Similar to over a month ago, nerves were attacking Hikaru. Of course lack of sleep and sitting still for twelve hours would do that to most anyone. Once he stepped out of the airport, he felt like he was in another world. He's been to France his fair share number of times but never alone. He immediately regretted refusing Kaoru's offer. Just needing to hear his voice, he turned his phone on. His eyes widened at the number of messages he received since he left Japan. Everyone from the host club sent him countless messages. He couldn't help but smile, seeing all the support they were giving him. He even received a text from Renge saying that if he didn't fix everything that he shouldn't even bother going back home. Sighing, he called his brother. As the phone began to ring, he started walking away from the airport. Wincing, he put his free arm in front of his eyes to block the sunrays. Kneeling down he opened his backpack. He kept the phone up to his ear with his shoulder. He pulled out a pair of sunglasses and closed the bag. Putting it back on his back, he continued walking.
"Hey Hikaru, how is it on the other side of the world?" Kaoru answered.
He put his sunglasses as he answered, "bright."
"Anything happen yet?"
"No, I just got here. I wish you were here though."
"You left on your own for a reason Hikaru. You can do this."
"Then why do I feel so anxious?"
"That's for you to answer."
"I really wish you were here Kaoru..."
"Well, I shouldn't be saying this. Everyone wanted me to keep this a secret from you but if it helps you now then fine. Honey-sempai, Mori-sempai, and I are going to be there tomorrow."
"Really?" he asked happily.
"Yeah." Hikaru sighed in relief and so he said, "but don't waste today. This is something that only you can do so you should do it when you're the only one there."
"Yeah yeah... I got it."
"Just keep this in mind Hikaru. You've already finished the hard part."
After a moment's pause, he said, "thanks."
"I'll leave you to your search then. I'm going to meet up with Honey-sempai to decide on a time to leave."
"Okay."
"Have faith in her," Kaoru said as he ended the call.
"What's that supposed to mean?" he muttered to himself as he put his phone back in his pocket.
As he walked farther and farther away from the airport, a bunch of different scenarios went through his mind. A few if he found her and she hated him, a couple if he found her and she forgave him, even one where he wouldn't find her at all. By the time he finished contemplating, he found himself dizzy from shaking his head at his racing mind. Finding a bench nearby, he sat down on it with a heavy sigh. He leaned back against the wooden bench and looked up at the bright blue sky.
"Ah, so tired..." he mumbled.
He could no longer stop his heavy eyelids from closing, leaving him falling asleep in just a few seconds.
Hikaru woke up hours later to an aching pain in his shin. Dazed, he slowly sat up and looked down. There was a girl who face planted into the sidewalk. He quickly figured out that she tripped over him. For a moment she simply lied there so he had a chance to distantly investigate. The girl was incredibly skinny and frail. She was covered in dirt and her hair was a mess which made it obvious to him that this wasn't her first meeting with the ground today. Her body began to visibly shake as she forced her way to her feet. She bowed very slightly to him as an apology and began to limp away. Concerned for the silent girl, he stood up and rested his hand on her shoulder. She quickly tensed up and hit his hand away. He just looked at her confused.
"There she is!" a masculine voice shouted from up the street.
"Shit..." the girl cursed nervously.
Just from that one word, Hikaru knew exact who she was. Her coming to him never once came up in his scenarios. As a couple more men appeared, she became incredibly anxious. Hikaru grabbed her wrist and just began to run. He had absolutely no idea of where he was going, and he didn't care. As long as he could save her from whatever situation she was in, he didn't care about anything else. They ran down many different streets and alleys. They stopped when she pulled herself free from his grasp. He approached her too quickly for her liking. She grabbed onto his shoulders and kneed him as hard as she could in the gut. He became winded and fell to his knees, wrapping his arms around his waist. He noticed that she was walking away and his eyes widened.
"Lilith!" he quickly called out, not wanting her to disappear.
She froze instantly. Barely glancing back at him over her shoulder she asked cautiously, "how do you know my name?"
He smirked bitterly and said, "it hurts that you don't recognize me."
Her eyes widened and she slowly turned around so that she could face him. He just watched her. Since his waist was still hurting he wasn't even bothering to stand. She slowly walked back up to him and kneeled down. With very hesitant hands, she slowly reached for his sunglasses. He did nothing but sit there. He did not want to scare her off. She grabbed onto the dark glasses and carefully pulled them off him. Her eyes began to water when she met his golden ones. She was in complete shock. There was no way she could have even guessed that the random man that was sleeping on the bench was... him.
"Hikaru..?" she whispered, not believing it at all.
He smiled just a bit and rested his hand on her head. "Yeah, it's me," he answered.
She held onto him tightly and buried her face in the crook of his neck. "It's Hikaru... Hikaru's here..." she whispered happily.
He held her tightly and whispered, "I'm sorry..."
"Can I borrow your phone..?"
"Here," he spoke softly, handing it to her.
She took it and dialed a number. While she was on the phone, he kept an eye out. He was looking for any slight sign of the ones who were chasing Lilith. While doing so, he tried to figure out why they were after her. By her appearance, it seems like they had hurt her in some way. The more he looked at her, the more his blood boiled. It hurt even more when she looked at him because all she would do is smile. Her tears haven't stopped once since she figured out who he was. His shirt was getting soaked. When she finished with her call, she handed his phone back to him. He took it and dropped it in his pocket.
She rested her now free hand on his chest and whispered, "a car will be here for us soon..."
"Good, you need to eat," he told her, resting his hand on her stomach.
"And drink a lot of water, and take a shower, and go to the doctor..." she listed.
"What did they do to you for you to go to the doctor?"
She smiled but there was obvious bitterness to it. To hide her expression, she buried her face in his chest. He tightened his grasp on her, wanting her to feel safe. The two just stayed in each other's arms, not daring to part. They both had the hunch that the moment they did, something horrible would happen. After a couple of minutes, a nearby car screeched. She raised her head in alarm. He just kept his gaze on her. She motioned him to stand up. He understood and they both did so. She grabbed onto his wrist and slowly inched over to the edge of the building. Once she got there, she peeked around the corner of the building. Her attitude went one eighty. She let go of the wrist and ran out towards the street. His eyes widened in surprise and he turned the corner. He blinked in confusion when she embraced an older gentleman. He held her just as tightly. Slowly, Hikaru walked up to him. The man became very defensive and move Lilith behind him.
She laughed softly and said, "it's okay Daddy. He saved me."
"Who are you?" he asked Hikaru, not trusting him for a moment.
Before Hikaru had a chance to answer, Lilith moved from behind the man and stood to block saying, "now Daddy... Right now let's just go home. We can talk once we're there. Okay?"
"Lilith."
"Yes?"
"Sit in the front seat."
"But-"
"Lilith," his voice commanded.
She pouted lightly but answered, "fine..."
As she made her way to the door, her father said, "hurry up, Hitachiin."
She looked at Hikaru, completely worried. He quickly became pale. In not having a choice, she slowly sat in the front passenger seat. With one look from her father, Hikaru was in the backseat along with him. Before she could even glance back at them, the black divider raised. Frowning deeply, she faced forward again. The drive was unsettling quiet. For the life of her, she couldn't hear a thing from the backseat. She wanted to know whether there was about to be murder or not. She was so happy to see him again, she didn't want him to suddenly vanish because of her stepfather. The whole drive back to her home, she was just trying to imagine what was going on behind her. In time, they did arrive. They all got out of the car. Lilith watched carefully as her stepfather kept to Hikaru's side. His one man barrier was annoyingly working. Hikaru barely glanced back at her, his eyes begging for help. Her eyes widened just a bit and she caught up to the men entering the mansion.
"Daddy..." she began hesitantly. "What are you doing?"
"You need to go wash up Lilith," he simply replied.
In finding no way to refuse, she silently nodded. As she walked by the two, she rested her hand on Hikaru's shoulder. After giving all the encouragement she could, she disappeared into the next room. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He watched as Renge's dad walked over to a red plush couch. He was motioned over soon after and so he sat next to him.
"You must be confused," he calmly spoke to Hikaru. He just looked at him and he continued, "of course you're confused. I haven't said anything at all." Hikaru just silently nodded, which amused her father. "I'm trying to measure you up. You are the reason she came home, aren't you?"
"Yeah," he muttered.
"If it wasn't for the fact that you saved her, I would have kicked you out already."
"What happened to her?" he asked in a softer voice, feeling incredibly intimidated at the moment.
"A couple of days ago she was kidnapped."
His eyes widened a bit and he questioned, "but I didn't think her dad was in France."
"He's not."
"Then wh-"
"A local gang took her so that they could have my money."
"What happened?"
"She got away apparently."
"Did you give them the money?"
"Half. I was afraid that if I gave them all they would kill her so they wouldn't be recognized... Really, I'm thankful you found her."
Groaning lightly, Hikaru tousled his hair his hair saying, "it's my fault she came back in the first place..."
"Then make it up to her."
"Is that even possible?"
"That's for you to decide. I will say this however. If you make her shed one more tear you will regret it for the rest of your life."
"Yeah... I got it."
"Well then, you're free to go now. Lilith will find you once she's finished."
"I'll just stay here then," he mumbled, ruffling his hair again.
"Don't let her see you like that or she'll get worried," he said as he stood up.
"Yeah, I know."
"You still have to prove to me how serious you are before you even think about advancing your relationship."
"What do you mean?"
He shook his head in disbelief and left the exhausted boy on the couch. He sighed and looked around the room. Compared to his place, her's was quite small. It was pretty decent compared to many other homes but not near the biggest he's seen. Makes sense to him now why she was so amazed by his place. Before he could examine further, he felt weight shift. Looking to his right, he noticed the freshly cleaned Lilith.
"Are you okay?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just tired."
"You want to get some sleep then?"
"Trying to get rid of me?"
"No, just concerned. You look like you're ready to pass out, besides the fact that your hair is a complete mess."
"I just haven't slept well the past couple of days," he said as he patted his hair down.
"That's why you were sleeping on that bench before?"
"Yeah. I didn't mean to fall asleep, just kinda happened."
She smiled just a bit and whispered, "you're so weird."
He grinned and ruffled her hair. She couldn't help but let out a small laugh. When she stopped, she stood back up. He just watched her. She motioned him to follow her just before walking away. He jumped off the couch and followed her. The two were silent as they walked throughout the manor. The hour was decently late now and so there was little light throughout the home. She didn't bother turning the lights on. They weren't staying inside anyway. After climbing a couple flights of stairs, they reached the roof. Lilith took in a deep breath, enjoying the crisp evening air. She walked over to edge and sat down so that her legs were dangling off. Hikaru sat next to her.
"So why did you dye your hair?" she asked him. "Made it impossible for me to tell who you were back then."
He leaned back and used his arms for support. He then looked up at the rapidly appearing stars saying, "so that people can tell the different between me and Kaoru."
"Since when did you become mature?"
"Ah shut up."
She smiled and asked him, "you miss him?"
"Hmm... Yeah."
She ruffled his hair and said, "you're so easy to read."
"Am I?"
"Yep."
He reached over and began to tickle her. She shrieked in surprise and quickly jumped away. He then grinned asking, "am I now?"
She wrapped her arms tightly around her waist before saying, "yes."
"Foolish girl, you're challenging the wrong guy."
"Nah."
He shook his head and laid down. Putting his hands behind his head, he sighed. She watched him for a moment before looking back at the sky. She was still in complete shock that he was actually here. Kaoru updated her nearly daily of how he was acting. No sign pointed to him showing any interest of finding her. Because of that, Kaoru worked diligently on plan B. When he wasn't calling her, he was sending her pictures of his brother. If he couldn't convince Hikaru go get her, maybe he could get her to go back on her own. She couldn't get herself to though. Despite in all the pictures where his eyes were decently calm enough, the look he gave her before simply haunted her. Every time she envisioned that look, her heart ached. Even now...
"You okay?" Hikaru asked the silent girl.
"Y-yeah," she answered, unable to stop the stutter.
He looked at her confused before sitting back up. She didn't dare to look at him though, she suddenly felt incredibly awkward. He put his face in front of hers, making her jump. He just raised an eyebrow at her, not putting together why she was suddenly so jumpy. Completely relieved that the darkness was easily hiding her face, she simply shook her head. Not liking silence for an answer, he began to tickle her.
"Not cool!" she squeaked. She was laughing uncontrollably. She had fallen on her side when trying to get away and simply curled up as tightly as she could. By doing this however, she ended up trapping his hands that just kept tickling. "Okay okay! I'll talk!"
He grinned and asked, "well?"
"I was just thinking about Kaoru."
"Kaoru? Why?"
"Just wondering how frustrated he got because of us."
He laughed softly while saying, "very."
"Have to apologize to him then."
"So... Can I have my hands back or do you want me to tickle you some more?"
She quickly let him go and sat up. He couldn't help but laugh at her. She simply ignored him and stood up. He followed close behind as she made her way back inside her home. She could very easily tell how tired he was. There was just enough light shining in through the windows for the two to see where they were walking. After a little more than a minute of silent walking, she reached a guest room. She let him pass her so that he could enter it. After wishing each other a good night, she left the room.
Lilith woke up in the middle of the night, covered by a cold sweat. Her eyes shifted around as she tried to catch her breath. She tried to raise her hands so that she could rub her face, but they couldn't move. Panic took over her senses. She began to thrash as hard as she could, trying her best to free herself. She could hear someone shouting but she couldn't make out the words. They were muffled to her. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't free her arms. Tears sprang out from the corners of her eyes, imaging that the worst was happening to her. Suddenly, she was sat up and pressed firmly against something warm. She just froze.
"Are you awake now?" questioned a tired voice.
She looked up seeing the past exhausted boy. In complete shock he was there she whisered, "Hikaru..?"
"You were screaming in your sleep," he explained. She sighed shakily and let her forehead fall on his collar bone. "What were you having such a bad nightmare about?"
"What my kidnappers did to me..."
"What did they do?"
She couldn't get herself to answer. The more she thought about it, the more her throat and chest tightened. He sensed this and so he tried to cheer him up with all he could in his tired state, but it had no affect. Just a few seconds later, she just broke down. He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head. She held onto his shirtless torso and cried into his chest. The more she cried, the more he felt completely horrible. He's realized that if it wasn't for him yelling at her, none of this would have happened. Because of that though, he swore to himself that he would do whatever he could to make her happy again. Even after she stopped crying, the two didn't part. She fell asleep in his arms.
