I don't own Okane ga Nai!

Do let me know what you think! I like to know that. And I'm sorry if this story dissapoints you! Ö

Love,

ITADAKIMASU!

Chapter 4: the day of memories

A bright ray of sunlight fell on the blonde's face. He opened his eyes in a daze and stared towards the source of light. The sun had found its way through the dark clouds and since he had forgotten to close the curtains last night, the light fell straight on his face.

Ayase sat up and got out of bed. His foot placed on the red tie. In a quick move he put it back into the bag along with the cup and placed it back under his bed. He didn't want the same thing to happen again!

He sighed deeply as he got himself dressed. He didn't sleep good at all and wasn't hungry. He merely dressed up warmly, putting on his coat and shawl, grabbing an umbrella and got out of the house. The only thing he wanted to think of was finding a job.

The rain had stopped, but in the far distance a few clouds were noticeable. With a slight smile the blonde walked on. He didn't want anything more then the rain right now!

The first store he reached was a clothing store. He shyly walked in and found his way to the checkout. A lady with long brown hair looked up. Her eyes were make upped so harshly that she looked really severe and mean, but she gave a gentle smile to the boy as she looked up.

"How can I help you, miss?" she asked. Ayase felt something snap inside of him. Another one that mistook him for a girl!

"Never mind." he said. "Wrong store." and he left as quickly as he could.

That didn't go well. But that was only the first store! Up to the next one! The next store was a pet shop and there actually hung a note that they wanted help… The blonde smiled. Maybe his luck would change here! He loved pets! No matter what kind of animal it was! He didn't even kill spiders once they got into his house. He mostly just grabbed hold of it and placed it outside… even when Kanou complained and told him to simply crush it with his shoe. The blonde smiled at that, Kanou-san always gave him a strange look when he showed love to any animal. A look he never was able to place. Something in between staring and thinking.

The blonde wiped off his feet politely as he walked in and gave a quick glance around. The owner of the shop was talking to a costumer. It was a tall young man with small green eyes and dark brown hair. Ayase wondered about the young man's age… he looked even younger then Ayase himself was. But because of the green apron he was wearing that spelled the shop's name (The Little Paw) Ayase was a able to realise he was the shop's owner. A small card on his chest spelled the word 'manager'. The young man smiled at a joke the costumer made and Ayase felt a strange thump in his chest. This boy was absolutely handsome…

He coughed lightly and turned his head to the glass cage of puppies next to him. Blonde, black and brown Labradors were in it and one black pup barked to him highly, wagging his tale wildly. Ayase giggled.

"Aren't you a cutie." he said as he kneeled next to the cage. The little dog pushed his nose against the glass. Ayase smiled widely and felt all warm inside. This was the first time in a long while he felt happy. Merely happy.

"Can I help you?" the man asked. Ayase looked up. He didn't even notice the other costumer leaving. Ayase smiled.

"Yes, uhm… I'm Ayase Yukiya." the blonde held out his hand. The man raised an eyebrow, obviously confused, but shook the hand politely.

"Pleased to meet you, Yukiya-kun. I'm Kei Agatsuma. Now how can I help this beautiful young man?" the man replied. Now it was Ayase's turn to raise an eyebrow. He noticed that Ayase was a male! The blonde smiled widely.

"I'm looking for a job." he said. "And I saw your advertisement." he pointed towards the window, where the paper hung.

"Ah, yes. That's good. You can start right away." Kei replied. The blonde seemed utterly stunned. Didn't he have to tell about his life or schooling? Or maybe about his current circumstances?

"Uhm, Kei-san, I don't get it. Can I just start?" he asked. Kei showed his beautiful smile.

"Don't get too full of yourself, Yukiya-kun. This is just a try out. But, nobody has ever made that little pup shut up." he said as he pointed towards the black Labrador pup. "He's one little noise maker normally, but you just seemed to get him quiet. Something tells me you're made for this job." Kei took out another green apron and threw it towards the boy.

"What I want you to do is; first of all, put that thing on." Ayase did as he was told obediently.

"Secondly, you have to clean up the animal's cages and give them food. Also the store really needs some cleaning. I hope you're good at that." the blonde seemed happy. He loved to clean!

"Yes, of course. I don't mind." Ayase stared towards the little pup. It was still wagging its tail and something in it's dark eyes made Ayase think it was smiling.

"The store normally only opens at 9AM. But that guy was the food supplier. He brings food every Monday." again Kei smiled.

"So, we still have an hour to clean this place up, and get to know each other. How does that sound?" he asked. Ayase nodded.

"Perfect."

"Okay, Yukiya-kun, lets get started."

Ayase found out that Kei had inherited this shop from his aunt, whom had passed away recently in a car accident. Since he always had to take care of his three little sisters, he never had the chance to go and study. That's why this store was ideal. It didn't need any diploma's and in any way, this was perfect. The boy loved animals from when he was little until now. And now he was twenty-six, but looked a lot younger in Ayase's eyes. His three sisters were now fourteen, fifteen and eighteen and the eldest of three had told her brother to go and lead his own life, which he did. Since both his parents had left him when he was only a boy, and his aunt didn't feel like taking care of children, he had been bound to his sisters for his entire life.

Ayase talked about his own life. That he had studied at a University for three years and that he now was twenty-two (the boy raised his eyebrows at the boy's age, since he thought that the blonde was merely eighteen like his sister). And he had been living alone since he was twelve. Now he doubted to tell the passed four years of his live.

"What?" Kei asked as he noticed the doubting face of the blonde.

"Nothing. That's it. I've been living alone." he lied. He always had sucked at lying and even Kei noticed that the blonde didn't tell the truth.

"You don't wanna talk about it, do you?" he asked. Ayase blushed fiercely and shook his head as he was once again reminded of Kanou-san. Kei nodded in agreement. He understood completely. A silence followed.

The blonde suddenly stopped at mopping the floor and Kei looked up from his spot. The blonde stared down at the floor and a bright tear was running down his face. He suddenly pressed his hand against his face and sobbed loudly. Kei felt a lump in his throat at the sight and placed his mop aside.

"Hey, Yukiya…" he said as he softly caressed the blonde's arm.

"I-I'm sorry, K-Kei-chan…" he sobbed in response. Kei smiled.

"Don't be. I should be sorry to bring up bad memories." he said. Ayase looked up in the green eyes and shook his head.

"They're not that bad… t-they're just complicated." he said in a reply and his eyes widened. They weren't that bad? Was that true? Did he really think that it wasn't that bad? He hiccupped once and wiped away his tears.

"Lets change subject." Kei said. "How about you take the little black rascal with you?" he asked. Ayase looked at Kei.

"The puppy?" he asked. Kei nodded.

"Just to ease my sense of guilt." he said. Ayase shook his head.

"I can't, I don't have money to buy it or food or a bed or… toys?" the blonde said quickly. Kei smiled.

"Nobody's ever going to buy that pup. He's really mean towards other costumers and he's not that much of a beauty, now, is he?" Kei stared towards the cage and gave the dog a weird look. It was licking the glass and pressing his head against it. And all of a sudden decided to jump into the bowl of drink-water and get all wet. Ayase giggled.

"You can have it." Kei said. "A dog always makes you feel better and I think that this little one has chosen you for a master."

"How do you see?" Ayase asked.

"I already told you. He doesn't bark towards you and wags its tail just by the look of you!" Ayase smiled at that and nodded.

"Does it have name?"

"He does." Kei said.

"Is it male?" Ayase asked.

"Yes… it's one little male, and the other pups are his sisters."

"All girls?" Ayase asked.

"Yup. Poor thing, right? Maybe that's why it's so different…" Kei said and the blonde nodded.

"So, what is it's name?" he asked.

"I've called him 'Kano'. It means Water God; since the little one loves to get into that bowl of water. When I'm cleaning the store he mostly watches the bucket of water, hoping that I'll splash him! It's some weird thing… Yukiya-kun?" the man stared towards Ayase, whom blankly stared at the little dog that now noticed the blonde looking at him and sat down decently. His dark brown eyes stared at the boy and Ayase felt a cold feeling in his chest.

"What was it's name?" he whispered.

"… Kano." Kei replied. Ayase smiled a bit and shook his head. The little dog had changed its personality only towards Ayase. It had been a good dog and tried to be better. The dark brown eyes were able to show emotion, even though the rest of it's little head didn't… everything suited his Kanou-san so much.

"Does he already listen to that name?" Ayase asked. Kei nodded his head.

"Yes he does. Why? Don't you like it?" he asked. Ayase shook his head.

"I love it." he said and he walked towards the cage, not sure he was talking about the name or the human being with the exact same name. The little dog wagged its tail while it walked towards the slender fingers Ayase had just put in the cage and it licked the tip. Ayase smiled.

"Hey, Kano-kun…" he said and the dog wagged it's tail faster at hearing the blonde's voice. The other dogs came running towards the cage too and also pressed their little heads against Ayase's hand, but only the little Kano stared towards Ayase, and he now noticed that Kano-kun was the only black puppy.

The door bell rang and Ayase looked up. An old lady walked in with a little dog. She stared towards Ayase and smiled.

"Ah! Hello, young man. Are you new here?" she asked.

"Satsuma-san!" Kei said as he appeared closer.

"Kei-kun! How good to see you again." she said.

"Great to see you too, you met my new employee, didn't you? This is Ayase." he said.

"Hello, Ayase-kun!" the old lady said. "Aren't you the neighbour of Debayama-san?" she asked. "I've heard a lot about you! And your boyfriend." she said. "A handsome young man, I heard. I never knew it was you, Kei-kun!" Ayase felt a cold stab in his chest. Not again! Kei smiled.

"I'm full of surprises, I guess." he said. Ayase looked up at him and Kei gave him a little wink. Ayase smiled back. Maybe he knew that she would ask about his real 'boyfriend' if Kei denied it was him… that's probably why he lied.

"So, how can I help?"

"The usual food for my little Chii-san!" she said and the dog barked at hearing it's name.

"Okay, follow me." he said and he turned away, followed by the old lady. Ayase sighed. Did everyone know about Kanou-san in this town? What had happened these four years?

Ayase looked back towards the black puppy, who now crawled close to one of it's blonde sisters that was asleep and fell asleep itself. How he hated to be confronted with the past the whole time. It was like the world didn't give him a chance to forget about Kanou. But maybe that was because the world didn't want him to forget about Kanou-san… like destiny or something?

That's impossible! There's no such thing as destiny…

"Thank you so much, Kei-kun! Bye, Ayase-Kun." the lady said and she walked out the store, with a bag of dog candy for the little animal. Ayase turned towards Kei.

"I'm sorry about that." he said. "I didn't want you to lie for me." Kei smiled.

"Well, I noticed that you didn't really wanna talk about you past, and I now realised that it had to do with your boyfriend. So if she started to ask questions, she probably wouldn't have stopped… I know her good enough." he said. Ayase smiled too.

"Thank you." he said.

"You're welcome." Ayase stared into his green eyes. Something told him that Kei completely understood Ayase's situation. That he already knew the boy had been selling his own body to pay back a debt. That the boy didn't mind at all what Ayase's past was.

"His name is Kanou." Ayase said. Kei looked from Ayase to the pup.

"Yes, I know. I named him that way." he said, looking a little confused. Ayase smiled.

"No, I mean my… you know." Ayase said. Kei's eyes widened.

"Kanou Somuku. That's why I was so shocked to hear that his pup was named the same way and actually loved me." the blonde said.

"Somuku?" he asked. "The owner of the financial firm? Teito? In Shinjuku?" he asked. Ayase looked up in Kei's eyes.

"You know him?" he asked.

"Of course I do! He's the Yakuza type of guy, isn't he? Never knew he was gay… never even thought you'd fall for a type like that, you seem way too innocent." Kei smiled at that.

"It's more difficult then that. We weren't in love." Ayase tried to stop himself but it felt good to bring out his story to someone. "My cousin sold me four years ago in an auction for human beings. I was drugged and couldn't do anything. Kanou-san bought me." the blonde took a deep breath. "I paid him back with my body. And he sometimes wanted to visit my apartment. That's why everyone thinks he's my boyfriend…" Kei stared into the bright blue eyes of the boy and swallowed. This boy had had a hard live… and he still seemed so innocent and sweet.

"Don't think badly of me. I just thought that… I had to tell someone. I paid him off fully and I now live by myself again. But a part of me is broken because of our separation. And a part of me misses him."

"You miss him? Even after all he's done to you?" Kei asked. He didn't sound disgusted or disapproving. He merely looked serious.

"I know… but he wasn't that bad. It sounds a lot worse then it is. He took care of me. He protected me and all I had to do was." the blonde finished his sentence with a nod, hoping Kei would understand. Kei coughed lightly and now his face did turn into a slight disgust.

"This guy's awful. How could he do that to you."

"He's not that awful…" the boy didn't know why he said that or why he protected the man by saying such things. He just wanted Kei to know the entire truth. "And I even miss it… I'm unbelievable, right?" he asked. Kei smiled kindly.

"You really protect him, don't you? Ayase, why did you leave if you miss him? I think that the reason why you miss him is merely because you love him. And it's not abnormal to fall in love with someone. Even though he merely bought you for sex…" Kei gave a strange face. "That doesn't sound right… what I mean is, you have to decide what to do. If you really miss him, like you said, you should go tell him. That means he's part of your life."

"He is. But this is my only chance to lead my own life." Ayase said. "That's why I don't go back. I want to, but on the other side I can't. He never gave me the opportunity to lead my own life."

"He let you go to university." Kei said.

"Under serious watch of his employees." Ayase finished. "What I mean to say is that he… doesn't seem to get my point of view. And that's what I want to make clear to him."

"Then do that. Tell him how you feel exactly. Go back and tell him."

"Maybe I will. Thank you, Kei-chan."

"You're welcome, Ayase-kun. And don't worry, you're story's safe with me." Kei smiled. And the blonde nodded. He felt relieved and not worried, even though he hadn't decided what to do yet. Another costumer entered the house. Ayase smiled politely. He had a whole day to figure out what to do… maybe tonight he'd finally know.

Kanou sighed deeply at the man in front of him. He kept wining about the exact same thing and Kanou had made clear a thousand times that there was nothing wrong with his amount of money.

"Sir, please listen to me. The money you receive has been added with interest." he said the last word slowly.

"Interest? But it's so much… I didn't ask to loan this amount, I asked to loan a lot less!" Kanou rolled his eyes and sighed deeply.

"God damn it." he said. "Interest is money you add to the amount that is originally loaned!"

"What? You didn't say that!"

"Every financial firm does it!"

"But certainly not that much!" Kanou removed his chair and walked towards the man in front of him.

"I'd like you to leave now, and please do so before I lose my senses." he said.

"B-but, sir, I…"

"GET THE FUCK OUT!" Kanou yelled and the man left as quick as possible. Kanou sighed deeply. Another costumer lost because of his bad temper.

"Kuba!" he yelled and Homare walked in.

"Yes, shachou?"

"I'm going for a drive." Kanou said. "If that motherfucker comes back, send him away, please." Kanou almost begged that last word.

"Yes sir." Kanou stood up, took his vest and walked towards the lift.

"Shachou!" Homare yelled and Kanou turned around.

"Stay away from Ayase-san. It'll only get you more frustrated." he said kindly. Kanou nodded.

"I know. I'm not stupid." he said and he left the office.

The next to last chapter! Did you enjoy?

Love,