Chapter Five
Kaizen smiled at Haruko as he stood in front of her. Haruko rubbed her eyes; she couldn't believe this was happening. Raisuke walked up to Kaizen, panting. In his arms was Kuro, and right behind him was Tanaka-sensei.
"Haru-chan, my angel, I missed you so much!" Tanaka-sensei hugged her forcefully as she was about to stand up.
"You left me alone with these horrible children! Kai-chan is so mean to me!" he whined, giving her a sad face.
Haruko smiled; Tanaka-sensei was the same as ever.
"Who are you calling horrible?" Raisuke asked.
"Yea! It's your fault, Sensei, and stop calling me 'Kai-chan;' it's embarrassing!" Kaizen added.
Haruko began laughing; Kaizen and Raisuke looked at her as if she was insane.
"You guys haven't changed at all. I guess I couldn't expect much since it's only been a month," she said, walking up to Kaizen.
She kissed his cheek and hugged him. He blushed, and Raisuke snickered. Then, she grabbed Kuro and snuggled her. Kuro mewed and purred; she licked her arms as well.
"I missed you too, Kuro!" she cried.
Her father suddenly stood up.
"Otousan, these are my-" Haruko started.
"I know who they are, Haruko. Isn't funny how they showed up right at the right time?" he asked, smiling just like Tanaka-sensei.
Haruko looked at him, blinking. She then understood.
"You…you did this?" she asked.
"Don't tell your mother. I couldn't allow you to suffer any longer, Haruko. Your mother…she means well, dear, but she doesn't know any other way," her father replied.
Forcefully, she hugged her father; he laughed as he almost fell back.
"Shikari Ryou, I'm surprised you remembered where I lived," Tanaka-sensei said.
"You've lived in the same place forever, Tanaka Kyoya," Ryou replied. "You haven't changed a bit. I didn't expect them to give you a cell assignment."
"Hey! I can handle these kids. Your daughter is an angel. She's the best at everything. Can I adopt her from you? Maybe I could just borrow her, please?"
"Kyoya, be serious. You're never serious around kids, are you?"
"Nope, he's never serious around us…" Raisuke replied.
"Hey! I am serious!" Tanaka-sensei exclaimed.
"Haruko, take your friends somewhere, okay? I'd like to speak with your sensei alone," Ryou said.
Haruko grabbed Kaizen's hand and nodded as she ran off with him. Raisuke followed close behind. As soon as they were out of sight, Kyoya lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth as he sat down on the stairs to the door.
"So, how are you going to explain Haruko's 'disappearance' to your wife?" he asked.
Haruko stopped as they reached a small lake. The moonlight reflected off the water, giving her legs an unearthly glow as she neared it. She slipped off her shoes and sat on a rock, dipping her feet in the water.
"Haruko-chan, what've you been doing all this time?" Kaizen asked.
"Nothing much; I saved a little girl one day. She almost fell off a cliff. There aren't any kids my age here. I've missed you guys…and I want to go home with you…" Haruko replied.
Kuro looked up to her master. She jumped out of Haruko's arms and ran off. Raisuke looked at Haruko as she began to get up.
"I'll get her! You two stay here," he said, running after her.
He knew what was going on. Kuro wasn't a stupid cat, and Raisuke knew he wasn't needed right now. Haruko sat back down and sighed.
"Kuro still runs away from me…" she said quietly.
Kaizen moved from his spot and sighed as he neared Haruko. Her eyes were filling with tears, and he didn't want her to cry.
"Haruko, it's not that Kuro doesn't like you. Trust me; she's always staring at your picture and stuff. She probably just wants to play with Raisuke. She does this all the time," he replied, trying to cheer her up.
Haruko looked at him; tears fell down her cheeks as she smiled. He smiled at her and hugged her gently.
"It's not the same without you, Haruko-chan. We've missed you… I've…missed you, Haruko," he said.
Haruko embraced him harder as more tears fell.
"Kai-kun, I've missed you so much! I hate it here!" she cried.
"It's alright; we're going to find a way to bring you home with us," he replied as he released her.
They looked into each other's eyes deeply. Everything was silent and peaceful, and neither of them knew what to say. Haruko looked down into her lap as she began to blush. Kaizen gently touched her chin and brought her face up to his before gently pressing his lips against hers. Raisuke and Kuro were secretly watching from behind a tree. Raisuke smiled as a tear fell down his cheek. He was happy that Kaizen was finally happy.
"Haruko-chan is the best thing that's ever happened to him," he whispered before walking away.
Haruko's face reddened more before Kaizen broke the kiss. She couldn't find anything to say. Her voice stopped working; her mouth was dry. Kaizen just smiled and sat beside her.
"Raisuke, I know you were spying! Get back here!" Kaizen yelled.
Raisuke suddenly appeared in front of them. Haruko still sat with her mouth open, unable to speak.
"Kaiiiiiizen, what did you do to her?" he asked, shaking her gently.
"Don't blame me! I'm just that great of a kisser," Kaizen replied.
Haruko shook her head and kicked Kaizen in his head.
"Why did you do that?" she asked.
"Ow! Why did you do that?" Kaizen asked.
"That was mean!"
"No, what I did was nice. What you did was mean!"
"Kai-baka! BAKA BAKA BAKAAAA!"
Haruko began to walk away when Raisuke grabbed her arm.
"Kaizen, apologize. Haruko, you too," he commanded.
"Gomen nasai," they both said.
"Good, now stop fighting," he commanded again.
They both folded their arms and looked away from each other. Raisuke laughed and sat down. Kuro rubbed against Haruko's legs, begging to be picked up. Haruko picked her up and smiled.
'Kaizen was right…" she mumbled.
"What about me?' he asked.
"Nothing, Kai-baka!" she exclaimed.
"Hey, why are you calling me 'baka' all of a sudden?" he asked.
"Because you're a baka, baka!"
"I am not! I'm smarter than you!"
"In your dreams, baka!"
Raisuke began laughing again. Haruko and Kaizen stared at him.
"What is with you?" Haruko asked.
"You two will never change. You fight over stupid things, yet you love each other. I will never understand how that works," Raisuke replied, twirling a kunai between his fingers.
Haruko looked to Kaizen, who looked back at her. She began laughing also. Kaizen folded his arms.
"Kaizen, he's right, you know…" Haruko said.
"Whatever…" Kaizen replied.
"Aww, don't be like that!" Haruko said as she hugged him. "I'm sorry…"
Kaizen sighed as she released him.
"I accept," he replied.
Haruko gave him a surprised look. She was expecting an apology in return. She sighed and sat down, letting it go. Kaizen laughed.
"I'm sorry, too. Are you happy?" he asked.
"No," Haruko replied.
"What do you mean no?!" he exclaimed.
Raisuke began laughing again. This would go on for a while, but still, he was glad to hear it. He missed Haruko because of the way she made life better for them. Something about her, he couldn't place it, but something about her made living easier, and without her, life seemed boring and uneventful, especially for Kaizen. He hadn't seen him smile like that in over a month. Raisuke was glad Kaizen was happy again. The Yamamaya team was back.
