She was back in the room, her hands bound behind her back. How had she gotten back here? Where was Kaiji? She was terrified as she looked around the room, much darker and gloomier than she remembered it. She heard the door open in front of her. The man walked in, an evil glint in his eyes as he crossed the room towards her. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. He was coming to fast towards her, and she couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Ami tried to scream again as he grabbed her face, his smile impish as his teeth seemed to shine in the dim lighting.
"I've come back for you princess." The man purred at her. No. No, this couldn't be happening, Ami thought. Not again. Where were the guys?
His figure seemed to dance in the shadows as he neared her. "Did you miss me?" She desperately continued to look around the room, but now only saw him. His hands reaching for her, trying to touch her again. She didn't want that! Why was he trying to touch her again? What was going on?
"Ami!" She heard someone call in the distance. She tried to look around the room for the voice, but the man brought her attention back to him, dragging her face up to meet with his. Something in his eyes terrified more than anything ever had. She tried to scream again, and whipped her head from side to side, trying to avoid him.
"Ami!" That voice again. It rang out in the dark, and Ami fought as she felt herself being held down. But where was it coming from? Why wasn't it helping her?
"Ami! Wake up! Ami!" Kaiji's voice rang out more clearly.
Ami awoke with a start as Kaiji gently shook her, cold sweat dripping down her face as she abruptly sat up. She jerked her head about, looking around the room. It was her bedroom. She was in her bed at Kaiji's house. It was just a dream? Kaiji was sitting there beside her on the bed, and Ami instinctively backed away, her mind still foggy from sleep. She whimpered quietly as the remembrance from the dream replayed in her mind, keeping her in that dream for another moment. Kaiji slowly came closer to her and took her face in his hands, wiping the tears that were streaming down her face away with his thumbs.
"It's ok. It was just a dream. I'm here now." He whispered softly to her, stroking her cheek gently.
"K-Kaiji?" She asked quietly as her mind finally focused.
He smiled gently at her, nodding his head. "Yeah, it's me. It's ok now. It was just a nightmare."
It was just a nightmare? She'd never had a nightmare like that before. It felt so real, so vivid. How could it have been that real feeling and still be just a dream? Ami felt herself begin to shake as she sat there, trying to calm herself down. Kaiji saw her trembling and quickly gathered her up in his arms before she could protest, pulling her into his lap and cradling her head against his chest. Kaiji's warm scent seemed to help calm her down, and she grabbed a fist full of his shirt in her hands, holding on to him for dear life. He held her like that for a while, gently stroking her hair as he calmed her down. Ami felt her body begin to calm down more, her shaking stopping as she took in a deep breath.
"I… I'm going to go make some tea. I can't sleep now after that." She said slowly, reluctantly tearing herself away from Kaiji as she went to stand.
He nodded, standing up next to her. "I'll go with you. I couldn't sleep myself."
She smiled weakly at him as they left her bedroom. The eerie silence due to the absence of his sisters made the house seem so much larger than it really was. Ami found herself missing his sister's chatter and noise, as the house seemed so much creepier now, especially after that dream. She stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the tea kettle and began to fill it with water as Kaiji sat down on one of the stools in the kitchen, watching her.
"Do you want one?" She asked.
"Yeah sure. Thanks." He replied as she turned the stove on and let the water heat up.
Despite having calmed down since earlier, she found herself still shivering every now and then. She'd had nightmares before, but never to that extent. They'd never been that vivid or real feeling before. And she didn't like it. Sure she'd been a little bit scared when she'd been held hostage, but she never imagined that it would have given her nightmares. Hoping they wouldn't come back, she moved about the kitchen, trying not to show her shivering.
She kept her back to Kaiji as she busied herself with putting away some dishes from the sink that had already been washed. She didn't want him to see her face. It was bad enough that he'd seen her like that after she'd woken up from that dream, but she didn't want him to see her like this. She felt weak and vulnerable; a new feeling for her that she really wished would just go away. But he'd held her so gently when he'd woken her up. She closed her eyes briefly, remembering how his fingers felt as he'd stroked her hair soothingly. Why did he have this effect on her? He clearly didn't think much more of her than just a job, or at the most a childhood friend. So why did the slightest touch from him warm her insides?
The kettle began whistling in front of her, bringing her mind back from la-la land. She blinked a few times as she picked the kettle off and turned the stove back off. The mugs were in the top cabinet, and she went over and stood on her toes and went to reach for the door. As her arm went up, the pain in her ribs returned and she winced, grabbing her side. Kaiji was instantly on his feet by her side.
"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just reached a little higher than my ribs would have preferred. Would you mind grabbing two mugs from the cabinet up there for me?"
Kaiji nodded and reached up, grabbing the mugs from the cabinet for her. She went back over and grabbed the steaming tea kettle. He set the mugs on the counter next to her, his eyes still full of worry for her as she took them from him with a small smile. She turned her back to him again as she went and grabbed the tea packets from the drawer.
"I'm sorry about earlier." He whispered.
"Earlier?" She asked, pouring the hot water into her and Kaiji's cups.
"For yelling at you like that. I shouldn't have yelled at you. Especially not after everything you'd been through. I'm sorry."
Ami handed him his mug. "Oh… it's ok."
"No it's not, you didn't deserve that. I had just been…"
"Been what?"
He sighed, leaving his mug on the counter in front of him. "Ami, when they took you I was just so bloody scared that I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what they were going to do to you, and that terrified me. You really did go to them for a good reason, I know that. I was just so angry that there wasn't anything I could do. They just took you, and there wasn't shit that I could do about it."
"You were scared?" Ami asked quietly, placing her mug on the counter next to his.
"Yes. I've never been that scared in my entire life. And it's not because I'm your bodyguard. That wasn't what I meant earlier."
Ami looked up at him. "It's not?"
"No. I was scared because they were taking the woman I love away from me, and there wasn't anything I could do about it."
Ami's eyes widened at his statement, and she stood in her spot, looking at him. "What… what did you just say?"
"I love you Ami. I'm sorry I'm just now telling you that after all these years, but I've loved you since we were kids."
"You love me as childhood friends?"
Kaiji laughed, shaking his head and rubbing is hand against his face. "No you dense, irritating woman. I'm not talking to you right now as your bodyguard, or as your childhood friend. I'm talking to you as a man talking to a woman. I love you. I, ironically, love how stubborn and irritating you can be sometimes. I love that you put everyone else before yourself, no matter what it costs you. I love that you try to make me not worry about you which just makes me worry about you even more. I love that every morning you sing your favorite karaoke song in the shower so loudly that I can hear it downstairs. I love that you can't go a day without talking to your friends back at college. I love it that when you ask someone if something is wrong, you genuinely give a shit about them. I love how excited you get when we all play a board game, even if you're losing. I love that you can't function in the morning without your cup of coffee. I love that you love my sisters, no matter how annoying they can be. And I love that seeing your smile every morning just completely makes my whole day."
Ami giggled wetly, her heart bubbling in her chest as she looked at him. "You love me?"
"Pretty sure I said that about five hundred times just now, but I'll say it as many times as you want me to. I love you."
"I love you too." She replied quietly, her cheeks burning.
Kaiji's eyes widened at her quiet confession. "You… you do?"
"Yeah. I didn't realize that I was in love with you until recently, but I do. I love you."
He took a step closer to her. "Why?"
"What do you mean why? How is there a 'why' in there?"
"Why do you love me?"
She rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? I just told you that I loved you too and you're sitting there asking me why?"
"I need to make sure you're not just saying that because I did."
Ami threw her hands in the air. "Oh for the love of god Kaiji! Do you need a list or something?"
He grinned at her, his eyes taunting, as he took another step towards her. "Yeah, that would help."
Ami groaned. "Alright, fine. You make me smile on my worst days when no one else can. Talking to you every night, after your sisters go to bed, is my favorite part of the day. You tease me, and you bully me, but you do it with this smile on your face that somehow just comforts me. In fact, it's when you don't do that, I'm worried that something's wrong. You have this smile that just lights up your face and it makes me smile back. I love that you'll dance with me in the kitchen when we're making dinner, no matter how stupid we may look. I love how you sit there and complain about your sisters, but I know how much you really love them and take the time to help take care of them … There. Satisfied now?"
Kaiji stared at her for a moment, and a smile slowly spread across his face. He came forward towards her, taking the final steps across the kitchen until he reached. Before she could react, he cupped her face in his hands and brought her face to his, crushing his lips against hers. Utter joy rushed through Ami as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him back with everything that she had. His lips were so soft and warm that Ami felt herself melt in his arms. Kissing him in reality was way better than she'd ever imagined it. His kisses were fierce, laced with fire as he tried to show her without words how much he loved her. Her whole body burned as she clung to him, loving the feel of his lips against hers.
She felt him push her back, and followed him, allowing him to press her against the wall. His body pressed her against the wall, leaving no room between them. Chest to chest, hip to hip, they pressed against one another. Kaiji lowered his arms, wrapping them around her waist. He intensified their kiss, letting his hands caress her skin there, leaving her breathless. His touch seemed to ignite some fire in her, and she leaned head back, delirious with the pleasure of him touching her. His lips left hers in that moment, running a trail of hot kisses down her throat, finding a magical place at the base of her throat that caused her to involuntarily moan and clutch onto him. She grabbed his head roughly and brought his lips back to hers, crushing her lips against his again. He nibbled at her lower lip and Ami let out a little sigh, running her fingers through his hair.
They finally broke away from one another, their breathing ragged as they stared into each other's eyes. Kaiji pressed his forehead against hers and smiled teasingly at her. God she loved that smile of his. Her heart thundered in her chest, and Ami felt so happy in that moment that she wasn't sure that any moment would ever be able to top it.
"You do realize I'm not letting you back down now right? You are mine now." Kaiji whispered hoarsely, kissing her nose gently.
She smiled. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm yours."