinned at her chuckle and mumble of thanks as she nibbled at a slice of leek she stole from the cutting board.

He had only suggested that he leave to get himself and his cousins a drink so that he could leave the two alone, hoping to catch them touching or a conversation even so that he could work his charm, hopefully upset Kin enough to leave, or perhaps to simply leave his Kohana alone.

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W00t! I promised myself to do an Author's Note once I actually finished Chapter Four. Major brain cramp halfway through, then problems occured with our hot water tank so I had to camp out at a friend's, who unfortunately has no internet, just to be able to bathe. xx It's finally up though! Yay for me. 3 Please review!

KiNeU