Chapter 9 - Forgetting II

The next day was going to be just as long as the previous was. Kisa and Yukina had only spent one day at Yukina's parents, and in the evening of the next day, they flew back to Tokyo. This time, not as early in the morning, so when they got back, they weren't as tired.

On the metro, they leaned against each other's shoulders as they got some rest. As it was Christmas, the whole city was busy and crowded with people.

It had snowed in Tokyo, and it was freezing. Some public transport had stopped working thanks to the snow storm that had hit the city last night. As Kisa and Yukina were walking down the sidewalk, Yukina kept sneezing and sniffing.

"Told you to dress up properly, didn't I?" Kisa sighed.

"I did dress up properly," Yukina rubbed his nose. "It's not my fault that it's been so chilly. It's winter after all."

Kisa rolled his eyes and grunted.

"It is winter, but you still gotta take care of yourself."

As they turned to the right at the corner of the street, they nearly bumped into a couple. Kisa quickly took a step back, but Yukina walked straight into them. The guy cursed for a second before he glanced at Yukina and Kisa.

"Kou! Professor?"

And now Kisa recognised the guy. It was one of Yukina's classmates. And the girl was probably his girlfriend.

"Ah, haven't seen you in the past few weeks," Yukina grinned at his friend.

"Yeah, I…" The guy shot a glance at Kisa, and smiled mischievously. "I…"

"Skipped school, didn't you?"

He laughed, and Kisa rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, well… pretty much."

With a sigh, Kisa took a step forward, leaving the others behind. He was walking home with Yukina. He couldn't let someone, who was also his student, see them this close.

"Anyway, where have you been, Kou? I thought you'd spend Christmas with your family."

"I did spend it with them!" Yukina replied.

The couple laughed.

"It seemed like you had spent it with the prof."

Kisa blushed, and Yukina stopped laughing. Kisa turned around, and tried to make the most casual and surprised face he could.

"We just happened to run into each other," he said, and the guy – whose name he still couldn't remember – laughed.

"Damn, teachers sure can't take jokes. No offence though, Kisa-sensei."

Kisa grunted, and began walking again, and he could hear Yukina's quite nervous laughter in the background.

"Seriously, Daichi, I was in Hokkaido, I just got back now."

Kisa was a few corners ahead when Yukina reached him some time later. His face was flustered, he was probably running.

"I'm sorry, Kisa-san, he's a little… rude."

"I don't care, I'm a teacher, I signed up for this," Kisa mumbled.

Yukina smiled, and soon, they reached Kisa's apartment. As soon as they set their feet into the living room, Kisa dropped his bag onto the floor, and collapsed onto the couch. Yukina did the same, and somehow, they managed to lie next to each other on that not too big couch.

"Okay, meeting Daichi on the street sure was crazy and unexpected."

"Tell me about it," Kisa murmured

They turned their gazes at each other. And they burst out laughing. Quiet, exhausted laugh filled the gloomy living room, just a part of it was painted dark orange by the setting sun. They interlaced their fingers, and just kept on laughing until the point where they had no idea why they were even laughing.

It was just a nice feeling to be like this. To laugh, to love, even though their relationship was still risky. It was probably the feeling that had been missing from Kisa's life, the feeling that he hadn't had for a long time. Having someone by your side. Having someone to love, to laugh with, someone who holds you after a long day.

When they stopped laughing, Kisa curled up next to Yukina, and wrapped his arm around him. Yukina planted a kiss on the top of his head.

They were okay. Things were okay.


It was new year soon. Kisa was sitting on his couch, alone after he spent the whole week with Yukina. The apartment felt awfully silent now that it was only him in it. He missed Yukina a lot when he wasn't around, and it hadn't even been a month that they became a couple.

Kisa's mind was all around new year. He wanted to spend it with Yukina, but Yukina said something about going out with his friends. And he didn't really want to go to the festivals alone. The only thing that came to his mind was that he could go to the shrines. He could pray for good luck for the new year, for a better year.

A year that he got to spend with someone he loved.

Also, he had spent the rest of the winter break with looking for new jobs. He had filled several application forms, he had sent his resume to a few places already. But as it was winter break, none of those schools and universities had replied yet. And Kisa could only hope that one of them would.

When he went to bed, he noticed that his blanket smelled like Yukina. Kisa couldn't help but cuddle that blanket.

"Oh, god," he whispered to the empty room. He loved that kid so much that he couldn't even put his feelings into words. He was head-over-heels in love with Yukina.

Although he had no idea how a twenty-one-year-old kid made him feel like this. Well, it was probably his charming persona, his childish clumsiness, and the fact that he was beautiful. Not just his face, but everything about him. And Kisa loved every little part of him.

As his mind was all around Yukina again, he slowly fell asleep without even changing to his pyjamas.

On the last day of December, Kisa went to the shrines. Wherever he went, it was crowded, full of people that enjoyed the festivals. Even though it was freezing out there, everyone was waiting together for the new year.

Kisa watched the sunset as he was waiting in line to get to one of the shrines. Everything felt so… strange. He had this feeling that something new was about to start. Or maybe his life was about to restart. He had no idea.

When the person in front of him left, he took a step to the shrine, threw a coin in there, clapped his hands, and prayed. He closed his eyes, and imagined himself with Yukina together, happily. That's what he wished for.

When he left the shrine, the sun had disappeared, and it was replaced by the shiny stars on the dark sky. Kisa inhaled the cold air, his stomach was slightly clenched. He really wanted the next year to be better. For him. For them.

He took a step, but someone grabbed his arm. He turned around, and he looked straight at Yukina's face. The brunet was smiling at him, and it was such a happy smile that it melted Kisa's heart. It suddenly didn't feel so cold anymore.

"Yukina…?"

"Kisa-san, I didn't think I'd run into you here!"

Kisa looked around. No one seemed to bother looking at them.

"Where are your friends?" Kisa asked slowly. What if they see them?

"Ah, they went home. They'll come back 'round, though," Yukina shrugged, his smile never disappeared. "What about you, Kisa-san? Do you visit the shrine every year?"

"Not every year," Kisa replied as he walked along with Yukina towards a bench. "In fact, it's been quite a few years that I've visited one."

"How come?"

Yukina was such a curious kid, and Kisa had no idea what to tell him. Even he didn't know why he hadn't visited the shrines for a while.

"I just couldn't be bothered, I guess."

"I visit them every year," Yukina said as they took a seat. It was so dark that the only thing they could see was the distant lights of the festival. "I always wish for something. I always have something to wish for."

Kisa smiled at him. He used to be the same when he was Yukina's age.

"I guess I didn't really have anything to wish for until now."

"Hmm…" Yukina crossed his legs, and elbowed on them. "But there's always something to wish for."

Kisa chuckled, and rolled his eyes.
"Like what?"

"Let's see… Good grades, a nice year in general. Girls."

That made Kisa laugh. As if he would have ever wished for a girlfriend.

"I had good grades in school, so I never had to wish for them," he shrugged. Yukina chuckled.

"I wished for those good grades last year. And the year before, I wished for my friend to get back from his trip to Kyoto safe. That was the first time he went alone…"

And Yukina kept on listing what he had wished for in his whole life so far. And Kisa listened. It was so nice to hear his voice – that energetic voice filled with enthusiasm. He thought about what he had wished for when he was younger. He didn't really remember, though. None of those wishes mattered anymore.

Especially not the ones he had made when he was the same age as Yukina…

"So, what did you wish for this time?" he asked once Yukina finished talking.

"It's a top secret, Kisa-san."

Yukina even put his index finger to his mouth, and although it was dark, Kisa could see that he winked.

"Got ya, got ya."

Soon, they were walking amongst people, checking out the festival. It was loud, but Kisa didn't mind, as long as they were together. He didn't even think about the risks anymore. At that very moment, nothing mattered. Just the two of them.

They had bought some sweets, and at one point Yukina suggested that they could check out the fireworks, too. Kisa agreed. Of course, he agreed! It had been so long that he enjoyed this time of the year. And he was extremely happy to finally have someone who he could spend it with.

"I love the fireworks," Yukina said. "I've always loved them. What about you?"

Kisa smiled.

"They're not bad."

Yukina literally shrieked, and stopped walking.

"What? What did you say? Are you serious? What do you mean 'not bad'?"

Kisa laughed so loud that it echoed, and some people turned to see who's laughing so loud.

"I was never really into it. Or maybe I should say that I wasn't really bothered to see the fireworks every year."

"Oh." Yukina grinned as he caught up to Kisa. "Well, I've wanted to watch them with you. I'm glad you agreed."

Kisa nodded, his face was slightly flustered. Ever since they had visited Yukina's parents, Kisa knew that Yukina had been into him for a while – longer than he had thought. But still, it made him happy, excited, even, that this silly young boy loved his so much and wanted to see the fireworks with him.

"It's going to be a good last day of the year, I suppose."

They walked around, looking for a spot away from the huge crowd, where no one could see them. They launched the fireworks soon. Yukina and Kisa found a small hill not too far from the shrines and the festival, and they sat down. The snow had melted days ago, and although it was still cold, they could sit on the grass.

"Seems like a nice view," Yukina commented as he turned his gaze towards the night sky.

"Hopefully."

Silence. It was the kind of silence that none of them minded. They were patiently waiting, and Yukina now grabbed Kisa's hand gently, interlacing their fingers. Kisa looked at him, but the brunet kept on gazing at the sky. He looked excited.

Just a few minutes later, they had finally launched the firework, and Yukina gasped as the first one reached the sky and exploded.

It was incredibly beautiful.

Shortly, colourful fireworks had filled the dark sky, and everything around them was suddenly lighten up by them. But Kisa wasn't watching them.

He was staring at Yukina's face. He looked like a little kid who was just seeing fireworks for the first time in his life. He was smiling, his eyes sparkling, and Kisa's heart was racing crazily in his chest. That happy look on Yukina's face… he wanted to see that every day in the new year. No, not just every day – every minute, every second. And he could give anything for that.

The fireworks didn't last for more than ten minutes. It was dark again. And Kisa just noticed it now. Yukina was holding his hand so tight the whole time that it went pale white. It was even aching a little, but it didn't matter.

"Yukina…"

"Yes?"

Kisa gulped. Ever since the piano contest, it was the first time he had tried to say it. The first time that he had tried to express his feelings towards Yukina. But all he could do was biting his lip, and closing his eyes tight in his embarrassment.

"Kisa-san?"

Kisa drew a deep breath. And then he looked Yukina in the eyes.

"Yukina… I love you. I love you so much that I can't even put it into words. And I really hope that I get to spend the next year with you."

Yukina seemed so surprised as if he had just seen a ghost. But then he laughed, and hugged Kisa close. Kisa hugged him back, inhaling the scent of him that he had been missing for the past few days.

"Kisa-san, I'm… I'm happy to hear you saying this." Now Yukina gently pushed Kisa away so he could look him in the eyes. "I feel the same about you. I love you a lot, and I hope we can stay together for a long, long time."


Exactly at midnight, they rang the bells. The bells of the new years eve. Another year was officially over, and a new was about to begin. Yukina and Kisa were walking back home slowly. Kisa considered it good luck that they didn't run into anyone on their way home.

As soon as they got home, they collapsed onto the couch, and resting on the top of each other shortly turned into a hot make-out. Yukina's lips tasted just as good as always, and Kisa wanted more and more of it. He wanted this boy forever.

It wasn't exactly comfortable to do it on that small couch. But none of them seemed to be bothered to move into the bedroom or something. They had their first of the year, and after they had finished, they were lying on the couch, still in a pretty uncomfortable pose. They were both panting and sweating.

"Kisa-san…?"

"What?"

Yukina planted a small kiss on Kisa's neck.

"Wanna stay up and watch the first sunrise?"

Kisa nodded. And it was settled.

For the rest of the night, they cuddled up on the couch with a blanket and some food, watching weird movies on TV. Most of them were boring, but Kisa didn't mind. Yukina seemed to be entertained, and that was all that mattered to him. He wasn't even paying attention to the TV, really. He wasn't thinking. He was just staring into space, enjoying the cosiness, and the warmth of Yukina. These little things were all he needed.

For a couple of hours, Yukina had fallen asleep, but a sudden, loud commercial woke him up. Kisa almost laughed at the scared face he made. But instead, he just leaned closer, and kissed him gently, softly.

This very day was the best day of his life. He felt like something new had started. That it was a great chance to be happy again.

Yukina leaned against his shoulder as he turned his gaze at the TV screen again. But judging by that sleepy expression on his face, Kisa was sure he wasn't really watching it.

"You struggling to stay awake?"

Yukina yawned, and rubbed his eyes.

"No, I'm good…"

"We don't have to stay up all night, Yukina."

Now Yukina gazed up at Kisa, and he seriously looked offended. It nearly scared Kisa.

"I want to stay up. And I'm not gonna argue. I wanna see the first sunrise of the year with you. I have never got the chance to watch it with someone I love. I gotta grab the chance."

Even if Kisa had wanted to argue with him, he wouldn't have done so. What he heard was enough for a reason, and Kisa didn't bring it up again. Instead, he was trying to find a way to entertain Yukina, and help him stay awake. But there was nothing interesting on TV, and Kisa was quite tired himself. All he could do was holding Yukina close, stroking his arm gently, and planting kisses on the top of his head.

"Kisa-san…"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for spending the past few hours with me," Yukina whispered sleepily. "I'm seriously, utterly happy."

Kisa felt the same. Although his confession after the fireworks exhausted him. He felt like he wasn't able to do it again for a while. Though it would have been nice if he could express his feelings as freely as Yukina did.

Being thirty sucks, he thought.

Instead, he hugged Yukina tightly. They were so close that Yukina could probably hear his heartbeat.

A couple of hours later, the sun began rising, and they turned towards the window, both of them with a smile on their faces. They watched as the first beams of the sun painted the sky lilac and orange, and the darkness of the sky slowly turned into bright blue. With the sunrise, the city began to come more and more alive. Car engines had started up in the distance, people's quiet chatters filtered through the closed window.

The first morning of the new year.

Kisa turned towards Yukina. He was still staring at the bright sky, and Kisa just watched his face. And his eyes suddenly were filled with tears.

He wanted Yukina to stay with him forever. He wanted him to promise that.

Was it even possible?

Could they be together forever?


"Are you… serious?"

Yokozawa's face told everything – he could hardly moderate himself, and Kisa was sure that the vice dean would be swearing around if he could. It was the first day of the new semester, and Yokozawa was holding Kisa's resignation letter, his face was tomato red from anger. Behind him, Miyagi tried to calm him down, but it was no use. As Kisa predicted, Yokozawa was beyond furious.

"I am serious."

"Kisa… We need lecturers like you," Yokozawa stormed. "I'm certain that we can't find someone as qualified as you are in your two weeks of notice."

Kisa stood Yokozawa's glance. He knew that they would be screwed without him, but he wanted out so he could protect his relationship with Yukina. That was all that mattered. And if that meant that he needed to roundhouse kick his career in the face, then he was willing to do so. With the experience he had, he was somehow certain that a school would hire him anytime soon.

"Yokozawa…" Miyagi spoke in the background, lighting up a cigarette. "I know you're angry-"

"Angry? Miyagi-sensei, I'm goddamn furious!"

"Yes, I know, but if he wants to leave, he has every right to do so," Miyagi sighed. "Just because we can't find a substitution doesn't mean we can stop Kisa-sensei from quitting."

Yokozawa shot a gaze at Miyagi, and then at Kisa.

"I'm not going to say it's fine," he grunted painfully as he left the office.

Shortly after that, Kisa left, too. He just needed to survive two more weeks, and he could only hope that there wouldn't be any troubles. Yukimura-sensei was back now, so he wouldn't see Yukina in school as much as he did while Yukimura-sensei was absent.

On his way back from his first class, however, Takano walked up to him.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked, and Kisa nodded as he followed him to Takano's own office.

"Everything okay?"

Takano closed the door behind them, and sighed.

"What made you quit all of a sudden?"

As Kisa glanced at his face, he could tell Takano was slightly worried and puzzled. Kisa bit his lips. He wasn't sure he could tell Takano about him and Yukina.

"It's something personal," he replied. "A reason that… made me realise that I can't stay here."

"Is it the reason that made you come to me for help?"

Kisa shook his head. Speaking of Takano's help, did he even need it anymore?

"It's not. It's something else…"

For his biggest surprise, Takano smiled softly, and crossed his arms.

"Is this that new person you were talking about on your sessions?"

Kisa blushed slightly, and he couldn't help but chuckle a little.

"It is. But I can't say more about it. Sorry, Takano-san."

"It's alright," Takano nodded. "I'm just glad you're getting better, and I wish the best of luck for you."

"I'll be there for a last session next week, though," Kisa said. "Just so, you know…"

"So we can make sure you're honestly better?" Takano chortled softly. "Sure thing."

It was nearly dark when Kisa left the building. He looked back one more time, and smiled a little. Just two more weeks, and he could be free. They could be free.

At the bus stop, his phone rang. It was Yukina calling.

"Yeah?"

"Kisa-san, where are you?"

"On my way home. Why?"

"Do you wanna come over?"

Kisa broke out into a huge, happy grin. He left the bus stop, walking towards Yukina's place.

Everything was okay.

Everything seemed to turn out just fine.


A/N: Hey there! I know, it took me a while to update, but due to lack of motivation, I just wanted to rest this story for a little bit. But now it's back! I hope y'all are enjoying the story so far. If you're reading my story, then thank you, it means everything! :)

Ricchan