Chapter 3

Ai's first reaction was to hop out of Nora's arms and give Kent a hug. That made her feel like a slut.

She nearly cried when she saw Kent's face. He looked the same, except a little surprised and more shocked. Her hair fell a bit onto his face and he brushed it away. He moved forward to kiss her, but then stopped when he saw Nora. Now he looked confused.

"Com in," Kent said, putting her down. He smiled politely at Nora. "I'm Kent."

"Nora." Nora nodded in acknowledgment.

This was so awkward, Ai thought, face flushing.

Just then, a cute guy with short hair emerged from one of the bedrooms. Ai had never been so happy to see Hikaru in her life.

"Ai!" Apparently he was happy to see her, too.

They smiled at each other as Ai introduced Nora. She vaguely wondered if Hikaru still had the crush on Kent, but she decided not to mention that in the introductions.

Nora and Ai were invited inside and they all sat around a glass coffee table. There was a small silence after they were offered drinks.

"…To what pleasure do we owe this visit?" Hikaru asked, kindly, after a minute or so.

Ai peered at him. He had grown up a little. Not the type that would be so 'I love you Kent!' or 'You can't have him! He's mine!' anymore.

"I wanted to come back for a while. Nora said that he had a mission here on Earth, so he took me. It's cool, 'cause my dad actually let me come," she replied, relieved that Hikaru was here. Otherwise this would have been really awkward.

Kent smiled. He knew all about her dad. After all, when she had been here before, he was the one that had helped her revive her memories of Ai-land.

Suddenly, she remembered the locket that she had found in her heart-shaped box before. There had been pictures of the two most important men in her life. At first it had been King Sei and Nora. Then Nora had been replaced by Kent. Was it like that now?

"…so then we didn't end up going on the roller coaster after all," Hikaru was saying.

Nora laughed appreciatively and Kent grinned. They were looking at each other for a minute smiling, then both looked away. Nora now smiled politely, though wondering what Kent's relationship had really been with Ai, how far they had gone past being lovers. Kent was wondering the same, except that he didn't know a thing about Nora and he showed his confusion openly.

Ai snapped the locket off from around her neck quietly and opened it as the three guys talked and got to know each other.

Inside, there were still two pictures. Nora and Kent. King Sei had gone. Ai closed her eyes. She didn't want to want Nora. She wanted to stay faithful to Kent. But how could she? When Kent was a sweetheart and so nice, Nora was her stoic protector. Nora was her first. Would he also be the one that she would give the rest of her life to?

"Are you alright?" Nora asked. Kent was looking at her, concerned also. Hikaru looked like his old self now—slightly envious of the attention that Ai got.

Now she was aware that her hand was clutching her forehead and she had contorted her face in a pained look.

Quickly composing herself, she said, "I'm fine. Just had a scary thought… Anyway, Kent, do you still play guitar? I was just thinking that while I'm here on Earth I might as well go back to singing. You know, start a band or something."

Kent's face lit up. "That's a great idea. I need to practice more, anyway. And I have no idea what I wanna do after I graduate from college. But in a band, I won't need to worry about getting a job if the band I'm in has the famous Princess Ai in it." He smiled at her, just to let her know that he didn't care whether she was famous or not, despite his words.

She smiled back and now they were both looking happily and longingly at each other.

Nora cleared his throat and everybody else looked at him. "And what will I be for this band? Ai's bodyguard?"

Ai shook her head. "I've had a bodyguard before. That didn't work out so well."

Nora held her clear blue eyes with his amber ones. "You can trust me. But you're right. If everybody knows that you have a bodyguard, they'll be more careful to get around me. I could be a vocalist if you wish. I don't even have to sing. Maybe just fake it. But all the while, I'll be protecting Ai."

She glared at him, angry for making her sound so helpless. "I can protect myself."

"As you will," he replied. "But at least make me feel safe by protecting you."

Ai sighed. "Whatever. Look, I'm hungry. Let's go out and get something to eat." She raised an eyebrow at both Kent and Hikaru. "Unless you guys already had dinner?"

They shook their heads, glad to be relieved of the tension that had been building. "Let's go. I know a good place that serves sushi. It's pretty crowded on weekends like this…but so worth it."

Ai's eyes lit up. "Did you say sushi?"

Nora shook his head. "Crowded isn't good. We got attacked by a few fangirls of Ai on the way to your apartment. It's best for her not to go somewhere crowded. We cannot forget the assassination attempt that happened the last time she was on Earth."

Kent looked up. "You know about that, huh?"

Nora met him eye for eye. "I know much more than you, perhaps."

"Nora!" Ai yelled, looking toward her companion in warning. "Listen, the assassination attempt was because they wanted to steal my fame. Hayabusa is in jail now. There's nothing to worry about."

Kent shrugged. "He's right to worry about you, Ai. Last time was too close for comfort."

Kent had almost been killed last time.

"Look," Hikaru piped up, "I'll go pick up some sushi."

Ai's eyes widened. She didn't want to stay alone with Nora and Kent together. That just wasn't right.

"I'll come, too. No one can kill me in the drive-thru, right?"

Nora stood up. "If you go, I'm coming."

Her glare flashed to him. "Then screw that, I'm staying here."

"Princess! This isn't a time to be pig-headed."

"I'm not. I just gotta talk to Kent about something. Alone. Why don't you go with Hikaru? He can show you Tokyo so you can complete your mission."

Nora seemed to consider this for a moment. "Alright."

He turned to Kent, voice becoming hard. "If you let any harm come to her while we're gone—even a scratch—I will personally hunt you down and kill you. Maybe use your blood to make a trinket. It may not be Tenketsu, but it'll be worth something."

Kent tried to remain impassive by saying, "I assure you, Ai will be fine" but Ai saw that Nora's words sent a shiver up his spine. She fingered her own heart-shaped box, which had been made from the blood of dougen, Tenketsu.

But when Nora and Hikaru left, the first thing that Ai did was creep over to Kent and kiss him full on the lips. She didn't want him taking Nora's threats to heart.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

He smiled. "I missed you, too."

His lips brushed her collarbone and she held on to him tighter. He was warm and felt more like home than she had ever been before. They hadn't done anything bad the last time she was here. But now she wondered if she wanted to.

He tilted her chin up and they gazed at each other for a moment. Her mouth met his again and they didn't speak another word until they came up for air.

"Ai?"

"Mmm?"

"Who is Nora to you?"

She averted her eyes from his and snuggled deeper into him. Her head rested at the curve where his neck met his left shoulder, thinking before she answered.

"…Nora…he's like an older brother to me," she lied. "He wants peace for Ai-land and he wants to protect me. Nothing more."

She was too tired and too happy to tell the truth. The truth that might spoil everything.

"Oh," was Kent's reply.

She wasn't sure if he believed her, but that was all she could convince him into now. Besides, she didn't want to think about Nora. She didn't want Kent to sense her heart thumping faster, like every other time she thought about him.

Slowly, she shifted and kissed Kent's neck. Something heart-shaped met her lips when she moved her mouth down a little toward his chest.

It was the pendant that she had given him before. It was cracked with an indent in the middle, where Meggi's arrow had buried itself.

"You still have this?" she asked.

He nodded a little. "To remind me of you."

She grinned and kissed him once more.

"I wonder what Hikaru thinks of it."

"He thinks it's pretty and wants one like it for his birthday," Kent said.

Ai laughed, closing her eyes. She took in Kent's smell, his face, everything about him down to his baggy t-shirt and frayed jeans. So different from Nora.

She shook her head and got up, moving away from Kent. She didn't like it. Stop comparing Nora and him. You either love one or the other, stupid.

"Are you sure you're alright? I don't want you getting sick and Nora coming home and blaming it on me," Kent said, tilting is head to the side. She knew that he was worried, despite the attempt at humor.

"I'm fine, Kent! Really." She turned to flash a weak smile. "Look, why don't you get out your guitar. We can do some songs or something."

He shrugged, still looking worried. "Okay."

After he took the instrument out and tuned it, he began to play, composing from the top of his head. Ai listened for a minute and began to sing.

"Forget me not

Even when the rain is falling

Forget me not

Though we met so long ago…

But even then

I knew we were meant to be.

But even if you forget me

I'll remember you.

Since the first time we've met

I've been

Loving,

Hoping,

Praying,

That you'd remember me—

So forget me not."

She looked at him happily when she finished singing, wings fluttering. They made a great two-person band. He knew exactly what she had in mind next and that was what made it good—when both singer and guitarist knew what the other was thinking.

What they were leaning in to exchange another kiss, the door burst open.

Dancing in, Hikaru shouted, "Sushi time!"

Nora followed, looking at Ai and Kent darkly.

Okay, so yeah. I don't know if they have drive-thrus for sushi bars in Japan…is that just weird? Sorry! Please don't whack me with your fan! More characters will come in the next chapter.

Haha…I love Hikaru—he's so cute! I'm pretty sure that I'll bring Takeshi back. Not sure about Yoshi or Hiro or Hayabusa, though. Maybe Kaz if the story calls for it.

Thanks to the reviewers! I love you all. Heh. Tell me what you think of this chapter.

?KentOrNoraKentOrNoraKentOrNoraKentOrNoraKentOrNoraKentOrNora?

-So You Wanna Change the World (What are You Waiting For?)