CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Acknowledgement

Before his thoughts would wander elsewhere to the point of no return, he shifted his attention to their hands, by which Aki currently had hers on top of his.

With neither saying a word, he squeezed hers without warning, wondering what kind of foreign feeling would stir up within him now.

He soon felt the same foreign sensation he was feeling, feeling somewhat annoyed but not completely unacceptable of it.

Aki was surprised at what Feitan did, and finally snapped out of it, wide cerulean-blue eyes meeting jet-black ones.

Feitan, glaring at her before returning his attention to their hands once again, tried entwining his fingers with hers and wondered if the feeling would remain the same.

It did.

As soon as he thought that this was now too much to comprehend and how angry he was at himself for succumbing into someone like this, and before Aki could finally voice out the many questions she had in mind, he suddenly let go and disappeared, leaving her in a worse state of confusion than she was earlier.

So did the warmth she felt from his hand just moments ago.

A couple days have passed since their last physical interaction, and Aki was still a blushing mess. She gripped her pen tightly as she was taking notes during their class.

She hated to admit it, but recently Feitan has been making her feel some type of way. She knows she should be wary since technically he was still a stranger; she still doesn't know anything about him aside from the fact that his name was Feitan and he was apparently lost.

She really wanted to help him, but for some reason there is this nagging feeling within her that he isn't normal, that he really wasn't from this world.

'He doesn't know Japan, nor the education system here. When he trains me, I can barely see him at his normal speed... He moves too fast for a normal human it's insane. And he mentioned something when we were talking about schools that I can't remember. I really need to ask him about it properly sometime', she thought.

In terms of helping him return to where he came from, they were currently at a standstill. But Aki is determined to help him in any way she can, albeit feeling some hesitance.

Admittedly, she was starting to feel attached to him and she wasn't sure she liked it. Aki was used to being alone, especially since both her parents passed away. She had Momo as a close friend yes, and possibly her bandmates as good friends. But she couldn't bring herself to be fully open with them.

Not to mention the vague family history she had, she wasn't even close with her relatives. The closest contact she had with them was through email. Even calls had to be routed via their butler, her cards and expenses were all magically paid for, as well as education.

In all honesty, she feels too detached.

Except for when it came to Feitan.

"Ugh I have to stop thinking about him, this isn't healthy." she quietly muttered, while still attempting to take down notes.

Drifting away from her tempprary housemate, apparently, her second year will be coming up soon after the holidays. It seemed that her tenacity and diligence in her homeworks and class presentation left such an impression on her professors that they were willing to give her an early exposure to how nurses work on the floor in an actual hospital duty.

But then again, that also means that she would have to say goodbye to band practice and gigs, she sadly thought.

That, and probably her katana classes with Feitan would have to end too.

Aki internally grumbled, "After all the work I did to get him to agree to teach me again. There's no way in hell I'm gonna be giving that up."

As soon as her thoughts wandered to Feitan, she once again blushed, scolding herself for harbouring such thoughts, especially since it hasn't been a year since she broke up with Taka.

'But then again, he didn't even do that three month rule before moving on to your bestfriend's sister.'

'What makes you think you should do the same?'

'Ugh stop it, stop it! This sounds so wrong. I just broke up with Taka, and I should stop thinking about Feitan.' Aki clutched her head in frustration.

"Miss Asada, is everything all right?" The professor asked from the front, a bit unamused.

"N-no sir! Everything's all good, so sorry!" She hurriedly responded, bowing her head.

So much for entertaining unnecessary thoughts, she sighed.

For now, she will just focus on training with Feitan whilst managing her time with school, she decided.

While Aki was mulling with her thoughts, Feitan decided to go back to training himself. He was already distracted enough with Aki alone, and decided that he probably just needs some time away to reset and train instead.

After all, he's been in this world for about a year now, and there were still no answers to his dilemma.

Sitting lotus style, he decided to calm himself and meditate, enforcing Ten. His nen enveloped his body in a calm state, vibrating lowly. He tried to meditate as much as possible, but his mind stubbornly kept drifting back to the blue-eyed brunette.

He hated to admit it, but ever since he let his curiosity get the better of him and attempted to physically touch Aki, he has been harbouring some foreign feelings he never felt before. It frustrated him to no end, since he doesn't know what to do with it.

He feels uncomfortable in Aki's presence, his heartbeat speeding up.

But then again, he also feels uncomfortable without her presence.

'I guess being stupid is contagious.', he thought, furrowing his brow.

He couldn't make up his mind, and he absolutely refuses to acknowledge these foreign feelings as something akin to 'like' or 'fondness'.

He never associated these foreign feelings with his so-called family, the Genei Ryodan. So why should he associate it with her, off all people?

'She is just no one'

'This is just temporary'

'This is not my home'

Feitan gritted his teeth as he stood up, heading towards a tree. He proceeded to switch gears into Hatsu and punched its trunk. A sickening crack roared before the tree fell down to its demise.

Quickly unsheating his concealed sword, he expertly swung his blades until the fallen trunk was torn into shreds.

He needs to figure out what these feelings are and quick, he thought.

'I might not have enough time. I need to settle this and find my way back.She just distraction, pointless.' he thought.

But then again, he can't seem to stomach those last words.

He hated to admit it, but Aki was slowly becoming a more stable constant in his life right now, and he had no way of denying it.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he frowned and let himself fall flat, his back facing the ground. He looked up at the sky, annoyed that he can't seem to settle these feelings.

Ah, let's just give up, he thought. There is no use resisting anyways, now that the feelings are continuously resurfacing no matter how much he tries to push it down.

Besides, being in close proximity with Aki now is not entirely unacceptable anymore.

Over time, he felt that he was slowly getting accustomed to her constant presence.

But still, that doesn't mean she can freely touch him whenever she pleases.

Silently cussing, he whispered, "我很想見到你。(I want to see you)"

When Aki arrived home, she noticed that Feitan was nowhere to be found. At first she felt a pang of worry, but forced it down.

'He is probably just out training.' she thought, as she proceeded to make dinner.

Aki noticed that after a year and some living together, they have seem to fallen into a silent routine and comfortable silence. Feitan would pester her from time to time, she would get annoyed and either retaliate or silently seethe.

She also noticed that he doesn't seem to actively physically hurt her anymore, settling for verbal insults.

Well, except for when they are training.

"Hmph, I'll show him. It's about time he taught me something else instead of just running laps, exercise, and stances. I should start hitting targets, not just thin air." she mumbled while stirring the pot, they were having chicken curry once again. It seemed to be Feitan's favourite out of all the meals she has been cooking ever since he came, she absentmindedly thought.

"What you saying, stupid girl? You want more pain in training?"

Aki yelped as soon as the end of Feitan's weapon poked her waist. "S-stop that you pervert! Oh god, that startled me." she angrily muttered, turning to properly look at him before hastily paying attention to the pot of food she was currently cooking.

Feitan smirked in response, pleased at himself for being able to successfully tease the girl. Instead of hurting her physically, he found it more favourable teasing her instead.

Because now, it pains him a bit to see her hurt physically.

Not that he would ever admit that of course.

"Curry for dinner?" he stated more than asked, sitting on his usual seat by the dining table. He seemed more chipper than usual after learning that curry was for dinner.

A vein popped on Aki's forehead, silently thinking 'this brat is so dense'. She refrained from turning around but responded, "Sure yeah, but can you please change into something decent. I already know you have nice abs so please."

'Rock hard abs you want to touch?'

'Shut up, shut up!' Aki thought, mentally swatting her less than appropriate thoughts away.

Feitan merely raised a brow, "What, can't turn around now? Is stupid girl shy now?" Oh how much fun he is currently having at her expense.

Irritted, Aki finally turned around, her face as red as a tomato before shouting while covering her eyes with an arm, "Yes fine you're hot happy now?! NOW PLEASE CHANGE!"

Feitan snickered before standing up, not saying a word before heading to the living room to get a change of clothes and a towel.

"You so red, need a shower too? Want to come?"

As if she cannot get any redder, she smacked the spoon on the counter.

"OUT. NOW!"

Only snickering can be heard until it faded away. Aki sighed while returning to her cooking.

"I swear, he might just be the death of me."

A few months continued on, with Aki juggling school and training with Feitan. At this point, she somewhat got used to his presence especially in close proximity, but at the same time noticed how this time the nudges or brush of the shoulder, or even something as brief as repositioning her hand to wield her katana were longer than necessary as of late.

Feitan hated to admit it, but he seemed to be enjoying this newfound feeling, as well as dissecting it. Deep down, he is still disgusted and confused.

But then again, he is in a different world at this time.

Maybe it's not so bad to indulge in these small niceties, he thought.

It's not as if things will be permanent anyways.

He realized that as long as he associates said feelings to torturing the girl in a way that makes her flustered, it's just another way of torture. A mental violence, as he likes to call it.

'No harm in having fun in different way'', he excused.

Meanwhile, Aki has finally accepted how things ended between her and Taka, as well as how there really couldn't be any other way to save the relationship.

Screw him and his woman, she thought. Gone were the days of crying and trying to chase someone who can't appreciate her for who she is.

Shaking her head as if to shake away the thoughts, she continued to hurriedly run up the shrine, tugging Feitan's sleeve in tow. As much as he is comfortable physically teasing Aki from time to time, he still doesn't like it when Aki initiates contact, accidentally gripping her wrist in defense.

"It's reflex, not my fault." he always said.

Feitan glared at their surroundings whilst letting the girl lead him up the stairs, a rare occasion.

Phinks would probably laugh at how he looked right now, getting dragged around by a girl smaller than him.

"Hurry up, you brat! The New Year is almost starting!" Aki yelled over the noisy crowd, looking down once in a while to make sure she doesn't accidentally trip from the furisode she is currently wearing.

For the occasion, she was dressed in a dark purple furisode embellished with silver butterflies, red spider lilies, and a lone black widow on her right chest area. Her hair was tied into a decorative bun, ornated with elegant hair sticks.

Feitan hated to admit it, but he thought that the outfit suited her.

He, on the other hand, was dressed in black pants, black turtleneck, and a black coat, alongside a black mask to cover half his face. Aki attempted to make him wear a scarf as well in a different colour, just so he wouldn't look like a shinigami, she joked.

Feitan was pretty much unamused at the response and refused it more.

He looked around again, promising bloody murder to anyone who dared attempt to shove, let alone touch him.

And her.

The countdown loudly started, and at the stroke of midnight, the bell in the shrine rang.

Aki leaned closer towards him, inhaling the faint scent of musk and peppermint.

"Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu, Feitan!" she cheered, smiling up towards him.

Feitan stared back in return, his eyes momentarily softening before glaring back and flicking her on the forehead as a response.

"Too close, stupid girl."

Aki pouted, clearly unamused by the gesture. "Hmph, well you did promise me you'd teach me more about your sword technique thingies after the holidays, you promised!"

"Hn." he replied, while looking at the fireworks in the sky. Beautiful, he thought.

Aki rolled her eyes before staring up at the sky as well.

'A beautiful sky indeed, ne otou-san, kaa-san?'

"Okay stupid girl. I give up, now I teach you about what I learned. Ready?"

Smack!

"Ouch! Yes you brat, no need to smack me on the head!" Aki grumpily responded, clutching her head. She felt a bump slowly forming, much to her dismay.

Feitan merely smirked.

"Be ready, this training more painful. But first, we need to know if Nen is possible for you."

After all, if he can use Nen here. She might he able to as well.

And who knows, maybe she really can help him return then.

For once, Feitan was willing to bet a shot with Aki. Someome who isn't from the troupe.

Oh, how he has changed, he thought.

A/N: Hello everyone, it's me again! I hope to post more consistently this time. I have all the plot bunnies and flowchart for this story panned out, until the ending!

I am very much looking forward to see this through the end, and I hope you are too.

I am looking forward to rekindling this journey with you all!

- Juu