Chapter 18: Apologies & Confessions

*Hides behind laptop*

Please don't hurt me! I'm sorry it took me this long, but I was finally able to get out of writer's block and finish up this chapter! I hope it's to your liking! It's a little longer than what I usually keep it at! ;)

Thanks to these people for reviewing last chapter: Experienced, CMR Rosa and Rnn21.

Disclaimer: DarkFlame Alchemist doesn't own Kaze no Stigma.

Enjoy!

Karai's Point of View

We had an awesome time in Karakura Town, but it was nice to be home again. Uncle let me rest for a few days because of the wound that I got. I was still sore though so I couldn't do anything too extreme. It's been about a week already, but Ichiru said that I should wait a few more days before removing the stitches, so I'm still stuck with them.

Right now, I was with Ayano in her room as she was getting ready for the amusement park where our mission is with Ren… and Kazuma.

Flashback

Father summoned me three days after my previous assignment. He had a new mission assignment for next Sunday.

We were all before Father. Ren was kneeling on the side. I was kneeling down next to Ayano while Kazuma was on her other side.

Ayano was pissed at Kazuma as usual. "I am not going anywhere with him! Not until he apologizes to me!" Ayano yelled.

"Calm down; try not to lose your temper Ayano," Father said before looking at Kazuma and I, "I want you to teach her to control her power and use it more wisely."

He then looked at Kazuma only, "And I'll gladly pay you extra for your time."

"Hey, wait a minute! I would be fine if it was just Karai with me!" Ayano yelled.

"Yes, but Karai is still injured from her previous mission so it would help if Kazuma was there too," Father said.

I sighed as eyes all looked at me with worry, "Guys, I'm fine, really. I just broke my rib, that's all. It's healing right now."

"What the hell? Just broke a rib? You should be resting!" Ayano yelled at me now.

I shook my head, "I've had enough resting. Besides, it's not broken anymore, it's just sore and tender."

Before Ayano could start arguing, Father placed down three tickets in front of us.

"Does that say Dreamland?" Kazuma asked.

I stared at the tickets with a frown, 'Seriously? An amusement park?'

"It's a request from a client. It could be nothing, but there may be a spiritual disturbance at the park. I want you to go down there and investigate next Sunday. If it's nothing, then take the day off, check the sights and have fun. You all need it."

"What? Why? We won't have any fun with Kazuma around," Ayano whined.

"Hey, wait; I have an idea. Why doesn't Ren just come along with us?" Kazuma suggested.

Father looked a little disappointed… I wonder why.

"Well, it is an amusement park, right? If it's not all business, why not just bring him?" Kazuma asked.

"Yeah, that makes sense," Ayano said nervously, "I completely agree with you."

"Yeah, Ren needs some fun as well," I added.

"Then it's a done deal. If Ren wants to," Kazuma said.

"Yeah, sounds like a good time," Ren said happily.

"Um, Ren; if you want to go, I have another pass for you. Just come see me later," Father sternly stated.

I became a little suspicious when I saw the look on Father's face. 'Hmm, something is up with him…'

Flashback Ended

I sighed as I slowly lied myself on Ayano's bed. Maybe this will be the day where Kazuma and I finally get along again. Maybe.

Today was a nice, sunny and warm day so I went back to wearing my no-sleeved jacket again. I glanced at Ayano. She was just wearing her under clothes while choosing which uniform she was going to use for the day. All three of them looked alike. Exactly alike, might I say. Honestly, I don't see why she's taking so long getting dressed.

"Ayano, why don't you wear something else for a change? I've never seen you wear anything besides that uniform of yours," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"I like these uniforms, thank you very much!" she protested before looking down, pondering between two of her uniforms.

I shook my head, "You know… there was someone that I met during my mission who looked almost exactly like you." Ah, Sakura, may you rest in peace in the Soul Society.

"Yeah and your point is?" she asked.

"She looked nice with the clothing that she wore so I imagined that you would look nice if you wore something different besides those uniforms… just saying."

"Thanks Nee-san, maybe some other time. I'm quite comfortable with these clothes that I'm choosing to wear."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Suit yourself then." I gently lied back down onto her bed, not wanting to strain my sore injury.

"Hmm… this one," she pondered, holding up one uniform before setting it down and picking up another, "or this one."

I smacked my head, "Ayano, just choose one before the day ends."

Ayano's cell phone rang. She threw the uniform she was holding back on the bed and ran for her phone.

"Ayano speaking," she said on the phone before waiting for the person to answer, "Oh, yeah, sorry." She then hanged up and went back to choosing a uniform.

"Let me guess. Kazuma is getting impatient?" I deduced.

"Yup; he said that he wasn't getting any younger," Ayano chuckled before looking at her uniforms once more. A few seconds later, she chose the middle uniform, looking all happy.

"You look all excited," I noticed.

Ayano had sparkles in her eyes, "We're going to an amusement park! Of course that is exciting! I love amusement parks!"

I just looked at her, surprised, before smiling. She was such a kid at heart.

"By the way, Onee-san, did Kazuma ever talk to you yet?" She asked while putting on her uniform.

I frowned, "No, why?"

She looked a little disappointed, "Oh, it's nothing. Just wondering when you two are going to talk again."

I sighed, "Don't know." 'Hopefully today...'

When she was done, we walked outside the estate and met up with the guys. I stayed next to Ren, chatting with him while Kazuma and Ayano argued as we went to the train station. He told me about a girl named Ayumi that he met and what happened during the days I was gone. I looked at him sympathetically and slightly told him about Sakura and Tamaki. I didn't tell him the whole story though.

We were sitting on the train, waiting to go to the amusement park. I sat next to Ayano on one side with Ren and Kazuma sitting on the other side.

"So Karai, tell us about your mission out of town. It sounds really interesting," Ayano asked excitedly, "All you told me was that there was somebody who looked like me."

Ren's eyes were widened, "Really? You didn't tell me that! Was it that Sakura girl you were talking about?"

I stole a glance at Kazuma who staring out at the scenery, knowing that he was listening in to the conversation, before looking back at Ren, "Yeah, she was a spirit that I helped along with my two new friends who are soul reapers," I explained.

"Whoa! What are soul reapers?" Ren asked curiously.

"Yeah tell us the whole story!" Ayano exclaimed.

I chuckled softly, "All right, all right. Well, it started off when Ichiru and I got to town-."

I first told them the part when Ichiru and Ichigo had their heads collide to when we Ichiru got stuck in the closet. Ayano was laughing so hard, Ren chuckled and Kazuma snickered.

I then told them up until we found out about the water yoma and what it did.

"That was pretty cruel," Ren said.

"Yeah, I know… taking the life of an innocent girl. That was despicable. I'm really glad we got rid of that bitch demon," I remarked, glaring to the side. Ren got a little scared. I couldn't see Kazuma's reaction, but I bet it was surprised.

"Wait, so it actually spoke?" Ayano said curiously, trying to lighten the mood.

I turned to face Ayano with a calm look now and nodded, "It did. It was a very strong yoma too."

"Wow; how were you even able to defeat it?" Ren asked curiously.

"I'll get to that part, don't be impatient," I said while leaning towards him to ruffle his hair.

I continued on to when I got thrown out the window and the injuries that I got. I wasn't looking forward to their reactions. Kazuma didn't look at all happy by what I said while Ren was speechless.

Ayano sighed, "You're so reckless all the time."

I rolled my eyes, "I could say the same to you too, Ayano."

"Humph," Ayano replied, turning her head away. I lightly chuckled when she did that.

"Don't push yourself too much today, Karai-nee-san," Ren said worriedly to me.

"I won't Ren," I responded to him, smiling.

Finally, I finished with the battle ending, the story between Tamaki and Sakura and our departure back home.

Ayano started to sniffle and tears dropped down her cheeks, "That's the saddest story I've ever heard!"

"At least Sakura and Tamaki got to see each other for the last time, right?" said Ren who was sniffling.

"I don't think it's the last time they'll ever see each other. If Sakura is able to go to the Soul Reaper Academy and become a fully-fledged Soul Reaper, she might be able to return to the world of the living and see him again," I said, smiling, while resting my head on my palm while leaning my elbow on the armrest. I didn't noticed Kazuma smile this time when I said that.

Ren nodded, "You're right. It's a good thing that Ichiru and you went there in the first place. Now we got more allies. Ichigo and Rukia sound like great people."

"Yes, they are," I agreed before looking out at the water. The amusement park was now visible.

"Hey look!" Ren exclaimed as everyone looked in the direction where the park was.

"There it is!" Ayano said happily. I just smiled at their excitement. Kazuma's face, on the other hand, looked priceless.

"So, that's what an amusement park looks like?" Kazuma asked.

"Wait a sec… are you saying that you've never been to an amusement park before?" Ayano asked with widened eyes.

"Yup, it's my first time," he answered. I was even surprised. Even when he was away, he still didn't go to an amusement park.

"What? You've never went with your friends when you were a kid?" Ayano asked.

"No, that would require having friends and the only friend that I had was Karai, and she was busy a lot," he said.

"You've never been on a school field trip or anything?" Ren asked him.

"Fun wasn't exactly a priority to the old man when I was a little kid. Only my training mattered," Kazuma said with his eyes closed.

"It's really hard for me to hear you say that, especially since your training was a waste of time," Ayano said with a cheeky smile.

"Ayano-nee-san!" Ren said.

She then looked at me, "What about you Onee-san?"

I nodded and crossed my arms while leaning back onto the seat, "When I had started doing missions a few years ago, I've been to a couple of parks in different cities, but it was only for business matters. I haven't been to this one yet. Like Kazuma said, training mattered, especially when you're a possible successor for the head of the family." Kazuma and I had quick eye contact before looking in different directions again.

When we got to our stop, we walked out and headed for the entrance of the amusement park, Dreamland.

Kazuma looked around curiously after we punched in our tickets at the gates and entered.

"You're gonna start drooling if you're not careful," Ayano indicated, amused by Kazuma's behavior.

"Well, excuse me…" Kazuma murmured. I just shook my head.

She then became serious, "So you think there's a spiritual disturbance here?"

"Don't know," he said as we all stopped, "But I plan on finding out."

"Hey! Look who it is!" someone exclaimed.

"Ren! What's up?" another person shouted.

We all turned our heads towards the source of the voices and saw two people, one girl and one boy, walking in our direction. They were probably Ren's friends.

"Oh hey Tatsuya. What's going on Kana?" Ren said.

They stopped in front of us. Ayano spoke up, "Oh hi, are you two from Ren's class?"

Kana bowed, "And you must be his family. I've heard so much, I feel like I know you already. I can't believe we're all here," she giggled.

I sweat dropped, 'I can't believe it either….'

"It's so nice to finally meet you three in person. Ren and I are like best friends," she politely said.

Tatsuya spoke up this time, "Hi, I'm his real best friend, Tatsuya. Ren, I had no idea you were hanging out at the park today. Wow, what a coincidence, but since you're here and we randomly ran into each other, we should hang out."

I sighed, 'Yeah, coincidence? I think not.'

Ren looked at us, "Hey guys, do you mind if I spend time with my friends?"

"Sure, no problem," Kazuma told him.

I waved off a hand in agreement, "Yeah, it's fine by me. We'll catch up to you later."

Ayano looked concerned, "Are you guys sure about that? Cause I'd hate for Ren to be a third wheel. You really want him hanging around during your date?" she asked the two.

Ren's friends were shocked before glaring at one another. I could tell from their expressions that they didn't like each other at all, but that could possibly change in the future.

"This isn't a date!" they yelled before growling at each other.

"Hey you two, let's not fight. Let's try and have fun," Ren said, trying to be the peacemaker here.

They calmed down, "Okay, cool." "Yeah sure."

"All right then," Ren said before he and his friends walked off to the park, with him holding each of their hand.

"You okay?" Ayano asked Kazuma, "I thought that you wanted to spend some time with Ren?"

"It's not a big deal," Kazuma told her, "I don't care if he hangs out with me or with them. I just want him to have some fun."

"Look at you. If you keep this up, people might start accusing you of being a nice person. And I'd hate for your reputation to get ruined," she snickered.

"The only thing that is going to ruin my reputation is being seen in public with you," he retorted while walking towards the park.

A stress mark appeared on Ayano's head, "What does that mean?"

I sighed and started walking as well, "Ayano, calm down. You don't want to lose your temper here and get kicked out of the park now, do you? Come on, let's go." She was still fuming as we went into the amusement park.

I felt around the area and noticed no spiritual disturbance around. I was annoyed. Could it be that my tracking skills weren't working right now, the disturbance was really good at hiding or maybe that there really was no disturbance at all around this amusement park.

I glanced at Kazuma, wondering if he was in the same situation as I was. I decided that we'd look around first to confirm my thoughts.

"I think we should split up to cover more ground. We can probably get this case done quicker that way," I suggested to the two.

"Sure," Kazuma agreed.

"Wait, what about me?" Ayano mentioned.

I looked at her, "You can either go with me or Kazuma. It's your choice." Without a second thought, Ayano went over to my side, "There's no way I'm sticking with him after he insulted me like that!"

Kazuma shrugged, "Suit yourself," he said before going off into a direction while Ayano and I went through a different route.

After covering the whole park in an hour, I could safely say that there was no damn spiritual disturbance anywhere. Something was definitely up with this mission. Deciding to take a break, Ayano and I got some drinks for all of us.

We found Kazuma sitting on a bench, relaxing. Ayano handed him his drink which he accepted, "Thanks, I needed it." Ayano and I sat down in the same bench as all three of us were drinking our drinks.

Ayano chuckled at the sight of Kazuma, "You look like a father who's been chasing his little kid around. Are you all right?"

"Well, this place isn't exactly my cup of tea, that's for sure," Kazuma muttered.

"Think there is a threat out here?" Ayano asked.

"I've pretty much covered every square inch of this park and haven't found a thing. If the aura is here, it's doing a pretty damn good job of staying hidden. I'm guessing Karai feels the same way too," Kazuma explained before glancing at me.

I nodded, "Same thing… nothing."

"So, we probably don't have anything to worry about?" Ayano reasoned.

"Not sure. This bench isn't the exact center of everything. If something happens, we'll know," Kazuma told her before closing his eyes.

I saw the look in Ayano's face. She really wanted to go on the rides so badly.

"If you really want to play that bad, then just go," Kazuma said, noticing her desperation as well.

"Excuse me, but I'm not here to play. I don't know about you, but I came here to work," Ayano angrily said to him.

"Fine," he muttered.

"I'm not just some little kid, all right?" Ayano told him before looking all glum again while staring at a roller coaster as well as the people passing by us, looking like they're having fun.

I sighed, "Ayano, you can go if you really want to. Kazuma and I will be fine checking out for any disturbances."

Before she could answer me, someone yelled out to us, "Hey guys!"

We all turned to see who it was and my eyes widened at the sight of Ichiru walking towards us.

He stopped in front of us, "Hey what's up?"

"Ichiru, what are you doing here?" I asked him curiously.

He grinned, "Your Uncle told me to go help you guys out."

The corner of my mouth twitched, "How nice of him to send more back up, but we're all good here. There isn't a spiritual disturbance around… at least, we don't know for sure."

Ichiru nodded, "I haven't felt any either while I was coming here. If that's the case, how about you get off your lazy butts and go on some rides?"

"No thanks," Kazuma replied, closing his eyes once more.

"You know as well as I do that I'm still recovering. I don't want to break the rib again while it's still tender and become bedridden," I told him before an idea came to my head. I looked over at my sister, "But, Ayano really wanted to go so why don't you go take her?"

Ichiru smiled, "Sure, that is, if she wants to," he said, looking at her, "How about it? It's a really nice day outside."

Ayano blushed and also looked excited, but then she tried restraining herself, "I really shouldn't."

I put my hand on her back and pushed her forward so that she would stand up, "Stop being so damn stubborn and go play on the damn rides before you go ballistic. Just make sure not to go kill anybody."

"Are you sure about this, nee-san? Kazuma?" Ayano asked.

"Just go while we're still here," Kazuma said.

I nodded, "Have fun. We'll meet up with you later with Ren."

"Ok, if you're sure!" Ayano exclaimed while running off in a certain direction, dragging Ichiru with her, "Bye Karai, Kazuma." Ichiru quickly said before they disappeared into the crowd.

I giggled from the sight, causing my injured rib to hurt. I held my chest in pain while squeezing my eyes shut. A hand placed itself on my back, "Watch it. Don't strain yourself."

Once the pain subsided, I panted a bit before opening my eyes and looking to my right to see that Kazuma was the one who said that and had his hand on my back. He looked all concerned.

I very lightly laughed while rubbing the back of my neck, "Sorry about that. I couldn't help it." He released his hand from my body and went back to leaning against the bench. I did the same once I exhaled a good amount of air.

I glanced at Kazuma and decided to speak to him even though we weren't technically on "speaking" terms, "So… how you been?"

Kazuma shrugged, "Fine, I guess. I would ask you the same thing, but I already know the answer."

I nodded sheepishly before finishing up my drink. We remained silent for the next ten minutes. It was really awkward, especially for us. We've never been in this situation before… and it sucked.

I then heard a cough coming from Kazuma and faced him, looking directly at me.

"How about we go walk around?" he suggested, "Maybe we'll be able to actually sense a presence."

"Sure then; that should be fine," I replied before standing up and stretching my arms, "I could use more walking since I haven't been training lately."

Kazuma just stood up and placed his hands in his pocket, "Come on," he said before starting to walk in a certain direction. I followed right after him until I was by his side.

So for the past hour, we walked aimlessly around the park, keeping check for any spiritual disturbance. We still had no luck.

I sighed before pulling out my phone, "I'll call Father and update him on the situation. Let's sit down for now," I said before sitting on the bench. He just nodded and followed after me. I dialed my father's number and placed it by my ear as I waited for him to answer.

After a few rings, it went to voicemail. I sighed and put my phone back into my pocket before leaning my back on the bench and looking up to the sky, "I guess he's busy."

"Probably…" Kazuma responded. Silence came once again. I was annoyed.

'All right, I've had enough of this… it's time to get this over with,' I thought.

I leaned forward and turned to face Kazuma, "Look, I'm-," I started to say, but was cut off, "I'm sorry." I looked at him surprised while he was looking forward before moving his gaze to me, "I'm sorry… for upsetting you."

I sighed before looking down in shame, "No… I'm sorry for starting the stupid fight in the first place. I shouldn't have tried to get something out of you if you weren't ready to tell me yet. It's not like I control your life."

"I forgive you; but you were just concerned since I left you without a word. You had every right to snap at me," Kazuma replied.

I shook my head and turned my head in the other direction, "It's not all right. That was very immature for someone like me. I shouldn't have let my anger get the best of me like that. I could have injured you or someone in the restaurant if I wasn't being careful."

Before I knew it, I was pulled into a hug by Kazuma with one arm going around my waist while a hand was on the back of my head, bringing me close.

"I think that's enough apologizing for one night, don't you think," he whispered in my ear.

I nodded before wrapping my arms around his neck and resting my head on Kazuma's shoulder, "I missed you…" I softly said. His head rested on the side of mine, "Me too…"

"These past few hours were complete and utter hell…" I whined. He lightly chuckled, "They definitely were."

"Aw, what a cute couple."

We turned our heads to see people staring at us while walking by. Kazuma and I blushed and broke away. The people laughed before going their own ways.

Kazuma cleared his throat and looked at me, "How about we take this somewhere else. There's something else I want to tell you."

I just nodded, still red from the embarrassment. Soon, we stood up, hand in hand, and walked.

A smile formed in my face. Relief filled in me, knowing that the tension between us was finally over. I had no idea where we were going, but I didn't say anything, just wanting to enjoy the moment. I followed Kazuma through the crowds to wherever he was leading us which I soon figured out was the Ferris wheel.

This would be my first time on it even though I've been to amusement parks before, and judging from the fact that Kazuma has never been to these kinds of parks, this was most likely his first time as well. I didn't really care much for this ride, or any of the rides when I went to the other amusement parks, but seeing how I wasn't in a serious mission right now, I was kind of… excited.

I stared up at the huge contraption before being led into one of the moving gondolas by Kazuma. The door closed behind us and we both sat on one side. Kazuma closed his eyes with his head forward.

I raised an eyebrow, confused, "So… what did you want to tell me?"

"Just… hold on," he said to me, still in the same position.

I frowned and waited as the ride continued and our gondola kept going up. Light was now shining in our compartment, coming from behind me.

I turned around and my eyes widened at the breathtaking sunset over the horizon. I moved closer to my window in awe. I looked further down and observed the view below. It was funny to see everyone looking like little ants. I've never even been this high up while flying except when I was in my private jet.

Soon, the sun disappeared with the moon glistening up in the sky in its place. The whole park was now engulfed in brilliant lights. This was truly nice. I could see why Kazuma said to wait.

At some point, I was able to get a glimpse of Ayano and Ichiru looking up at the ride that Kazuma and I was in. I'm guessing that they were checking out the lights on the Ferris wheel.

"Hey, I can see Ayano and Ichiru from up here," I mentioned to Kazuma.

"I think I see Ren also," he replied. I turned around, seeing him looking down before I leaned to his side of the window to check for myself. Kana was dragging Ren while their other friend, Tatsuya, was chasing after them.

I laughed, "Looks like they're having fun."

A sharp pain erupted from my healing wound. I squeezed my eyes shut once again and held my left hand to my tender spot before sitting back down, "Oh god, I feel like I'm going to die from laughing." I kept my left hand in the same place while placing my right hand right next to me on the seat.

"Are you going to be all right?" he asked worriedly, "That's twice that that happened."

I waved off a hand, with my eyes still closed, "Of course I'm going to be all right." I didn't hear a response from him after that and opened my eyes to see what he was doing. He was just gazing at me.

I looked at him, confused, before tilting my head, "What?"

Unexpectedly, he placed his left hand on top of mine that was on the seat while slowly reaching his other hand out until it rested on my cheek. What happened next surprised me.

"I love you," he affectionately confessed.

My eyes widened, "You-," I started to say before he cut me off, "Let me speak first." I shut my mouth and listened to him.

"I've always loved you, even before my banishment. When I went to China, though, I met someone else and fell in love with her. Her name was Tsui Ling," he started to explain. I waited for him to continue.

"Now that I think about it, the reason that I was attracted to her in the first place was because she reminded me of you," he said, giving a laugh. I gave a small smile.

He then looked down with a troubled look, "Sometime later, she died… because of me."

Kazuma paused before continuing, "Since my return here, I've been hurting because of her, not realizing that I was hurting you at the same time…" he said before looking at me sadly.

I sighed before turning my head to the side, "Kazu-."

Before I could finish, two hands were placed on either side of my face, turning my head back before I felt a pair of lips on my own. I was shocked with widened eyes from the kiss, but after coming out of the shock, my eyelids slowly closed and soon, I was kissing back.

We pulled apart and I placed my hands behind his head. Crimson eyes were locked into my own before I looked at him seriously, "I love you too, and I may not know much right now, but I can see it in your eyes that you still need to heal. I just want you to know that I will be there for you if you ever need me, okay?" He took both my hands and kissed my knuckles, "I will and I'm sorry for putting you through that."

Kazuma then chuckled, "You should thank Ayano for knocking me into my senses."

I looked at him dumbfounded, "Ayano?" He nodded and I just laughed before we kissed again; more passionately this time.

Once the ride was over, we walked out with his arm around my shoulders and my arms around his waist, holding each other close, not caring anymore if people were watching.

We walked towards Ayano, Ichiru, Ren and his friends once we saw them. Ichiru and Ren were watching as Kana ran and hugged Ayano while arguing with Tatsuya.

Once they noticed our presences, Ayano, Ichiru and Ren just stared at us until we ended up in front of them.

"What?" Kazuma asked, like nothing was wrong.

"Looks like Operation: Get K&K to Get Along was a major success, right guys?" Ichiru grinned, nudging Ayano and Ren by their shoulders. They just laughed nervously.

"We knew that there was something fishy with this mission," I said, shaking my head, "But I didn't think Uncle Daichi had anything to do with it."

"Jugo set this all up, didn't he?" Kazuma asked, looking at Ren.

"And all of you were involved with the plan, I presume?" I added, raising an eyebrow.

Ren looked down, "Ichiru and Ayano were at first, but then when you decided to bring me, he told me to invite some friends to have an excuse to leave since Ichiru was supposed to get Ayano away from the two of you," he explained.

"Well, we appreciate your honesty," Kazuma said.

I looked at Ayano to see what she had to say.

"Sorry Onee-san, but Father felt that he should try something to get you guys talking again somehow," Ayano explained.

"Yeah, but we didn't think that this was going to happen," Ichiru laughed, referring to our closeness, "I guess you guys are a couple now, huh?"

I smiled, "I guess we are. Are we?" I asked Kazuma curiously, looking up at him.

Kazuma responded by leaning down and giving me a kiss before pulling away our faces an inch apart. He smirked, "Of course," he answered before pulling back more.

"Oh please, can you guys not do that right now. You just started going out a few minutes ago and you're already making out in public," Ayano disgustedly said.

I just smiled at her, "And it's all thanks to you, Ayano."

She blushed and turned her back to everyone with crossed arms, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"If you say so," Kazuma said, shrugging his shoulders. I just shook my head.

A loud noise was heard in the direction of the Ferris wheel. We all turned to watch the colorful fireworks shooting up into the sky. While everyone was focused on the beautiful display, Kazuma tightened his hold on me. Feeling it, I looked up at him and saw a hint of disturbance in his face, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head and forced a smile at me, "It's nothing," he replied. I knew it was not nothing, but I didn't push it further and just leaned up to peck his lips, "If you're sure," I said before leaning my head onto his chest and continued to watch the fireworks.

Kazuma's Point of View

I looked down at Karai and smiled as she laid her head on my chest. I was really happy that we finally ended up together and I'm guessing she was too, but was it enough…? I sighed before looking back up at the sky.

As we watched the fireworks, I couldn't help but think: how long will it take before I can completely move on from Tsui Ling? Or if I ever will?

End of the chapter! =D

I'll get right to work on chapter 19 and hopefully also some more pre-written chapters!

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