AN: I'm on a roll with this story. I was really inspired recently so here it goes again. This chapter still has a somewhat sweet mood, so I hope you enjoy. Please don't forget to R+R and tell me how you like it so far.

When I woke early in the morning and felt the familiar emptiness of my massive bed and a gaping void in my stomach, the fear that everything I felt last night had been nothing but a dream. It left me empty and broken and I felt like screaming.

But just as the tears began to sting my eyes, I heard the light padding of feet. I refused to turn around, though. I wouldn't allow myself to hope it would be anyone besides Mato, the only person with a key to my apartment. If I hoped, it would only hurt more when those hopes were crushed.

I shut my eyes, tightly, wishing I could go back to sleep and forget that dream that would never come true. I wished so badly to forget about her just as Natsuki must have forgotten about me. I wished that we had never met, for perhaps this entire ordeal might not be so bad if I had not loved her so much. Perhaps I could have moved on and found someone who could fill this painful hole in my heart. Perhaps I could move on from that alleyway and the end of that life.

However, instead of hearing the energetic voice of the lively brunette, I felt the bed move as weight fell upon it just behind my back. Then a soft pressure fell on my hair and raven hair cascaded all around me. It was enough to break my will and force me to turn. And as I looked up, my gaze was met with one of emeralds and it took my breath away. What made it worse was the smile that graced that angelic face as that hand again came to pull back my hair.

"Good morning, Shizuru." that soft, melodic voice whispered.

"Natsuki…" was my stunned reply. She laughed a soft, throaty laugh that made my chest swell. I sat up, still unable to believe that she was here, right in front of me. I could not help but reach out a trembling hand, but I was too afraid that this dream might shatter if I dared to touch her.

Natsuki grabbed my hand though, kissing the back of it before holding it close to her face. Tears flooded my eyes and I latched around her neck, sobbing. She held me close, whispering soothing words. We sat there for what seemed like ages before I could calm down enough to let go. Yet the entire time Natsuki simply sat there, seeming to be perfectly content.

"I'm sorry." I mumbled, pulling back and rubbing my eyes.

"Don't be." she replied, gently wiping stray tears away. "I told you, didn't I? I'll love you no matter what."

I was quite thankful that school was currently not an issue for me. While Shizuru went to the few classes she had during the week, I sort of just laid about her apartment. My laziness disappeared whenever she walked in the door, though. Instantly I would welcome her home and we would make dinner. I enjoyed the peace and warmth of our ever evolving relationship. It made my heart skip a beat every time I could get Shizuru to laugh or even to just smile. I would not trade anything in the world for it or her.

The only hard part was our decision to recount our year spent apart. I had come intending to forget it ever happened, but Shizuru insisted. She wanted to know about the person I had grown in to, even if some parts of my tale were painful to hear. And as she began to work her way backward, I realized that I had wanted to know as well. It had been eating away at me ever since she spoke those words the night we met again.

"I'm not that person anymore."

However, when we finally reached that night that we parted ways, Shizuru could not keep the tears from her eyes and I would not allow her to tell me any more than she was ready to. Still, even a week from then, she did not mention it. I did not mind, though, nor did I press for any information. More than anything else I wanted to see my angel smile and if bringing up that night would bring such tears to her eyes, I was not willing to push the matter.

Besides the first night, where I fell asleep on the couch after carrying the blonde to bed, I had been sleeping in the guest bedroom. I thought it best that way, feeling that Shizuru still needed time to fully open up. But around two a.m. I woke to the sound of a strangled cry. I nearly got myself killed when I fell out of bed, but when I finally managed to scramble towards the source of the sound, I found Shizuru sobbing and trembling like a leaf.

While I had changed quite a bit over the past year, I was still very naïve when it came to handling feelings, especially if they were not my own. All I could think to do was try and get her to snap out of it, and when that didn't work I just held her in my arms, rocking back and forth in an attempt to soothe her. Desperately I begged for a sign about what to do, something to keep the panic and worry from rising in my chest.

What happened that would make her cry like this?

I felt terrible. Natsuki was being so patient with me. She had been holed up in my apartment for over a two weeks now, not knowing anyone in Tokyo, and yet she had not uttered one complaint. Now she was curled up next to me, most likely exhausted from trying to calm me down throughout the night. I stroked her hair, weighing the benefits of going back to sleep again.

However, my plans were foiled by the ringing of my phone. I answered it quickly so as not to wake the raven-haired goddess next to me, but soon regretted it as I heard Mato shouting on the other line.

"Come again?" I asked as quietly as I could.

"Girls night!" she shouted, eagerly. "I just won a weekend trip to a spa and I am inviting you and whoever you want to bring. I'm bringing my friend Sakura-chan, so I want you to bring someone too."

At first I was going to decline as I always did, but then I glanced down at Natsuki. The idea of getting her out into the world again was not unappealing. While I was perfectly content keeping her all to myself, I knew that she needed to interact with other people. In fact, she might enjoy meeting Mato-chan and her friend. So I agreed and quietly hung up before she could continue talking, then proceeded to curl back under the blankets.

The sun was bright that day and the sea that rushed by through the train window was stunning, but none of it could compare to Natsuki's beauty as she looked about her with renewed vigor. I couldn't help but smile every time she looked at me with that magnificent light reflecting through her beautiful eyes.

"Natsuki-chan?" The two of us looked up to see Mato standing with a shy blonde right on her heels. The brunette beamed, landing in the seat across from ours. "What a surprise! I didn't know you two were friends!"

I looked at Natsuki, curiously and she shrugged. "How do you think I found out you were in Tokyo?" she inquired.

"You two are friends? That's amazing!" Mato said after our long explanation. By the time Natsuki had finished we were being shown to our rooms. Mato ended up sharing a room with her friend and Natsuki and I shared the other. We all intended to spend the day together, but somehow or another Natsuki and I never did find them again. I did not particularly mind, though. Spending the day with Natsuki was all I could ever possibly ask for. To see her smiling was more than enough to satisfy me.

But as night came, again I was reminded of my nightmares. Fear gripped at my chest as I wondered if they would haunt me again this very evening. I had not had one in weeks, but with every nightmare came a renewed despair that I could not handle on my own. The hole that opened in my chest was too painful to bear and I wanted so badly to simply disappear. I wanted to sleep without dreams, to escape this world that was so filled with pain.

Suddenly, I felt Natsuki begin to move and I worried that I may have woken her. To my surprise, however, her arm wrapped around my waist and she gently pulled me into a warm embrace, throwing her blanket over my shoulders. I felt her bury her face in my hair, her chin resting against my shoulder. She let out a contented sigh and gently squeezed me, making all of my fears melt away.

"I love you." she said. And with those words she melted my despair as well. I could only smile as I closed my eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.

My dreams were sweet that night.