I hope this chapter was worth the wait everyone. I've been working on updating my other stories. I plan to finish Secret soon, but it doesn't help that I have another one up my sleeve that I am slowly planning out. I won't say what it is now, so if you're curious you'll just have to wait. I hope you enjoy this chapter and continue to stick to this story of mine. Thank you for your support, reviews, and comments!

-Zero

Review Shout Outs

BlackWolfToRi – Glad you like my stories. From what I read from the other review from Secret I hope you feel a lot better. I too was sick not long ago.

GAT-X105VividPanzer – Thanks as always. I'm glad you liked that part. There's plenty more of those to come.

YuriLover2 – "What funny business?" *looks innocently at you* "That was just a normal call that you get on a daily basis when you're a bodyguard/Soldier."

lovemaki – Arisa will make an appearance in the story, although I haven't really decided when yet. Stick with me kid and we'll both find out soon.

Guest – And forever has come. I hope you haven't aged any more than I have.

ANozomii – I'm sorry that I'm not a Spanish speaker so I had to get a rough google translate for what you said in your review (I do the same for your other review for Secret, my deepest apologies), but yes Kotori is going to start having conflicted feelings (just between you and me and any other reader that is reading this – I don't know if you noticed, but she did feel jealous when she saw all three of them together). And thank you for loving my fic. :)

Sachi12 – I hope the wait wasn't too long.

Dash24zappshift – Thank Dash! I hope you didn't wait long either for this update.

hshh – And surprise you shall be. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

zerolight89 – It always makes me feel good to hear that my story is the reader's first gendbent. I like writing them because they're different and you just don't see enough of them. But, wow, all 9 in one go! I guess I'll have to pick up the pace and stop being lazy.

Ezu-san – Thank you for your support. There's a little NozoEli at the end. I hope it didn't disappoint you…too much. ;)

Ch. 10 A Distant Memory

"It's refreshing to be able to feel the spiritual energy of nature instead of breathing the polluted city air." Nozomi smiled with bliss.

"Natually." Ushio stood beside of her with a huge bag of mountain climbing equipment. He looked more ready to climb Mount Fuji than a couple of trails. "Nothing beats facing the challenges of Mother Nature."

The two looked at each other and saw that they had a connection. Clasping each other's hands their eyes burned passionately and were both EXTREMELY determined to make it to the top.

"Those two..." Masaki gave them a look of disbelief.

"Are idiots..." Nico deadpanned.

The rest of the group stood by the side, not sure how to approach the two. They spent their time earlier preparing for the small adventure, and Ushio also took the time to apologize once again to Hotaka and the others for the sudden outburst from yesterday. Of course, that didn't mean things weren't still awkward between the Minami heiress and her bodyguard.

"Don't you think they're getting a little too excited..." Haruto asked timidly.

"No...in fact, this is normal for Ushio when someone mentions mountains..." Eiichi explained to the younger male. "In other words, I hope you're all prepared for some intense exercising."

"Great, another weirdo has been added to the group." Nico grumbled.

Tsubasa giggled. "I think it's cute how Ushio-kun has a childish side. It's not every day you get to see him this excited."

Masaki and Eiichi nodded at her comment and looked at the bluenet. It was strange to see their ever so serious brother full of excitement like a child receiving candy. Though it wasn't their first time seeing him like this; they knew full well how much Ushio liked hiking...and mountains.

"Somehow...I have a bad feeling about those two..." Masaki sighed.

Eiichi chuckled at the comment as his eyes trailed towards the pair. Oddly, seeing how the two were getting close made his chest twist.

Is this jealousy?

The blond shook the words out of his head. There was no way he would be jealous of Ushio. He knew full well that the bluenet would never look towards Nozomi in that kind of way...so why was his chest clenching in such a painful way? He knew there was no reason to think this way, but his mind couldn't help and wonder.

Kotori on the other hand was jealous of Nozomi. The way the purple haired girl was able to casually strike a conversation with Ushio made her feelings all jumbled up. It was the same feeling she felt when Hotaka and Ushio were with Tsubasa. If she had feelings for her goofy childhood friend, why was it that she was feeling such displeasure when she saw Ushio and Nozomi together?

"I can't go any further nya~! It's impossible nya~!" Rin shouted her refusal to move another step.

"Fight on Rin-chan!" Hotaka tried his best to be supportive, but in actual reality he was just as tired.

"Can we take a break?" Anju groaned.

"If you're too tired I'll carry you." Eren added.

Everyone was getting tired. They've been on the trails for almost over an hour now. Ushio and Nozomi, however, looked completely fine. Masaki and Eiichi were also in good condition too since they were fit from all the training they received over the years. Tsubasa and Kotori were panting, but they weren't complaining too much. And then there was Nico and her siblings, who were on constant replay of how much their feet hurts.

"I guess we can take another break, but we can't stay for long. I don't like the look of those clouds." Ushio added.

The group let out a sigh of relief when Ushio said they could take a break. The last person they thought who would say those words would be the bluenet himself.

After the short break everyone was ready to move again. Not long afterwards they came to a fork in the road. That's when a certain ginger came up with the idea of splitting into two groups to see who would make it back to the vacation home first.

The three bodyguards looked at each other in concern that the idea wasn't so great, but their mistresses said so otherwise. The groups were split between the bodyguards and their mistresses along with Tsubasa and Hotaka while the other group consisted with the rest. They each took their respective routes and decided that the last group to end up at the vacation home would have to cook dinner.

It wasn't long before dark clouds began rolling in. Wanting to avoid any kind of bad situations Ushio pushed everyone to walk faster. Much to the bluenet's displeasure, the rain clouds began to fall heavily onto them. Rain poured making it hard to see what was in front of them.

"We should find some shelter first, before it gets worse!" Masaki yelled out to the two older males who nodded in return.

"How much worse can this get?" Nico yelled at her annoyed boyfriend. Just when he was about to give her a smart answer another female's frighten voice caught everyone's attention.

All heads turned around and found Kotori on the ground with her hand around her ankle. Tsubasa stopped next to her asking her if she was alright. On instinct from her cry, Ushio rushed to her side and inspected the ankle. Without saying anything, he asked Tsubasa to help Kotori onto his back much to her protest of saying that she was fine.

As they continued on in the rain, the taupe haired girl became comfortable on the man's back. She didn't know why, but being carried brought back memories of when she was younger. Although the atmosphere was awkward between them, she felt like she has been a similar situation like this before when she was little.

Kotori began to cry. She had hurt herself when she ran off to play by herself in the large gardens of a home where she had never been to before. At first she was chasing a butterfly and didn't pay attention to where she was going. Next thing she did was panic, causing her to trip on a tree root, and thus the reason she was now in her current situation.

"What are you doing?" A boy poked his head though the bushes and walked out. He dusted himself off before walking up to her. "Are you lost?"

The five-year-old girl nodded her head before another wave of tears began streaming down her face. The boy didn't know what to do at first, but then squatted down and gestured her to get on his back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and was surprised that he was able to carry her with ease when they were the same size.

"My name is Kotori." The girl decided that giving her name was the least she could do at the moment to the strange boy helping her. "Thank you for helping me."

She couldn't see it, but the boy was smiling shyly was she said her thanks. "It's a pretty name."

She blushed at his comment and bid her face into the crook of his neck. He chuckled softly to himself as he felt the heat of her cheeks rubbing onto his skin.

"I told you my name, so know you have to tell me yours!" Kotori pouted. "It's not fair if you don't!"

"My name?" He slightly turned his head to get a glimpse of Kotori. "My name is-"

Kotori's eyes fluttered open. When she fell asleep, she wasn't so sure herself. Her clothes were drenched in rain, but she wasn't going to complain when the person carrying her was a walking puddle. What really bothered her more was the boy in her short dream, she couldn't recall his face and woke when he was about to say his name, but his warm and Ushio's warmth were so similar. Like it was protecting her from any harm that would try and lay a single hair on her. She brushed the thought aside, but deep down she couldn't stop thinking about that boy.

They walked for about twenty more minutes before the rain lighten. Eiichi had also taken off his jacket and used it to cover Nozomi. She refused his offer, saying that he would get sick, but soon accepted the fact once the blond insisted. The bickering couple were arguing the whole time they were trying to find shelter (Ushio was very close to leaving them both behind). Tsubasa and Hotaka lead the group and found another vacation home.

Not wanting to stay in the rain any longer (and Masaki kept insisting that Kotori needed medical attention for her ankle) they all decided that it was best to see if they could take shelter there. They hoped and prayed that someone was there to let them in, and much to their surprise an older lady around her early fifties opened the door.

"Oh my." She gasped when she found all of them at the door. "You all look tired...and in need of a towel."

"Junko, is there something the matter." Another female voice could be heard coming from behind her.

"Miyuki-sama, you should be resting." The woman known as Junko turned back towards her mistress and frowned.

Miyuki was a woman around her mid-seventies. Her hair was graying, but her hazel eyes shined like they still belonged to a young, curious mind.

"I've rested enough this whole day." She gave her maid a reassuring smile. "Who are they?"

"We're sorry to disturb you, but do you think you could spare us some shelter until the storm lets down a little more? We also appreciate it if you could let us borrow some medical supplies because one of our friends got hurt while we were walking on the trails." Eiichi explained to the two ladies.

The mistress took a look at the children and studies their faces carefully. She smiled sweetly at them and nodded at Junko to let them in. "My husband is away at the moment; I hope I am a good enough host for all of you. All of you need to go and take a shower and some change of clothes before you all get sick. Please make yourselves at home. I ask someone else to get you a first aid kit."

"Thank you. You have no idea how-" Before Eiichi could finish his sentence, the older woman held up her hand to stop him from talking.

"Get changed and warmed up first, then you can thank me." She gave them one last smile before walking off and leaving other servants to attend to them.

It was late afternoon when everyone was done cleaning themselves up. They were relieved to know that their host was kind enough to give them shelter and proved dry clothes for them.

"Your clothes are being dried at the moment, so until then make yourselves at home." One of the servants explained to them, but before he left he gave them one more message. "Miyuki-sama also said that once you're done, she would like to have dinner with all of you."

"Thank you. Please tell her we will be there in a bit." Nozomi replied.

The servant bowed and left the group to themselves. Masaki was busy at the moment looking at Kotori's ankle. He said that it wasn't broken, just sprained. With a couple of bandages and ice she should be fine. Everyone was currently present in the guest room provided for them except for Ushio, since he was last to take a shower.

Kotori excused herself, saying that she need to use the restroom. But in truth, she wanted to find the bluenet and thank him for carrying her throughout the time they spent in the rain. She slowly made her way to his room that was shown to him and knocked. When she didn't hear an answer she opened the door that was unlocked and slightly took a peak around. She hoped at she wouldn't walk in on him while he was changing and make their relationship any worse than it already was. The mere thought of that brought a smile to her lips because it reminded her of when they first began living with each other before she blushed (of course it was still embarrassing to her too).

"Ushio-kun?!" Kotori found the dark haired man on the floor of the room. She mentally thanked the heavens that he had pants on, but what made her heart drop were the scars on his back.

There were small slash wounds on his arms (some that still looked recently new), but Kotori's eyes could not tear away from the large burn marks on his back. She cringed at the thought of how much pain it must have been when receiving them.

Her mind began to race, and wonder why Ushio was on the ground. Before she could take any action or go and call for help, the bluenet stirred awake and pushed himself off the ground. Kotori saw that he was having a hard time and decided to help him up.

"Ushio-kun, are you okay? Do I need to get help?" Worry filled her voice as she helped him onto the bed.

"No..." Ushio put a hand to his head to prevent any more dizziness. "I just...need to sit for a bit..."

Kotori was not convinced, but didn't push it. They sat in silence before it became uncomfortable for the both of them. Ushio noticed that he didn't have his shirt on and quickly put it on in order to prevent more stares from the girl sitting across from him. He didn't ask her if she saw anything, nor did he try to explain his scars.

Kotori know understood why Ushio didn't want to take off his shirt yesterday. It was to prevent looks and questions from being asked about his scars. She understood he have had many other dangerous jobs before her, but the burns on his back looked like he got them when he was at a very young age. She continued to ponder on the thought of his battle scars until the man himself brought her back to reality.

"We should head back. The others might start to wonder where we went." Ushio stood up avoiding eye contact with Kotori.

"Um, Ushio-kun I-"

"There is no need for you to apologize. I've thought about it and realized that I've been too lax with my job Kotori-san." His back was turned against her, voice monotonous.

"Why must you always act like this?" Kotori yelled at the blue haired man. Ushio turned around to face her, his face unwatered by her anger. "Why do you push away people who want to help you?"

"So are you saying you want to help someone who has dirtied his hands in blood?" The question came out so calmly it blew away all of Kotori's anger and replaced it with anxiety.

What does he mean by that? That's when Kotori thought back to when they first met. The warning that her former bodyguard try to give her. She looked up and met with darkened amber eyes.

"I do what I can to make sure no one will get hurt. If it requires me to take another's life then I will do it. If it requires me to lose my own life, I am not afraid to lose it." His face softened and his eyes returned back to their original color. "I don't want to lose those that I find important to me."

The words came out in a whisper. Before Kotori could replay back he opened the door and left the room. The heiress to the Minami Corporation stood there with so many questions running through her mind.

Just who exactly are you, Sonoda Ushio?

"I hope all of you make it safely back to your friends." Miyuki-san gave them all a gentle smile as she saw them out her home.

After having dinner, Nico had contacted the others that they would be back soon. From the faces she was making when she called them, it looked like she was more concern with her siblings than they were with her.

"We really are in your debt for giving us such good hospitality." Ushio bowed his head down.

"It's nice to have someone else to talk to beside my husband and servants." She chuckled to the young man before giving him a knowing smile. "You should fix whatever is wrong with your girlfriend. If you're fighting you should make up before it's too late."

Ushio blushed at the fact that she thought he and Kotori were dating. He tried to correct her that they didn't have that kind of relationship, but the words could barely leave his mouth, so he just nodded in response.

It wasn't long after that they left when Miyuki-san became lonely again. How she wished they would have stayed a little longer. She sat in the large living room of her vacation home and smiled at the conversations that she had with the young children. A certain bluenet made her smile harder whenever he would politely answer her and smile back at her.

"Miyuki, I'm back. I'm sorry I left, something important came up." A man's voice entered the room.

"It's okay I understand. Welcome back Genji." She gave her husband a loving smile as she embraced him. "Listen, I have a story to tell you about some people I met."

Eiichi and the other arrived back at their vacation home just as the sun disappeared behind the horizon. Rin and Haruto were tending to the fire at the fireplace and while Eren and Anju were cleaning the dishes with Nico's siblings. They were greeted with welcome backs and worries from their friends.

"He thought we would have to call search squads for all of you nya!" Rin exclaimed how Haruto was extremely worried for their wellbeing.

"Rin-chan!" Haruto blushed.

"We're glad you're all okay. In truth, we also got caught in the rain." Anju explained.

"Which was why we have a fire." Eren opined back at the fireplace. "Care to join us?"

Ushio stared back at the flickering flames. As if being pulled back into his nightmares he couldn't take his eyes off of the fire. Blinking, he shook his head and excused himself from the group, saying he wasn't feeling too well at the moment. He wasn't lying either, ever since they arrived at Miyuki-san's vacation home his head had been in constant agony.

Kotori noticed when Ushio was looking at the fire his eyes were reflecting fear. She then wondered if it had anything to do with the burns on his back.

It wasn't long before everyone decided to call it a night. Eiichi went downstairs to get something to drink. With a flashlight in his hand he walked slowly in hope not to wake anyone. One would think that owning the house would make a person used to the layout of the home, but Eiichi had a secret that he hoped no one would ever find out about (except for Ushio and Masaki who will use it against him when they feel like being evil towards him).

At the bottom of the stairs he noticed a single silhouette stood in the shine of the moonlight on the deck. Eiichi cautiously approached the said person and noticed it was no other than the purple haired woman he has a no so big crush on. He hoped that Ushio hadn't taken noticed because it the bluenet knew he was so going to get lectured about it. He wasn't sure why, but Nozomi stood out more than any other woman he had ever tried to hit on. She could leave the blond speechless with a smile, tease him with her playful words, and make his heart stop when she blushes. She was, in Eiichi perspective, perfect.

"Couldn't sleep?" Eiichi approached Nozomi with the question, trying his best not to startle her.

"I had some things on my mind." Nozomi gave the blond a gentle smile as she turned around to face him. He swore he was seeing an angel that descended from the heavens instead.

"I'm all ears if you have any worries you want to share. Although it's not part of my job, I'm willing to listen for you." Eiichi's cheeks began to heat up slowly and hope it was dark enough (for once) so she couldn't see it.

"Alright, but if I get boring, please do say so." Turquoise irises returned their gaze back to the distance.

I find that hard to be possible. Eiichi thought to himself.

"You see, I was just thinking about how lucky I am to have so many friends now. Ever since I was little, I moved from place to place because of my family's business. And because of that I never had the chance to make many friends." The purple haired woman explained. Eiichi hummed in response to let her know that he was listening.

"Then there was this one time when I met a boy who became my first friend. He was always very nice to me, but there were times were he could be quite simpleminded too." Nozomi giggled to herself the distant memory, but she didn't notice the slight frown on Eiichi's face. He did like the fact that it was a boy that became her first friend.

"I was around the age of five then, but I can still remember the promise I made with him." She smiled sadly before turning to the blond man standing beside her.

When she did, she met with a pair of soft lips that completely caught her off guard. Once they parted from her she touched her lips and wondered if what had happened was just an illusion.

Eiichi on the other hand was blushing madly from his actions, but there wasn't a second he regretted them. Nozomi's lips here so soft and sweet like honey that he wanted to have another taste.

"Nee Eiichi...do you perhaps remember making a promise with about returning to meet with a girl..."

"Eh?!" The question confused the man in front of her. "I don't ever recall such promise..."

"Forget it." The words came out more cold than what Nozomi had intended.

I was stupid to think that you still remembered.

She left the extremely confused blond behind and made her way back to her room. What she didn't know was that there was someone watching them from the shadows.

"He kissed her." Nico tried her best to hold back a choke.

So much is happening. The rage, the memories, that kiss! All in one go!

Don't know when the next chap will magically pop in my mind, but I'll be thinking about it. Don't forget to leave a comment or review!

Until Next Time…