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Here's chapter two, Three other chapters will follow!

ITADAKIMASU!

Chapter 2: a few days later

~ A few days later ~

Kanou-san stared out his window at his office. For the past few days he had tried to only concentrate at work, which of course mostly failed now almost no client seemed to be interested in his loans. He couldn't stay at home, because everything there reminded him of his angel…

The twins had noticed the depressed look of their boss and it also affected both them and the company. He was unable to concentrate by both his lack of sleep and food.

A knock came on the door, but Kanou, lost in thoughts, didn't seem to hear it.

"Shachou?" a voice came from the other side and both of the Kuba twins opened the door. Kanou didn't budge one bit. Ever since the blonde boy was gone, they found him in this position, staring out the window, ignoring any other sign of life.

"Someya-san's here." Misao said.

"And so is Gion-san." Homare added. Kanou looked down to his shoes at those names. It seemed like he had heard of them before, but had never met them in real life. Like they were only ghosts… people whom he had met in another lifetime.

The twins gave each other a look when their boss again didn't reply and decided that, even though Kanou denied it, his friends could help him. Someya walked into the office, silently followed by Gion. The twins stayed close to the door, just staring towards their boss.

"Danna?" Someya asked softly. Kanou moved at that name and a slight smile appeared. Somehow, it felt good to hear that nickname.

"Nii-san?" Gion added and now Kanou turned towards his two visitors. The twins were stunned. Their plan actually worked!

Someya sat down on the man's desk and Gion placed himself next to Kanou's chair. Someya placed her hand against her lips as she noticed how pale her childhood friend was. His eyes were red and he had huge bags below them. Never had she seen him in this state, and never had she expected to see him like this.

Gion placed his hand on Kanou's shoulder, figuring it should be safe and he smiled kindly as Kanou looked up at his touch.

"How are you feeling?" Someya asked. Kanou merely looked into her eyes. "You don't look too good." she said and she stroke his hair to the back.

"Why don't you rest, nii-san? Go to bed. The Kuba's can handle it here." Gion added. Kanou still didn't reply.

"Danna, you need rest." Someya said firmly. Kanou now shook his head, with a very slight grin but still didn't reply.

"Why not, nii-san? Tell us…" Gion said. Kanou opened his mouth and for the first time spoke.

"I can only think of him when I'm home." he said now and again the twins were stunned at the progress they had created. Someya smiled worriedly, and she felt a cold stab in her chest. The man was lovesick. Something he had never had before. He was always the man to leave other ladies behind after a one-night stand and in other words only leave them heartbroken. Now he could finally realise how they felt.

"Why don't you come to my place then. Take your mind of things." Gion offered, pulling both Someya and Kanou out of their thoughts. Kanou shook his head again.

"No, I want to work. To forget him." he said. Someya shook her head. He didn't get it. It wasn't as easy to solve as any loan he had created and interest he had added. This was a lot more complicated. This was love and there was no formula to help you solve this problem.

"I wish it were that simple, darling." she said as she again stroke his hair to the back. "No matter how much you work. Ayase won't leave, because he's still here." she placed her hand on his heart.

Kanou stared up in her bright blue eyes and Someya started to cry silently. Smiling still, but the tears were unstoppable.

"It hurts." he said and now Kanou cried too. Gion place his other hand on the other shoulder and nodded briefly, also looking sad. The man had never cried before for as far as he knew, and if he ever did, he was probably sure to not do it in the presence of either him, his employees or Someya-nee.

"I know." Someya said. "But that's something only you can solve." Kanou didn't reply, he merely cried and she hugged the man closely. She had never hugged him before, only when he was small, and when she was still male, but the man returned the hug immediately and for the first time in his life, sobbed in the okama's arms. Gion stroke the man's back kindly, waiting until the worst sobs were over and couldn't help but cry along with his nii-san.

This was destroying the man, both the twins , Gion and Someya decided. And someone had to do something… somehow. Someya broke the hug and patted Kanou one last time.

"Come on, let the twins take you home." she said as she wiped off his last tears. Kanou shook his head.

"I can't." he replied.

Gion wiped of his tears, standing next to Someya. Someya sighed deeply and shook her head.

"Then I'll take you with me. You need to rest. I'll even try to fix you something to eat." the blonde man smiled in his way and Kanou gave him a strange glare.

"Do you ever learn to smile like a normal human being?" he asked. Gion kept smiling and nodded. He figured that the strange glare the man gave was meant to be one of his usual ones, but because of his distraught feelings, he was unable to keep it up.

"I can try." he said. "If you come with me." Kanou smiled a bit.

"All right." he replied and Gion helped him up, walking him outside of his office. Someya waited until he couldn't here her anymore and walked to the twins.

"I'm going to Aya-chan. Something must be done." she said and Homare nodded, feeling his heart thump in his chest at that name.

"We'll take care of this place." he replied. Someya nodded in agreement.

"I'll see you later." She said and she left that place in a hurry, hoping that Ayase would be fine…

The blonde woke up at the sound of a knocking on his door. Lately Debayama came to check on him every day, since he didn't leave his bed, only to pee.

"Ayase-kun, it's Debayama from next door." the lady said and Ayase sighed, does she ever give up? "There's a nice young lady here to see you." she continued. Ayase looked up.

"Can I let her in? She said she's named Someya." Ayase's heart stopped at the name but he didn't reply. The door opened and Someya walked in. Ayase stared towards her female figure and she turned towards the bed.

"Aya-chan…" she whispered. This was just as she feared. Ayase was in an even worse state then Kanou. She removed her shoes and walked towards the blonde quickly. He shivered heavily and his face looked even paler then normal. She placed her hand on his forehead.

"You have a fever, darling." she said and she stood up. Looking around for the first aid kit, which she strangely enough found immediately. "You have to take care of yourself." she said softly as she placed a cold cloth against his forehead.

"Why are y-you here…" the blonde asked softly. Someya smiled.

"We're friends, remember?" she said. Ayase smiled at that sentence and nodded in agreement. "No matter what happens between you and Danna, I'll always be your friend." the blonde smiled a bit at her words.

"I'll make you something to eat." she said and she walked herself to the kitchen. "Then we'll talk."

She did as she told. The food she made was the best thing Ayase had tasted the past few days, but then again, he didn't eat that much lately.

"How are you feeling?" Someya asked.

"Strange." the blonde replied. "I feel sick, but it's different from the usual feeling I have when I get one of these fevers. I don't want to do anything… I just want to… sleep."

"In the hope you don't wake up?" Someya continued. Ayase stared into her eyes.

"I've been heartbroken too, Ayase." Ayase blushed at her answer. Heartbroken? But he… he wasn't in love! …was he? Then again, why else would he feel like this…? This was completely different. He felt cold all over and something was missing, though he couldn't exactly place what. Now what if that one thing was Kanou-san? But that was impossible! He didn't like men and… he always wanted to be back home.

"…He's just like you now, Ayase." Someya said. The boy stared towards her. There was a strange sad look on her face. Ayase didn't understand what she meant.

"He doesn't eat. He doesn't sleep. Mostly he tries to work, but he's unable to focus. I've never seen him like this, Aya-chan." Someya shook her head.

"That can't be." Ayase replied, which made the other look up in his eyes, stunned. "He wanted me to leave."

The boy actually was serious. Where did he get that from? Someya smiled towards the boy and shook her head. This was unbelievable. Kanou wanting Ayase to leave? There was just no way! He changed into an entirely different man now he had met Ayase and without the boy he was a complete wreck!

"What are you talking about?" Someya asked. Ayase stared towards her and looked utterly confused. Kanou had made sure the boy could leave so soon. He prepared the car right away, he left this apartment as soon as he could and drove of so quickly, Ayase didn't get the chance to stop him. Then there couldn't be any way that the man still wanted Ayase near, could it?

"Well… he left so quickly. He told me to pack right away and… he doesn't want me. That's it." he said, not sure what he actually tried to explain to Someya.

"Aya-chan… please think about this. He left so quickly, because he thought it was too difficult to say long goodbyes to you. Don't you feel that way too?"

Ayase thought about it. He hated it to say goodbye to people he really loved and come to think of it. He didn't say goodbye to either Someya-san or Gion-san… but still, there were so many things that Kanou did that proved to him that he wanted Ayase to stay here, but he couldn't remember right now. Ayase looked around in the house and noticed the small key on his table.

"He left that key here. Right when we got here." Ayase said. "That's the key to my house. Doesn't that mean that he… never…" Ayase stopped his sentence. Someya smiled and sat down next to the boy on his bed.

"O, Aya-chan…" she whispered as she started to pet his long golden hair. "You always make everything sound so bad… so negative. But what makes you sure that leaving that key was something negatively meant?" Ayase looked up in his friend's bright blue eyes and again didn't understand what she meant… leaving that key couldn't be positive, now, could it? It was just to tell Ayase that Kanou didn't want any more contact.

"I know what you're thinking now." Someya said. "It does seem bad in the first place but… maybe he left the key to give you some space. Maybe he thinks that this is what you want most. A life without him." Ayase thought about it carefully. All the time he was at Kanou-san's home he wanted to leave and lead his own life again.

"Maybe I do… I don't know…" he said. Someya sighed.

"Aya-chan, please…" she said desperately.

"But you don't understand! There were so many signs he showed me that he didn't want me near him!" the blonde screamed.

"Like what?" Someya asked back, also raising her voice.

"Like… the document he made me sign! I thought I had to stay there forever but… he had it done so quickly! In four years! He could have faked it! Or… he never made eye-contact with me that day and he just… he…" the blonde started to cry in frustration. The lady shook her head and stared into the other's eyes intently.

"He just left… he didn't s-say anything!" he added.

"Then what did you want him to say?" Someya asked. The blonde stopped his crying and looked into her gorgeous eyes. She smiled and gave him a look that made Ayase tremble. As if she finally heard the right words appear out of the boy's mouth. Ayase sniffed.

"I don't know." he said. Someya smiled fully.

"Yes you do." she answered and the boy again blushed brightly, but he didn't say anything. The blonde understood what his friend meant. Something in him did know what he wanted Kanou to say that day… but he tried to hide that part far away in his insides.

"Ayase, honey." Someya started. "You don't have to be ashamed to fall in love." the blonde stared towards her now, still sobbing silently. "And I am as sure as hell that he didn't give you false papers. He looks devastated. Broken and lonely, a state I never imagined to see him in. A state I can't explain, but I do recognize. And I'm sure he didn't keep eye contact because he was frightened to start crying in front of you." Ayase's eyes now widened. He… what? Cry in front of him? Kanou-san? Cry? Ayase shook his head.

"D-did he…" he started and Someya brightly smiled.

"Yes he did, Aya-chan. And not just once…" she said. The blonde couldn't help it. Somehow the thought of Kanou-san crying made him cry again. Someya smiled as the boy fell into her arms and she hugged him tightly.

"I'm so sorry!" he said. "I didn't want him to… didn't mean to…" Someya shushed him and petted his golden hair again.

"I know. And so does he. And I'm sure that he didn't mean to hurt you either. He just wanted you to be happy, leading your one life. Pick up where you left off."

"I do want to…" he said. Someya stared down at the boy. "He did change my life…" Someya smiled. And the boy changed his… "But somehow I want to lead my own life…"

Someya pushed the blonde away to stare back into his eyes. What did he mean? What about the talk they just had? What about Kanou?

"And so does he, doesn't he?" he said. This was unbelievable. What just happened? Didn't she just persuaded the blonde to go back to Kanou?

"Aya-chan… w-what?" she didn't know what to say. "But you love him!" she suddenly yelled. Ayase shook his head and blushed fiercely. He didn't. He couldn't. now that Someya thought of it clearly. Never once did he actually admit that he loved Kanou during their conversation.

"I don't! I'm not gay! I can't have a relationship with a man! I can't! Nothing binds us anymore!" Someya looked away quickly. He wasn't gay, huh? Was it that bad to be gay?

"I'm sorry, Someya-san. But this is where I swore to part lives with him." The blonde wanted to be certain, and he knew that this was the only time that he could make this choice. The only time that he could decide not to be with Kanou. If he went back now, there was just no way he'd ever escape again.

"But Aya-chan, you're broken! You're just as devastated as he is. You don't eat anymore." she replied.

"I just ate your food, didn't I?" he replied. Someya stared towards the blonde, feeling a strange urge to drag him along to Kanou's side. What was wrong with him? His look was so certain. How could he be like this?

Ayase knew that Someya didn't understand his choice, and a part of him didn't understand it either… then again, that was the part that he never understood.

"I'm sure Kanou-san will be fine without me… he seemed so fine when he left." he whispered. "It's just now… just the first few days. It's hard to say goodbye."

From what Ayase had learned in his life, by losing all his loved once… was that either of them left him. His mother, father and grandmother all left him. And the first few months were painful and hard to come by. But he managed to. This time was no different from all the other times.

"You're making a mistake, Aya-chan. You don't have to say goodbye to Kanou-san." Someya said.

"Yes I do, Someya-san. I have to try and live without him and he without me…" He doubted for one second and then proceeded. "I just can't love him as he loves me."

"Aya-chan…" Someya whispered, but she was cut of by the boy.

"Please leave…" the blonde asked. Someya gave him a disappointed look. She knew that the boy felt the exact same way towards Danna as Danna did towards Aya-chan. But why did the boy try so hard to deny it? Was he frightened to get close to someone again? Afraid that if he did bind himself to someone, he would be devastated if they too left his life? That had to be it…

"All right, I'll leave…" she placed a kiss on the blonde's head and stood up. "I respect your choice, but I'll come by tomorrow." she knew that there had to be a way to persuade the boy back to her Danna's place… but the only person who could do that was Danna himself. Not her. Not Gion or the twins. But Kanou.

Ayase didn't reply, he just stared towards his own hands as Someya walked to the door. The okama looked at her friend and sighed deeply. He was making a huge mistake.

"See you tomorrow, Aya-chan." She said, but again the boy didn't reply and she left the house quietly. Ayase kept staring towards his hands, the conversation still playing over and over again in his head. Kanou-san had cried for him… he was just as sad as he was because of this goodbye, but the blonde was also certain that if Ayase stayed out of his life, the man would be happy again sooner or later. He just had to be…

A soft tick was heard in the room. Ayase turned towards the sound and noticed the clock. It ticked with every second and the sound was audible in the entire house, echoing off the walls… or was that only his imagination? He was alone again. Alone in the house where his grandmother had lived. Now the only thing he could do was try and build up his life again. Somehow, he knew he had to at least try…

Let me know what you think!

Love,