A/N: Sorry this is late! I was gonna have the chapter finished last week but my file wasn't working. It came up in code and I couldn't get back what I'd written beforehand.

Also, a couple of announcements before the chapter will begin:

For one I need a beta. I'm tired of looking over what I wrote and fretting because I missed something extremely minor or a sentence was written in an awkward manner after publishing the chapter. While I can't pay or sell anything to anyone who wants to help me out, I can do things like write, draw or even beta (I'm better at revising other people's things than my own).

My other announcement is that I've decided and the other sequels to Junjou Flame will be posted separately. At first I decided against it because I felt that the other couples wouldn't be given much attention, but I realized that by posting them under one story it would make me feel more forced into updating each storyline based on "whose turn it is" and I hate being forced to write.

The release of the sequels themselves I can't say. It's a matter of timing (partly because they may contain spoilers to other storylines). I can say though that Junjou Passion will come first, but not right now. You'll see why~

Junjou Flame

Act 2

Part 4

Moments later, we were up on the balcony of Shinobu's hotel room, taking in the cool and crisp breeze while standing against the safety rail. We were talking about what had been going on for the past week up until now as the wind blew gently against our bodies. I told my story about the giant bear filling my room with the scent of wet paint (which he surprisingly believed) and Shinobu was ready to tell his series of twists.

"Wait a minute; your sister is getting remarried?" I asked.

Shinobu nodded gravely. "Yeah, she is. The wedding date hasn't been made yet. Today we were just meeting her fiancé and his family," he explained.

"So you were leaving for Teito hotel anyway yesterday! Why did you get mad at me then since you were going to be busy?"

"I thought you were avoiding me again," he stated, and then added sheepishly, "Plus I thought telling Father I had plans would at least post pone coming here until the next day."

"You could have at least asked Senpai or Hunter if you could stay over by them," I pointed out.

"I tried, but Sumi said he had to go somewhere and Hunter was having 'webcam night' with his family."

"A-what-night?"

"I don't know what they call it. It's something they do once a week to catch up on whatever it is they'll talk about. They did the same thing back when I was rooming with him at our other school. Anyway, that doesn't matter anymore," said Shinobu.

"So… this means you're not mad at me, right?"

"Nah, I'm over that now. Besides, you're the best thing that's happened to me all day."

My cheeks were tinted bright red as I momentarily thought back to an hour before.

His lips on mine, soft and ripe, the warmth of-

"Misaki?"

"Uh, you didn't finish telling me your story!" I blurted, "I mean… Why were you so upset earlier back in the stall? Okay yeah, you were partially upset over me and stuff, but you mentioned something about your dad."

Shinobu straightened up his back. "Oh, that."

"Ah, I'm sorry!" I apologized quickly, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to!"

He lifted his hand and ruffled my hair lightly in oddly soothing motions. "No need to get all flustered over it. Don't worry."

My cheeks were burning more than they did before. "I'm not flustered…"

"On with the story, I was having a breakdown. Overreacting might be a better word for that, but anyway Father was threatening to send me either with Risako once she gets married or," he paused and looked up at me tentatively, "…Back to Australia if I didn't change my major." Coincidentally enough, the breeze died down.

"W-what?" I gasped, moving away from his hand, "He's that bent on putting you through Law school? He can't do that!"

"Actually, he can and he would. Father is the dean, remember?"

My face fell. "Uh… No?"

Shinobu furrowed his eyebrows. "Dean Takatsuki Chokichi? You seriously didn't make a connection?"

"Ugh, shut up! I didn't know, alright? Geez, I liked you better miserable," I joked.

The doorknob twisted right then. All I could see from the balcony was the silhouette of a man at first, but as he moved closer I could make out who it was.

'Gray hair, glasses, that face… Oh my God!' I thought, feeling a cold sweat coming on.

"There you are, Shinobu. I thought I'd find you here." He glanced at me and smiled. "And I see you have a friend."

"D-Dean Takatsuki!" I stuttered, "G-glad to see you…again!"

The dean shifted his glasses and brightened. "Ah yes, I thought I recognized you! You're the same boy I talked to last night while waiting for dinner. How polite of you to call me dean as well! I assume Shinobu mentioned that bit about me?"

"Actually, I'm a student at Mitsuhashi. My name is Takahashi Misaki. I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier," I said.

"Is that so? Well, Takahashi-kun it was pleasant to see you again, but I must speak with my son alone. So, if you will please…"

He paused to stare at me and I look towards Shinobu for guidance.

"Go on. I'll text you later on," Shinobu told me.

"…Right," I said with a bow, "It was good to see you again, Takatsuki-san."

With that I power walked out of the room and back to where the ceremony took place, wondering if I had made the right decision on choosing not to butt in their situation.

…

Aikawa was the first person I found when I returned to the party. She ran over with a face stricken with uncertainty and relief at the same time.

"Misaki-kun!" she greeted me, nearby at a loss of breath, "Thank goodness! I was wondering whether you disappeared for good or not!"

"I know, I'm sorry! I happened to bump into someone so we talked for… a while. Have you seen my brother?"

Aikawa shook her head gravely. "No, I was about to ask you the same thing actually. He and Sensei walked off somewhere together and I have no idea where they are. Neither of them will answer their cell phones either! I'm getting worried…"

"I'm sure they're alright, Aikawa-san. They couldn't have gone too far," I said assuringly.

"I hope you're right. If anything, I trust your brother is more street smart than Sensei is."

I wanted to say something, but realized it would've been worse to mention that Takahiro probably had the same amount of sense as Usami-san. "So… uh… Is the party over?"

She nodded. "We disbanded it about ten minutes ago because Sensei didn't come back. The worst part is, there's no way Sensei could've ran off on his own. He was practically cornered by some of the other special guests…"

"I'll try my best to get through to them," I promised, "In the meantime l'll look back in their room first." I hurried to the elevator, barely hearing Aikawa shout one last thing back to me.

"Alright-just let me know if you find out anything!"

…

I was starting to get a little antsy myself after a while. Nobody had gotten in touch with me. I left Takahiro a few messages in his voicemail and text inbox. I waited for about twenty minutes before doing the same with Usami-san. At least I knew Shinobu was going to contact me when he could. As for nii-chan and Usami, I would have expected them to leave me some sort of notice that they were going to disappear for the next few hours.

The hotel room phone began to rang after what seemed to be the millionth time I flipped open my cell. I practically jumped towards the phone and answered it.

"Hello?"

"Where are they?"

And then I wanted to hang up on impulse, but something inside me said not to. 'Well duh. What was I thinking? They didn't have to call my room.' I cleared my throat and took a deep breath, restraining myself from growling at the man on the other line. "I'm not sure what you're talking about, Haruhiko-san."

"Our brothers are not in their room nor back at the ceremony."

"Sorry to say, but I've been trying to get a hold of them myself. I don't know where they are either." I was telling the truth though- not that I would've told him where Takahiro was in the first place.

There was a brief pause on the other line. "Somehow I don't believe that."

I instantly felt my head throb with annoyance and anger. "Who am I, my brother's keeper? 'Cause you haven't exactly been keeping track of yours either!" I hissed.

"Tell me where they are," Haruhiko insisted.

"I don't know! I already told you that."

"Listen, Takahashi-kun, I have no time to play these games with you"-

"No, you listen to me!" I screeched, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but if you're 'such a busy man', then why even bother to call me or pine after my brother? Why waste your time on this guy who obviously doesn't have any intentions of being swooned by you-if that was even possible in the first place- and is happy with your brother? Why do you have to butt in all of a sudden? You know nothing about my brother. I bet you don't know what his favorite color is! So what makes you think you have a chance in hell barging in this way? All you're doing is stressing out Takahiro-whom you 'love' so dearly- and pissing me off! And I've just about had enough of your bullshit!" I took deep breaths and secretly wondered if anyone was going to rap their knuckles on my door for being loud at this time of night.

"I-I…" He huffed once. "And you're any better? Getting involved in something like this?"

"Yeah, well, the difference between you is that I actually try to help my brother. You're just trying to ruin his life because he's happy and you aren't," I said.

"Brat, don't spew the first thing that comes out of your mouth. It could get you in trouble," he growled. And at this point I no longer cared. I was beyond the point of snapping.

"Honestly, I don't give a shit if I get in trouble or not. This is technically my fight whether you like it or not because I actually care about my brother!"

"Enough! You don't understand what I've had to go through. Do you know what it feels like to be a hamster on a wheel? You're running and aging at the same time, but you're going nowhere. You're stuck in the same place under a damn cage…"

It was odd. He sounded like he had emotions-like he was human capable of having feelings, but not knowing how to act on them.

"And I don't think you realize it either, but you've not gotten anywhere. Has going after my brother really done anything for you?" I asked.

"No, not right now, but"-

"It never will, so you have to stop."

He sighed. "I just don't get it. How is someone like my brother able to feel… 'happy'?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because he actually tried to be his own person. You should try doing the same thing."

He hung up on me after that, leaving me hanging.

…

I fell asleep after some time. The sun was out when I opened my eyes once nearly jumping off bed from something vibrating in my pocket.

Sluggishly, I took out my cell. It was a text message from Shinobu. "Sorry I didn't call. Are you up?"

"Ya, i am," I replied.

A few seconds later he said, "I'm leaving the hotel in an hour. Come outside."

"Y?" I asked.

"Just to say goodbye. Don't know if I'll see you the rest of the day or not."

"Ok. I'll c u there." I exited out of my inbox and checked for any voicemail messages. There was still nothing.

I took a shower and put on a new outfit in a total of ten minutes. I habitually checked my phone. Shinobu had sent me something else. "Put on channel four when you can! You have to see this!"

Obediently, I turned on the television.

There was a busty female reporter talking with the famous author himself.

"Usami-sensei, I must say I am surprised!" she said with a slight gasp.

"I'm sure anyone looking into this right now is," he laughed.

My eyes widened. 'Wait… Don't tell me.'

"But in all seriousness, what made you decide to come out to the world about your…sexuality?" She seemed to have a tough time getting that last word out.

"Well, I decided I was tired of hiding. Why live a life pretending? I've won the Naomori award and as of today, the Kikukawa award. I'll still continue to write books and I trust my fans will still read them despite me being a proud homosexual," he explained. Usami then gingerly looked to his right and shifted a little more towards it. "Besides, it wouldn't be fair to keep our love a secret."

The camera turned to Takahiro and I felt like everything stopped for a moment-or maybe that was just my heart. They didn't block his face or have a shadow overcast his body. He was right there being his average self clear as day, blushing madly while squeezing Usami's hand tighter.

"Right, of course!" the reporter grinned, "Your fiancé. That's so sweet… How are you feeling right now, Takahashi-san?"

"I'm feeling well. Shocked to have been brought here, yes, but nonetheless, relieved. It's like a great weight has been lifted from my shoulders. Of course, not that Usagi-I mean Akihiko- hasn't felt such pressure either. But I'm really glad. We're getting married and I couldn't be happier!" he answered brightly.

I turned off the television, took my room key with me and ran to the next room.

"Nii-chan! Nii-chan!" I hollered, "I saw it! I saw! Is that where you were? Why didn't you"-

The door opened. Standing at the entrance was the rabbit himself, glowering at me. The bags under his eyes seemed to have dug themselves several inches when cast upon me. "You better have had a good reason to wake me."

I found myself at a loss for words. "I… uh… Sorry! I'll come back later!" The last thing I needed to do was feel the wrath of Lord Usami.

…

Shinobu was waiting outside with his bags already stuffed in the car. "Misaki," he called to me a bit tentatively.

"Hey. You're all packed up?"

"Yeah, Father's packed up as well. He went back inside for breakfast with Mother. They both got up later than I did. I already ate."

"Ah, I see." I had wondered where Dean Takatsuki was. "So, uh… Is everything alright? I didn't hear anything, but, you know, it doesn't hurt to check."

"For now, it seems we're on fair terms. I still get to stay at Mitsuhashi while staying with Miyagi. I have to minor in Law, though."

"Really? That's great!" I beamed. The expression on Shinobu's face didn't change. My smile began to fade. "At least… I think it is."

"He also mentioned something about a program in Australia that isn't offered in Japan. I can get a dual degree in Law and Literature there if I wanted."

And suddenly, everything just crumbled apart-like the world was going to end.

"So you mean… You can't be serious! You're going back to Australia?"

"I don't know. We've read on it together. It is a really good program for me. We'd get what we both want," he replied.

Crumbling… crumbling… It was all crumbling…

"Oh." I lowered my head. "Then… If that's what you want, go."

"Well, I don't have to. At least, I have time to make up my mind."

"I don't see why you should be held back," I said.

"Then give me a reason." He moved closer to me until his head was about five inches away from mine.

I swiveled back a little. "What… why should I have to give you a reason? If you wanna go, it wouldn't be right for me to stop you!"

"You're not stopping me." Shinobu grabbed my wrist and stared at me seriously. His voice and the look in his eyes softened and I was sure my face was overheating at that point. "Misaki, do you know why I came back to Australia?" I slowly shook my head in response. "Well, first off, I missed Japan and wanted to be back. The other reason was because I wanted to see you again. I wanted to find you."

"I don't really know what to say to that," I muttered.

"Just say that you'll go out with me!" Shinobu choked out, "I came back for you and I don't plan on leaving because you're here." He pulled me closer. "Please, Misaki."

I took a moment to think it over.

Not long ago, Shinobu asked me this. Well, rather he told me to "take responsibility". Was this something similar? I had to take responsibility for Shinobu coming back to Japan. If I didn't exist or we never spoke that night of the party, would we have been close as we were now? It wasn't what I wanted. I didn't want control over someone's actions.

But maybe this wasn't responsibility or being selfish. People depended on each other often, right? If the feeling is mutual, are they selfish? Are lovers selfish while being responsible for each other? There was commitment. Could I handle that? I could barely handle school work.

I didn't have to talk to Shinobu the night of Miyagi's wedding. I also didn't need to try being his friend or calm him down last night, but I did. There was something inside me that wouldn't leave him alone and it came out last night during that kiss.

That kiss-it was so foreign and I could still taste it. The embrace was enough to make me red head to toe and I liked it. That was obvious enough.

So why hesitate? If this was what I wanted, why not go for it? Then again, what if this wasn't what I wanted or it didn't work out?

Then again, I probably would've missed out by not trying something new and curious.

A creak of the door dragged me out of my thoughts. "Shinobu?" called the Dean from the front of the hotel, "Are you ready to go?"

"Yeah, everything's in the car," Shinobu called. He looked back at me again. "So…?"

"I'll go out with you."

…

"You know, Takahiro I forgot to mention before we left the house that there's been a distinct smell," Usami said once stepping in the house.

"A smell?" asked Takahiro.

"It reminds me of wet paint."

"Oh, does it now?" he said, trying hard not to grin. Usami gave him an odd look and then glanced at me.

"Uh… Actually, Usami-san, I have to show you something."

The man grunted and for a second I could've sworn he was reaching for a cigarette pack. We walked together towards my room. If only I had a camera to take a picture of the priceless look on the rabbit's face.

"What…Wh-what is this?"

Takahiro beamed proudly and rested one hand against the paper Mache giant Suzuki bear. "It's a little something Misaki and I put together as a gift for your award."

"Incredible," Usami gasped. He was kind of like a child at a playground for the first time, examining the object from every angle. "I have absolutely nothing to say to this." For the first time, he dragged us both into a tight hug. "Thank you both so much. Although, I have to ask-how did you make all this?"

Takahiro rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Well, I don't know if you've noticed, but the other closet has been cleared…"

…

A week later, things had begun to go back to normal. Shinobu and I were on (more than) speaking terms and oddly enough, nii-chan hadn't received anymore presents from Haruhiko.

Now, though reporters had been on our footsteps demanding to speak with everyone in the household and family, making it impossible momentarily to start adding on a new room just yet so I was stuck with giant Suzuki. A few times already Aikawa had threatened them with her wrath.

At the same time, Sumi hadn't been around. He said he was sick and wanted no visitors.

Oh, and Usami had started ruffling my hair more. It was kind of annoying, but at least we weren't arguing that much anymore. I think it meant he was starting to like me.

And I made another remarkable discovery while waiting outside for Shinobu to finish class.

"Oi, Misaki-kun!"

I didn't recognize the voice at first, but I turned around anyway, prepared for a shock. "Hunter, hey."

"Shinobu isn't out of class yet? What's keepin' 'im?"

"I don't know. I've got nothing on my phone from him," I said.

"Neither do I."

We were silent for a while until it hit me immediately. I nearly jumped back ecstatically. "Y-you speak Japanese!"

Hunter chuckled. "Of course I do, mate! Where've you been?" I stared at him with disbelief and he laughed harder. "I'm joking. Well, half that is. I've been learning Japanese for some years now. I just haven't said any because it's a little rusty and I didn't want to embarrass myself. I kind of wanted to wait until I was more settled into school stuff. Plus, dumb of me but I figured you all spoke English since last I checked, it's a required course. My bad."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

Hunter had a dumbfounded look on his face. "What?

"N-nothing. Anyway, did Senpai come out today?"

"I'm afraid not. Keiichi-kun's still sick," said Hunter, "I think this is becoming quite serious."

"Well, let's hope not."

"No matter! I shall visit him anyway."

"I thought he said not to do that because it's contagious or something," I reminded him.

"Not like the lad will have the energy to keep me from coming in there," Hunter grinned, "In fact I'll leave now."

"You sure? You don't wanna meet back at my place as usual?" I offered.

"Nah, I'll give you two a break. I'm sure you're all tired of me, heh!" he laughed. He then leaned towards my ear and whispered, "Besides, I figure I should give you guys some time alone."

I blushed furiously. "Excuse me?"

"Come on, mate! It's not that hard to figure out."

"You mean he told you?"

Hunter flashed me yet another cheesy grin. "Nope! I just wanted to hear you say it. I'll admit it, I knew the boy liked you but I didn't realize you two hit it off! Man, now I gotta kick his arse for not telling me anything sooner." He wrapped an arm around me. "So tell me; is he a good kisser? Awesome in bed? Who tops?"

'Geez, and you wonder why he won't tell you,' I thought, and then said, "Why do you wanna know all that?"

Hunter raised his hands. "Whoa! You don't need to get all defensive! I'm just teasin' ya, no worries! I don't want your man. 'Sides, I've got somebody to look out for myself."He moved away and began to walk near the student parking lot. "Anyway, I better get going. See ya later!"

I shyly waved back and jumped a little when I felt someone bump into me. "Shinobu?"

"Where's Hunter off to?" he asked.

I felt a slight pang of jealousy at not being greeted first. "He's going to see how Senpai's doing."

"Oh." He tapped my hand with his. "So I guess it's just the two of us then. What do you wanna do?"

Hesitantly, I slipped my hand in Shinobu's, not even pressing my digits against his flesh. "Can we go to your place again? It's still a little crazy by mine."

"Of course." He noticed me whipping my head in several directions and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong, Misaki? Not comfortable with PDA? Afraid that someone's going to see us?"

My face flushed. "I…uh…"

Shinobu leaned on me and neared my lips towards his. "What'll happen if I do something like this, hm?"

"Stop, stop! I'll hold your hand! Geez," I mumbled.

Shinobu laughed lightly and squeezed my hand tighter. "You're so cute when you're flustered~"

A/N: And that's it for the second act! Hopefully this time I'll update faster.

Also, I don't really know what the programs in Australia and Japan are for college nor Shinobu's father's real name. Just bear with it for the sake of the story.

See you next time and thank you so much to everyone who's been reviewing, favoriting, alerting and reading! You guys give me motivation to continue this thing.