Okay sorry for the very long wait. I have just started college and it took me a while to get accustomed to my schedule. I have run over this story many times and there still might be mistakes in here. If there are I am sorry. Thank you to all the people who support this fanfiction for your patience. This chapter has a lot of flash backs and leaves a lot of questions. I also threw a couple of cute moments between IkkixSimca in there so I hope you guys like it. I do not own rights to Air Gear even though I wish I did. As usual this is a IkkxSimca fanfic so if you don't like the paring then don't read the story. Thanks for your participation and your patience and I hope you enjoy! Oh and I tried to make it longer this time!

Chapter 4

Ikki stayed with Simca in the guest room while Ine went back to the hospital.

"Ikki."

Ine stepped into the hallway where Ikki was leaned up against the wall cross legged on the floor next to the door. He straightened up, startled by her sudden mention of his name and looked up at her.

"I'll be back." She said while she walked down the hall.

Ikki scrambled to his feet and dashed down the hall behind her; stumbling at little when she stopped suddenly.

"What do you mean? Are you just going to leave? What about Simca? Will she be ok?" He spit the words out in a single breath and paused to catch his breath. "Will… will she… wake up?" He asked hesitantly.

Ine stopped walking but said nothing. Ikki prepared himself for the worst when Ine turned around to face him.

Ine looked at the disheveled boy standing before her and smiled. "She will be fine, she is just resting. Unfortunately this happens to her when she is under great stress. Or…" Ine hesitated wondering how much she should say. This was of course Simca's business. Did she have the right to tell Ikki? She shook of the thought and added with some reluctance in a hushed tone. "Or when her headaches come back."

Ikki strained to hear her but couldn't quite make out what she had said.

"What do you mean headaches? What causes them? I think she was having trouble with some earlier. Is that the same thing as the stress thing?"

Ine eyed him curiously.

"Headaches are headaches, normally bad memories trigger hers or fragments of them maybe the fact that she can't remember has a part to play in this. If she was having trouble with them this morning then most likely she is in a more critical condition than I first thought and I believe that you should have shared that information either on the phone or when I arrived here. It would have been faster, and yes stress can cause the headaches or appear after the headaches. What goes on in Simca's mind is her crutch. Do you know why even though she is a gravity child she doesn't use or seem to have regalia? Do you know where she lives, where she works? Do you know anything about her family? Are you sure Kilik was her only sibling? Also, what could have been so terrible that she would either force herself to forget or what would have caused her memory loss in one particular area? These questions are some that would affect everyone if they were answered."

Ikki stood bewildered at the barrage of questions Ine threw at him and he remained silent as he sifted through each and every question. Ine seemed mad he thought but something else was coming through, almost like frustration.

Why would Ine ask me all of these questions? How would I know any of this? Simca and I have never talked about our personal lives to each other. I mean it's not like we are dating, we are just…. What are we?

He tilted his head downwards at a loss for words to describe the relationship he shared with Simca.

Well, not to long ago I wanted her to be my girlfriend…. But what about now? All of these questions that Ine just asked me are personal I can't just ask her that. Especially right after se wakes up. She would just black out again. These questions have nothing to do with me; they are none of my business.

As if reading his mind Ine spoke.

"If it bothers you because you think it doesn't concern you then think about how you came to live with your sisters."

Ikki looked up at the doctor wide eyed.

"As far as you know you were brought by the same man to the same house, just like they were. They all were apart of the same quote on quote "experiment"t. So why are you different? What makes you special? When you have all of the answers to these questions then please let me know." Ine turned around and started to walk away when she stopped once again and turned her head slightly to look at the boy. "Oh and think about why Spitfire always protected Simca while you are at it. I would like to know the answer to that question myself." She smirked and then walked back down the hall to the door. "Call me if anything changes for the worse in Simca's condition." With those final parting words she was gone.

Ikki was left standing in the middle of his hallway with a multitude of questions and no answers. With nothing more to do he slicked off to Simca's room where she still lay dormant.

Ikki sat with his face in his hands thinking about what had just happened.

I should be going to work soon. He thought to himself, even though Aeon gave him rights to the funds in his company Ikki still felt that he needed to make his own money to get by. Of course he still wasn't quite sure why Aeon left as much as he did to him. He looked around the room and played with his fingers. Feeling bored and more than a little stressed he decided to get up and walk around the room. It wasn't too big, so walking the span of the room didn't take long, and like before Ikki was once again left with nothing to do. So slowly he dragged himself over to the chair on the other end of the room and brought it next to Simca and positioned right in front of her on the side of the bed and drifted off to sleep.

Ikki woke with a start when he felt something tugging on his sleeve. He raised his head sleepily and looked at the now awakened Simca sitting on the bed staring at him. At first he was at a loss for words and didn't quite know how to proceed but then he seemed to pull himself together.

"Simca! You're awake!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, while flinging his arms around her; embracing her and rocking her steadily.

Simca jumped but then settled into the hug.

This is a first for me. Only Spitfire and Ine waited for me to wake up when this happened and they sure as hell weren't this happy to see me…. Ikki.

His arms lingered around her waist and she took in every minute of it, his scent engulfed her and she melted into his warmth; surrendering all of herself to him she used him for support and leaned on him. Although, as wonderful as the moment was, it did at some point have to end and Simca found herself dreading that moment. Wishing ever so slightly that time would freeze and they could stay like that for all eternity. Even when thinking that thought Simca shook her head. No she would soon become bored with just hugs. She sighed and Ikki pulled back to look at her.

"What's wrong Simca? Are you ok? How are you feeling?" Ikki looked down at her, genuinely concerned for her well being.

Damn. Simca silently cursed herself for being the reason that they parted. I can't expect much else from him though. She lowered her head and took a deep breath. Even this has been too much. I need to leave. Unwrappingher arms from Ikki's waistandputting her hands behind her she heaved herself upward and took a step forward.

Ikki moved back but then she began to sway and fell into him. Ikki caught her effortlessly and cradled her in his arms.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Ikki looked at Simca with such an intensity to his eyes that singed her flesh and made her insanely hot. She tried to sit back up to get away but he laid her back down.

"You shouldn't be moving around this much, you just woke up after all."

Simca's face was flushed and she realized that no matter how she tried to position herself he would eventually see. Ikki misunderstanding why Simca's face had become red brought his hand to her forehead and laid it there for a few moments before taking it away.

Too soon. Simca found herself thinking and she hastily shook away the thought.

Ikki reached back and grabbed the comforter at Simca's feet; brought the covers up and laid it around her.

"Just stay in here until I come back." He started to walk away when he abruptly turned back around to face her. "And don't you think about trying to leave in your condition." To ease up the tension he smirked at her then walked out of the room. Simca was left in the room to deal with her mixture of emotions alone.

Once outside of the room Ikki slumped against the wall opposite the door and clutched his chest.

Oh my god, oh my god. I was holding her, like really holding her. We were so close! I… I. Goddamn I kept it together; I should get a reward for that. He breathed deeply and let out a sigh. Well never mind that, she does still need a towel or something cold to put on her head. He got up and marched down the hall, his cheeks still red from the encounter with his crush.

"Ugh." Simca voiced her frustration and flopped back onto the bed. I can't believe that just happened. What am I thinking!? She grabbed the pillow that was behind her propping up her head for comfort, and shoved it down onto her face screeching at the top of her lungs, using the pillow as a silencer. I have to leave soon. If I stay here things will just get more complicated. Simca's thoughts were interrupted by a high pitched ringing sound. She scanned the room for the origin of the ear splitting noise that seemed to echo around her. Then the noise stopped, she leaned forwards as if she could somehow hear the secrets of the world by doing so. That was Ikki's phone, wasn't it? I wonder who it was. Did he answer it?

"Okay then." Simca said while slowly raising herself into sitting position. She paused for a moment to get her bearings then swung her feet over the side of the bed letting them dangle there for a bit. When she was sure that there was no dizziness or nausea she slid herself off of the bed while swiftly and silently making her way to the door. When she reached the door she pressed her ear against it and strained to hear any sound coming from the other side although, she could only hear muffled sounds, voices. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself and cautiously reached for the door handle. Simca took a deep breath and rested her hand on the knob for a few short minutes and then turned it until she heard a faint "click".

She paused once more and made sure she heard no movements outside of the door. When she was sure that there had been no one near she pressed her weight against the door and it slowly "creaked" open. Her head peaked out in the space between the door and the wall and she looked around to see if the coast was clear, it was. Then she gradually shifted and shimmied out from the crack she made in the door. She wanted to open it more but she feared the door would "creak" louder and alert Ikki so she left it as it was and made do with the tiny space. When she finally finished contorting herself to fit through the door she stopped for a moment of mental praise.

"Yes! I made it! Now to see who Ikki is talking to." She took two steps further and stopped again. "Wait! Why do I even care who he is talking to. I shouldn't get involved. Wasn't I just talking about getting out of here? I should be focusing on that". She nodded but her body refused to move. "Dang it! It doesn't concern me, it doesn't concern me!"

"Yeah I will watch over her I promise."

Simca froze completely and turned her head to look down the hallway.

"Of course you can trust me Ine!"

"Ine?" Simca inched further down the hall and stopped to hide in a shadow covering the wall.

"Wait why not...why can't I tell Ringo?"

There was a pause Simca took that to mean that Ine was talking or more like fussing at him considering she could hear her voice from where she stood.

"She won't she…yeah I remember but…I know…ok." Ikki said feeling exasperated. He leaned against the wall in the kitchen with his back to the hallway. "Well what do you want me to tell her? She has been coming over a lot lately and if I just suddenly say don't come over she will be suspicious."

"Just tell her that I said that you need some time to heal. Your wounds haven't healed completely and even though you saved Simca it still doesn't change the fact that I had not authorized you to come out of the house." Ine spun around in her chair and frowned while she chewed on her pen.

"Yeah ok." Ikki stroked the back of his head as he paced the kitchen. "Why can't Ringo find out Simca is here again?

"We just went over this she can't find out because…!"

Ikki yanked the phone from his ear and held it back grimacing.

Simca craned her neck around to get a better view and watched the perplexed boy pace around the kitchen while holding the phone away from his ear and messaging his temples with his free hand. What is going on? I can't hear anything with her yelling like that. The sound is bleeding together. She stepped forward a little her head exposed, out from the shadows protection. She felt sure that she would not be caught though because his back was to her. That sense of certainty gave her the confidence to step out further, her torso almost completely visible. I don't feel dizzy so if I need to step back real quick then I can.

Ikki swayed back and forth while slowly brining the phone back up to his ear, sure that Ine's silence was a sign that she was finished he took the chance to speak.

"Well um…ok I got it. Not a good idea. Keep her away from here and keep Simca in the house until she recovers… um hey Ine?"

Ine leaned forward and pressed the phone to ear picking up on the boys' intensity.

"Yes what is it?"

Ikki shuffled around uncomfortably while trying to find the words to say and maybe how to phrase it in a way that would not make Ine blow a gasket.

"Well…" He lowered his voice and put his hand in front of his mouth and the phone's bottom speaker.

Simca leaned forward and sighed.

"Why did he get so quiet all of a sudden?"

"Sure Ikki that actually might be best for her right now." Ine rubbed her chin and chewed her pen vigorously.

"Really! Do you think so?" Ikki leapt up in excitement and was not quite sure why he was so happy about the current situation but never the less he jumped for joy anyway not caring who heard or saw. A moment of victory finally! Wait I didn't even ask Simca if she wanted to stay here. She may not want to. She seemed to be in such a rush to leave earlier or, was that just my imagination? Ikki stopped jumping and stared of into space.

"Ikki!"

"Hai! Yes ma-am!"

Ine rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair while she motioned for her secretary to come closer.

"Ikki, I would like to see Simca as soon as possible and since I know she doesn't like hospitals naturally that would mean that I would have to come back over there. What day do you think would be better for that? Do you think you can keep her there long enough? Be aware that her nickname "Simca the swallow" isn't there just cause it sounds pretty. She doesn't like to sit still for too long so make sure she gets enough exercise otherwise our little bird will fly the coop.

Ikki swallowed hard and tried to imagine him holding Simca down to stop her from leaving. If I am not careful I might end up clawed to death. He pulled at the collar of his t-shirt and sighed. "I will do what I can." Then he strolled over to his calendar. Hm. The guys and me have a tournament coming up soon. Tuesday is filled with work. Wednesday is when I have to stop by the house cause Rika is making dinner and I have training set up then along with a visit to see Sora and Kilik in the hospital. I wonder if it is a good idea to have them in the same room. Huh! Thursday is free! "Um how about Thursday?"

Ine spun around in her chair and stopped it abruptly. She looked up at the secretary but she didn't move. When it was clear to Ine that she probably wouldn't she waved her hand in a circular movement towards her. The secretary made a jerking movement and quickly handed over the notebook that contained all of her appointments. She briskly paged through it until she slammed her hand down on a page. Both Ikki and the secretary jumped at the sudden noise. Ine removed her hand and picked the book up for a better look. She adjusted her glasses maybe two or three times before she spoke. "I have an opening at 4PM is that good?"

Ikki scanned back over his calendar. "Yeah sounds good, Thursday at 4PM."

"Good now if you'll excuse me I have business to attend to." She went to hang up the phone but Ikki's voice made her pause.

"Uh. Hey…how are Kilik and Sora doing? Are they ok now?" Last Ikki had heard Kilik was in critical condition and Sora was in the same predicament because he had lost the will to live. Rika came and gave him a reason to fight on and that was all that he had heard, he waited patiently for Ine to respond.

Simca leaned in closer, now she could completely see Ikki his back was still to her and she was no longer in the shadow. She waited and listened and became tense in the long pause of silence. She desperately wanted to know how her brother was. There are still things I have not gotten to say to him yet, questions that I need answered.

She remained silent, so long that Ikki had thought she hung up. Right before he went to end the call her voice chimed in from the other line. "They are both doing well. They are major pains in my ass but they are doing well. They seem to be recovering smoothly.

Ikki let out a sigh of relief. I shouldn't be so happy to hear that news. Kilik treated me like I was some insect and Sora did the same, but still I am glad. I wonder if Simca plans to visit Kilik in the hospital. "That's good. Thanks Ine." He grinned widely.

Ine smiled and hung up the phone.

Ikki clicked the end button and stroked the back of his head while he let his thoughts engulf his entire conscious.

Simca stared at him wide-eyed and lingered there away from the shadow entranced by his serious far off gaze. She couldn't explain why but he made her feel like a young school girl staring at her first crush. Argh! He is my first crush!" She shook her head and while she slowly found herself becoming more engrossed by his steely eyes she began to drift into a memory that she hadn't thought about in years.

"That darn Kilik acting like it's no big deal. He left and he thought it was ok but I am different!" Simca sighed and pouted as she soared through the air, putting all of her worries and problems behind her. "I am just a kid you know. It's not like I have all of these years of experience and not everyone can be as composed as my oh so wonderful big BROTHER!" She stopped to get her bearings on top of a street lamp. She rolled off the tip and slid down to the two bars protruding from its base. "Then he acts like he is so much older and mature than me by saying you don't have a special someone yet, you can't understand. NEWS FLASH! You don't either! She's Sora's girlfriend! Hmph. I am envious though, I wish I could find someone that I cared that much about. Maybe if I had someone like that they could help me and give me advice on what I can do from here on without…. Hm no, I won't think about it!" She sighed and looked up at the purple, orange, and blue sky. "Yeah something like love at first sight. Hm yeah right I would never…."

"Hey girl!"

Simca's thoughts came to a screeching halt by the sudden call. She looked down only to find this young boy probably no more than nine or ten looking up at her. She watched him curiously before replying. "Are you talking to me?" She pointed to herself the confusion obvious on her face.

"Yeah you're the only girl sitting on a light post aren't you?" The boy replied smugly, sneering at her annoyed expression.

Simca placed her hands at her sides and pushed her body forwards off of the bars and into the air.

The boy stood there his mouth gaped open. "Hey don't jump!" He took off running and stood under her as she descended.

She rolled her eyes and adjusted her body slightly so that she would not land on the senseless child. With barely any noise at all she landed behind the boy.

"Woah! That was cool!" The boy slowly turned around to ask her how she accomplished that without dying or breaking every bone in her body when his eyes caught hers.

Simca's mouth opened obscenely wide and she gaped at the boy. She did not know him but in that instant she felt something, something strong. She assumed the boy felt it to because his face mirrored hers or what she knew she had to look like. After a brief pause Simca spoke. "Hey who are you?"

The boy rubbed his eyes and opened them widely again. U…um…I…I'm…. Itssuki Minami." he replied shyly. He clasped both his hands together and began to shift uncomfortably, rocking from side to side.

Simca smiled at his shyness.

Her smile made him blush more. He became more flustered, and stayed silent.

"How old are you?" She looked the boy up and down looking for any reason to reassess her previous judgment.

"I…I'm nine." He looked up at her and stroked the back of his head uncomfortably.

She mentally deflated. Aw. He's so much younger than me I mean it's only by a few years but still. She lowered her head.

The boy instantly picked up on her distress and quickly changed the subject. "Um…hey!"

Simca looked up and stared at him. "Yeah."

"Ho…how did you not die?"

Simca shook her head and looked back at the boy. I must have heard him wrong. "What?" She asked expecting him to say something different.

"How did you not die?" He said staring straight at her waiting earnestly for her reply.

"Wh…what do you mean?" She pushed a strand of hair back from her confused face.

"When you jumped, you fell from way up there, but you didn't die. How come?" He stepped forward and looked at her intensely.

Simca took a step back shaken by the look in his eyes and what it was doing to her already excited heart. "Did you want me to die?" She tilted her head and took another step back just for precaution.

Ikki shook his head wildly. "No that's not what I meant. I mean how come you didn't like what trick did you use?"

Simca went to answer but a beeping sound coming from her pocket cut her off. She rolled her eyes and reached into her pocket pulling out a square device that coincidentally matched the color of her hair. Ugh. It's Spitfire. Why is he messaging me right now? She looked at the slender screen and saw a message run across it. She read the message.

"Hey Simca where are you? It's getting kind of late. Can you punish yourself later? Come on back."

Aw man. She slipped the device back into her pocket and turned to look at the boy. "Hey I am sorry but I have to go home now. It's getting late. You should also think about going home" Her heart felt heavy and she didn't understand why. "See ya!" Before she leapt up into the air Ikki called out to her.

"Can I see you again?"

She looked back shocked by his words. She took a moment to think and decided. "Sure."

"Same time same place right?" He stood tall with a determined look on his face.

When he looks like that it would be easy to forget that he is younger than me. "Yeah!" She said smiling to herself.

"Tomorrow!"

Simca turned back around once again. "You want it to be that soon?"

He smiled and nodded. "Yeah!"

Simca's face flushed red and were it not for the darkening sky he would have easily been able to point it out. "Ok. Sure. Tomorrow then." She lifted off into the sky before anything else was said that would make her want to stay.

He watched her disappear into the dark blue sky. He stood there even after she was out of sight until he heard a disturbing sound that seemed to shatter his moment of euphoria.

"Ikki where are you!"

"Ikki"

"Hey numb nuts where are ya!"

"I…I!"

He sighed. My sisters came after me huh. Then he looked back towards the sky. "Tomorrow then" he smiled and ran towards his family.

Simca was snapped back from her flash back by the sound of running water. She flinched and saw that Ikki had moved and was standing at the sink with a few damp towels in his hands. She slowly stepped back into the shadows and disappeared down the hall. She slid into the door with ease and pulled it shut making as little noise as possible, and slipped back into the bed.

A few minutes later Ikki sauntered back into the room holding the damp towels and a bowel of soup with stem charging from the bowel like horses at the races. He stepped carefully and quietly. Simca sat up to see why he was being so silent. The bowel of soup was filled to the rim and seemed to be in danger of spilling over with every step that he took. He set it on a table near the far window and grabbed a foldable chair from the corner that Simca didn't notice was there before. He set it at the head of Simca's bed and brought the bowel to it and sat it down. Then he placed the towels along the end of the table and sat a glass of water in the corner. He reached behind him and lifted a tray and sat it on the bed. "I think that should about do it." He raised a finger and reached back for the table and picked up a few crackers. "There now I think I am done." He smiled and looked at her.

Simca turned her head away from him and whispered in a barely audible tone. "Thank you." Quick and simple she had gotten her thought across.

Ikki looked confused for a moment and then hit her with another one of his stunningly bright smiles.

"Hey who was that on the phone earlier?" She glared at him. Will he lie?

"Oh it was Ine." He said plainly and without hesitation.

She was thrown by his truthfulness although, she really didn't think that there was a reason to lie she just wanted to see if he would do it.

"Hm. What did you two talk about?"

Ikki did not skip a beat. "We talked about you mostly she came here after you passed out and took care of you for a while. Oh and yeah speaking of our conversation um well. What do you think about the apartment?"

Simca hesitated and was unsure how to answer because she wasn't quite sure where he was going with the conversation change. "What do you mean?"

He turned his head and looked at her out the corner of his eyes. "I thought, well we thought that it would be a good idea for you to live here."

Simca blinked a few times and tilted her head in confusion. It took a moment for what he said to truly register with her, when it did her face went pale.

Ikki immediately jumped to try to explain why. "Well see you haven't been doing well and there are a lot of bad guys out there! We just thought it might be safer if you had someone with you that's all." Then his face fell and he looked down looking almost completely broken. "I completely understand if you don't want to though. I mean I am not the most reliable and you probably think that I am perverted and weird huh." He stood up and turned around to face the door. "I understand. Just let me know when you would like to leave ok." He started to walk away but Simca grabbed his arm.

What are you doing? She screamed at herself. "I don't mind staying here. You just caught me off guard that's all." Her eyes softened and she smiled gently at him.

Ikki turned around and gaped at her beauty. He always thought she was beautiful ever since he saw her flying past him in the park not to long ago. Although, at times there was this nagging feeling that he knew her before that but she hadn't said anything so he dismissed the thought and moved on. Still at times especially now that feeling weighed on him. Her eyes were lit up and shined all on there own. Outside it had gotten darker but he could still clearly see her eyes and the depth within them, through that light though he could see something else that he couldn't quite place. He ignored it for the moment and sat back down on the bed feeling almost complete joy. "Alright! I mean cool, nice to have you here." He attempted to downplay his excitement but he failed.

Simca smiled at his attempts and giggled just a little. He looks like he did way back then. I hope I didn't make the wrong decision.

Thank you to WolFang1011 and TheSkyKing for the reviews! Also thanks to |MintyxFresh|, Kenji Hayabusa, TheSkyKing, and WolFang1011 for marking my story as your favorites and thanks |MintyxFresh|, TheSkyKing, and WolFang1011 for following my story as well. I really appreciate it!