Hi everyone! So here it is - the fifth chapter. I've done a lot of soul-searching to discover where I want to go with this story, and-

"Oh, please. You just called all your little writer-friends asking for help."

Augh. Ikuto!

"What? I'm just making sure you give credit where it's due. For example, to me."

*Rolls eyes* Yeah, yeah, sure. You were a lot of help, sitting around in my room eating my chocolate.

"You wouldn't even have this story without me."

That's...true...

"Ha."

Anyway... I worked really hard on this chapter, so I hope you enjoy! Please R & R!

Recap:

Ikuto slowly looked over at me and grinned.

"It's just you and me, then, Cynthia."I flinched a little – he had left the honorific off my name. Well, after all, I had done that to him. I shouldn't have been bothered by it. But I was.

Even when I refused to answer, he smiled. "Come on," he said like a little kid leading a grand, imaginary adventure. He led me outside the audition room and motioned for quiet as we sneaked down a hallway that looked like it led nowhere. As we crept further into the shadows, I thought I saw a pair of cat ears pop out of Ikuto's head. I shook my head and blinked, dismissing it as a trick of the shadows or of my imagination. Still, I couldn't help but giggle.

Ikuto stopped suddenly, and in the slow motion sequence that followed, I bumped into his back, and the weight of my violin case in one hand knocked me off balance. I despaired as the case slipped out of my hand. Before I could achieve the full satisfaction of falling over backwards, though, Ikuto had somehow caught me and my case, all while still keeping his own case strapped safely to his back.

"Careful there," he said, annoying me with his grin. "If you crack your head open on the concrete, you'll give away our position."

I quickly helped myself up and snatched my violin case out of Ikuto's gentle grip. He wouldn't let me forget for an instant that he was a violinist, respecting my instrument even if he wouldn't respect me.

"I just saved your life," he said, bending over so his face was only inches away from mine. "Aren't you going to praise me?"

Unfounded anger bubbled up in my gut until I was more than ready to mouth him off. "Ikuto, I swear, I'll k-" And then the cat had the audacity to cover my mouth with his spotless, ladylike hand. It was all I could do to restrain myself from biting his fingers off.

After smirking for a moment, he peeled his fingers from my face. "If you want the truth," he whispered, "I don't trust anybody in this whole place. All of them are bloodsucking, spineless cowards who wouldn't hesitate to kill me in order to save their own hides."

"Then why do you work for them?" I hissed back.

"I have no choice," he said, piercing my heart with the honesty in his clear blue eyes. After holding my glance for a few seconds, he reached up. Lanky as he was, he could touch the ceiling without even standing on tiptoe, and he now slid aside a panel in the ceiling, revealing a hidden cubby. He slid the violin from his back and carefully thrust it into the sanctum. He faced me again.

"Nobody on earth knows about this place," he whispered, half-excited and half-uneasy. "My violin is my most prized possession; I don't know how I'd survive if any of these Easter rats got a hold of it." Ikuto held out his hand. "Your violin will be safe here."

My instinct was to pull away. I'd only just met Ikuto today, so how did I know if I could trust him? Even so, he had trusted me enough to show me his secret hideaway. And I knew – I could even tell from the way he played – that he treasured his instrument. As if reading my mind, he spoke again.

"I will protect your violin as if it were my own."

Something in his voice demanded that I meet his eyes. If this were a romance story, I would have taken his outstretched hand and flown away with him into the sunset. But this is a tale of friends and enemies, of jealousy and redemption. And what I placed in Ikuto's hand was much more precious to me than my own hand. I gave him my violin, my dearest possession, and with it, my trust.

Later that night, I lay on my hotel bed, staring up at the ceiling. I traced a map of the Easter building in the air with my finger once more before rolling onto my side, but even then I couldn't fall asleep. I couldn't help but wonder if it was a good idea to give my trust so openly to Ikuto. But after I had, he had only done everything he could to prove he deserved it.

After storing my violin with as much gentility and caution as a mother with a helpless child, Ikuto had secured the cubby and shown me around the entire Easter building, or at least the floor we were on. He had made a point of showing me all the "authorized personnel only" doorways and blocked-off passages, without revealing his motive. Perhaps so I would know where I wasn't allowed, but more likely so I could help him break into these rooms if need be. Had he known I would see this ulterior motive and interpret it as a gesture of trust? I'll never know. I shook my head as I remembered it, knowing I was reading way too much into Ikuto's every move.

I rolled over and put my hand beneath my head, trying my hardest to clear my mind. But for the first time in months, my brain was working so hard that sleep was shut out. I was so confused. Ikuto had been so cold to me earlier, but was that just because Sanjo-san was watching? Maybe he was just "getting in the zone" for his audition. I couldn't tell. One thing was for sure: Ikuto had more mood swings than a pregnant lady. So why did my gut say to trust him? Was I that desperate for someone, anyone to give my absolute trust?

I was angry with myself for being so pathetic, but I told myself it made sense. For years I had kept my innermost passion hidden from everyone, and now I was in a foreign country where I knew absolutely no one, and I had discovered someone who shared my passion. I buried my face in the pillow, blocking out the dim glow from the streetlights, which shone through the weathered curtains. I had to rest up for my orientation tomorrow. I groaned inwardly. With my luck, Ikuto would be showing me around the school, too.

As always, your thoughts and advice are appreciated! Hopefully it won't be so long until I update next. I'm going on a trip for Easter weekend and I have a sneaking suspicion I'll have some extra time to write. *claps hands with joy*