Hello! I wonder if anyone's still around; it's been so long. f(^^; ) I'm sorry again for such a late update. The holidays were pretty crazy and then settling back into the normal routine took a while to happen as well, so here we are almost halfway into February. It's a nice long chapter this time, so hopefully you'll forgive me!

For those who don't like kissing, just a fair warning, there's more of that here as well, but unlike the last one, I don't recommend you skip this chapter.

Thank you to those who have been reviewing and adding this to their alerts and favorites. =) I hope you'll enjoy it!

"Alright, now listen to Uncle Masaki and Auntie Noriko and do whatever they say, understand?" Kahoko reminded Yuji as she tried to fix his hat hair.

"Okay," Yuji responded, but he was obviously distracted.

"Yuji," she grabbed his shoulders so he'd look directly at her.

"Okay, okay!" he agreed, trying to infuse sincerity onto his face so he could go play.

With a sigh, Kahoko hugged him. "Be good, and have fun."

As Kahoko released him, Kazuki winked. "Don't make too much mischief, yeah?"

"Mischief? Me?" he asked innocently.

He laughed and pushed him toward the living room. "Get on with you! Your cousins are waiting."

With a nod and an attempt at a wink back, Yuji was gone.

Noriko beat her sister to the punch. "Yes, I know that you're going to be at the Bayside Hotel, to call if anything comes up, and that you'll be back around two." She rolled her eyes. "Though I don't see why Yuji can't just spend the night."

"He has a doctor's appointment in the morning. Besides, I didn't pack a change of clothes."

"He and Kenta are about the same size. You could just pick him up on the way," she waved dismissively.

Before Kahoko could say anything more, Kazuki placed his hand briefly on the small of her back, running his fingers lightly over the silky crimson fabric. "We should get going, Kaho-chan." With a teasing look, he joked, "Even if you don't have to run all the way there anymore, we'll still be late if we don't get moving."

Wrinkling her nose at him over laughing eyes, she good-naturedly griped, "Like you're the epitome of punctuality, Kazuki-senpai."

Kazuki just laughed and held up his hands in surrender. "Guilty as charged." Sliding his arm around his girlfriend's form, he gently touched her arm and smiled down at her with a soft look in his eyes. "But shall we go?"

Gazing back at him happily, she agreed.

Noriko smiled while she watched the pair drive off from the kitchen window as she sliced vegetables for dinner. Their family had been seeing quite a lot of Hihara-kun over the last few months, and everyone agreed it was about time! They were so sweet together. Her smile broadened as she remembered their interaction by the door. Without fail, whenever she saw them, every so often Hihara-kun would touch her sister, usually on the back of the hand or an arm, in a casual kind of a way that warmed her heart. With each touch, he seemed to be saying how glad he was Kaho was here with him, how happy he was that she had chosen him.

Noriko rolled her eyes. They were perfect for each other, so why weren't they getting married already? They had been practically dating for like nine years. The only thing that'd changed was now they did explicitly couple-y things like holding hands, hugging, and kissing when they thought no one was looking. But it's not like they hadn't wanted to do those things back in the day—even if Kaho denied it up and down.

She sighed. Figures the already slow-moving Hihara-kun fell for the champ. Well, maybe things would be different. She smiled up at the clear July sky. She had a feeling about tonight.

Glancing over at Kahoko out of the corner of his eye, Kazuki placed a hand on hers. "Nervous?"

"A little," she confessed. "It's been so long since we've seen everyone."

He nodded, placing his hand back on the wheel. "And a lot has changed." For a few more minutes they were silent before he hesitantly asked, "Have you told anyone?"

She bit her lip. "No." She looked at him sideways. "Have you?"

"Nope…."

Dread descended on the car. "Are you mad?" they both blurted out.

"No," Kahoko shook her head.

"Of course not; why would I be?" Kazuki asked in bewilderment.

"Ah…" she blushed. "Usually women tell their friends about relationship changes as soon as they happen, so I've kind of dropped the ball."

"Well, we told Yuji and your family right away, and we introduced each other to our students and their parents."

"I'm actually surprised Yuji took it as well as he did. I know he's crazy about you, but wouldn't you find it weird if your mom's friend suddenly became her boyfriend?"

"He was pretty shocked when he walked in on us kissing," Kazuki reminded her with a blush.

She suddenly found it hard to look him in the face. "True," she mumbled.

Kazuki studiously fixed his eyes on the road as he remembered. It had been a couple days later that they saw each other again to go to the zoo; Kaho-chan had some sort of buy-two-adult-tickets-get-one-child-ticket-free coupon or something. After Yuji had left to go return something to a neighbor downstairs, Kazuki had impulsively pulled her into his arms.

"Kazuki-senpai?"

He simply held her tighter and breathed her in. He still couldn't quite believe this was real. "I missed you."

"It's only been two days," she laughed as he leaned his forehead against hers, but he could see in her eyes that she had missed him too.

They looked at each other for a long moment before their lips found each other in a soft kiss.

"Mama…?"

Kahoko leapt away from him and whirled around to see Yuji standing in the doorway with eyes the size of dinner plates.

"W-what's going on…?"

Both adults sent each other sidelong, panicked looks before Kazuki decided it was probably his job to explain. "Well, Yuji, uh, umm…you see…" he coughed a few times uncomfortably and cleared his throat before cursing, "Gah, this is stupid!" and plunking himself down on the floor in front of the boy. He fixed the five-year-old with a serious gaze. "Your mother and I are in love with each other, so we decided to start dating. And, well, kissing just kind of comes with the territory, so you might see it happen from time to time."

Yuji cocked his head thoughtfully. "You two aren't going to be kissing all the time are you?"

"Oh goodness," Kahoko moaned as she put her flaming face in her hand. Of all the questions to ask!

Face beet-red, he answered, "N-no, just sometimes."

Yuji nodded sagely. "Alright, then." He looked over at his mother. "Can we go to the zoo now, Mama?"

Kazuki's ears had smarted a little after the whispered tongue-lashing Kaho-chan had given him all the way to the zoo, but all things considered, he thought things had gone fairly well.

"Well, despite it all, he seemed happy," her voice cut through his thoughts.

He smiled. She must have been thinking about it too. "We talked about the possibility of us dating a few weeks before, so it wasn't actually completely unexpected."

Her mouth dropped open. "What?!"

"He asked me if I was in love with you, so we talked."

She covered her face with her hands. "And you decide to tell me this now?! Not when it might have saved us some embarrassment?!"

"Well, we were kind of distracted then…" he trailed off with a self-conscious cough.

"That's not the point," she huffed as she fought down another blush.

"What's the point then?" he asked curiously.

"How are we going to tell people tonight? We're not going to do the same thing, right?"

"What?!" he yelped. His face turned bright red.

She stifled a giggle. "Guess I can rest easy."

"Don't make fun of me," he whined. "Can you imagine how unbelievably awkward that would be?"

"Just making sure," she chuckled. Her face became more serious. "Shall we just tell them when we talk, then? Everyone will want to know what everyone else has been doing with their lives, so it should be fairly natural, right?"

He took her hand and pressed it to his lips as her heart fluttered in her chest. "Sounds like a plan." Then, with a smile and a squeeze, he released her and pulled into the hotel parking lot.

Since Kahoko had been flitted away by journalist friend Nami Amou while he was tied up with the valet, he walked through the ornate double doors of the reserved bar room alone. Looking around the room, he let out a low whistle. Upscale and classy while somehow maintaining a casual feel—counter and tables of polished oak, gleaming glasses and platters of food, and just the right amount of light to set everything off—that was the Yunoki Corporation for you. Catching sight of two older figures, a smile swept across his face. Waving wildly, he ran over. "Kanayan! Ousaki-senpai!" he called exuberantly.

"Hihara-kun," Shinobu Ousaki smiled, "It's good to see you again."

"Man, Hihara, you're still as noisy as ever," Hiroto Kanazawa complained, but there was a crinkle of a smile around his eyes.

"I guess some things never change," Kazuki laughed.

And thus the mingling began. He caught up with the two older men over canapés that were being passed around before excusing himself to load up with food from the buffet and catch up with other people. He had caught sight of Kaho-chan a couple of times, but she looked like she was having a lot of fun with her girlfriends, so he didn't want to intrude.

"Well, well, look who decided to finally come over," a voice said behind him.

With a huge grin, Kazuki swallowed and pulled his friend into a one-arm hug. "Yunoki! Man, it's been too long!"

"Indeed," Azuma chuckled with a smile. He glanced around the circle at the other men. "Is everyone enjoying themselves so far?"

"Yes," Ryoutaro replied. "Thanks for hosting this. It's nice to see everyone again, even this guy," he cracked as he jerked his head in Len's direction.

"Don't you think that joke is getting a little old?" Len asked flatly.

Ryoutaro shrugged good-naturedly. "It's a reunion; aren't old rivalries supposed to come back?"

The other three laughed.

Keiichi looked over at Kazuki. "Did…you come…alone…Hihara-senpai…?"

Kazuki blushed and scratched his head. "Ah…actually, umm, Kaho-chan and I came together."

There was a slight pause in the air.

"I see…" Azuma nodded slowly. "How long have you been together?"

Kazuki took a deep breath to try and dismiss some of his anxiety. The mood didn't feel hostile, just…curious…. Right? "A few months." At their continued silence, he blurted out fearfully, "You're-you're not upset, are you?"

Everyone's face relaxed into reassuring smiles.

"I love my wife," Azuma stated simply. "That's more than I thought would ever be possible for me." He smiled affectionately over at the lavender-haired woman who stood talking to Ryoutaro's brown-haired, blue-eyed wife over by the refreshments. He turned his eyes back to Kazuki. "So no, I'm not upset. I wish you the best of luck, Hihara."

Keiichi looked pensively into his glass. "Your first love…doesn't have to be your only love…" his blue eyes were piercing, "and in our case, she wasn't…. Just how each of us…are special to Kaho-senpai…she is special to us…. Our friendship…with…both of you…is precious…." He smiled. "I wish you both…well…."

"Make her happy, Hihara-senpai," Ryoutaro grinned.

Len just nodded once.

Kazuki blew out an uneven breath. That had gone better than he could have ever dreamed. "I'm going to ask her after the party," he confided.

"Hino?" Hiroto asked from behind as he and Shinobu joined his former students. "Well, looks like the boy has become a man."

"It's Takashina now," Kazuki corrected nervously. He licked his lips. "I just hope she'll say yes."

"I wouldn't worry too much about that, Hihara-senpai," Len said simply.

Kazuki cocked his head. "Why?"

Len eyes slid over to the red-haired woman who was laughing with the teal-eyed pianist who'd helped him open his heart again. "If we're honest with ourselves, ever since we started college…" his golden eyes struck Kazuki with their resolution, "it was always you."

The car ride home was filled with chatter and laughter as the couple exchanged news about the various goings-on of their friends. After Kahoko finished a funny story Nami had told her, things settled into a peaceful lull.

Kazuki bit his lip as he snuck a glance at his girlfriend, the little lump in his pants burning a hole in his pocket. "Umm…Kaho-chan…?"

"Hmm?"

"Well…I…I was thinking…" he swallowed to provide moisture to his too-dry throat and ran a hand clumsily through his hair, "we have some time before we're supposed to go pick up Yuji, so umm, maybe…maybe we could hang out somewhere for a little bit."

Her eyes lit up. "That sounds nice." She kicked off her heels and stretched a bit with a small smile flirting around her lips. "My place okay? I wouldn't mind changing my shoes."

He blushed nervously. "Umm…s-sure. Sounds good." He clenched the steering wheel a little more tightly and took a breath to help him focus. Game time.

The second her apartment door closed, he found himself swept into a heated kiss as she pulled him down by his suit jacket and crashed his lips on hers. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been caught by surprise, but he was more than happy to go along with this addition to the night's program. Jerking her forward, he whirled them completely around and shoved her back against the door, her arms fastening around his neck as he proceeded to kiss her brainless.

She hummed happily as he ravished her mouth, eagerly parting her lips for him. A moan escaped as the taste of him sizzled across her senses. It had been too long since they'd had hot and fiery. There were always too many people around. Her hands slithered over his chest and up to fork through his hair, gripping him a little harder as she tried to keep up.

The movement ironically made him slow things down, bank the heat until the kisses had softened to the long, deep, tender ones that made her purr like a contented cat. Pulling away, he lightly kissed her cheek and laughed. "Well, hello there."

"Hello yourself," she murmured languidly. If he hadn't been holding her up, she had a feeling she would have slid bonelessly to the floor.

He nuzzled her nose and kissed her sweetly. "I've been wanting to kiss you all night."

"Oh really?" she laughed as mischief danced in her eyes.

"Yeah," he smiled warmly at her and brushed his fingers through a few locks that had fallen out over the course of the night. "But first, we were too busy running out the door, and then, there were too many people around." She involuntarily shivered in anticipation when he ran a finger over her bare shoulder. He sighed a little and touched his forehead to hers, a serious look in his eyes. "Want to sit?"

Huh? She blinked a little in surprise at the abrupt change in mood. "Sure…."

With a nervous smile, he escorted her to the couch. As soon as she was seated, he opened his mouth—"Okay, it's now or never"—and abruptly headed toward the kitchen. Okay, in a few minutes, then. "Do, umm, do you want some water?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Snacks? Juice? Music?"

"Nope." She tugged him onto the couch. "Sit with me." As he sat down shakily, she looked at him strangely. "Are you okay, Kazuki-senpai? You seem kind of nervous."

Was it possible for him to turn any more red? "Am I? Oh, I, uh, maybe I am, uh…huh, isn't that funny, umm-" thankfully his babbling was quickly cut off as her lips found his. They just held the kiss there—chaste, sweet, and intoxicating—until she drew back. He leaned forward a little before opening his eyes to meet hers. Then, he smiled and kissed her again.

She snuggled closer to him with a soft sigh of appreciation.

"Better?"

"Yeah…" she breathed.

With a tender smile, he leaned her back so her head was cushioned by the armrest. "Sorry," he mumbled as he rubbed his lips over hers then nibbled on them in a way that made her brain fog.

"Hmm?" she hummed hazily as she drew him closer, riding that low, liquid pull as she tangled her fingers in his wild hair, steeping herself in the taste of him.

"For acting weird," he muttered, breathing a little more heavily. Then he kissed her long, slow, and deep. He'd figure out how to ask later.

She let out a soft sigh of melting, fluid surrender in echo to the kiss. Layers of warmth and longing wrapped themselves up in anticipation. Her breath caught as his lips trailed down her throat before coming up to skim across her jaw. Tenderness spread through her as she brought his face back to hers and looked deeply into those soulful pools of amber. "I love you."

His hand slid around, skimming her ear, then cupping her neck, gently kneading. He smiled down at her and gave her a lingering kiss that shimmered with promise. "I love you too," he murmured as he nuzzled her neck, slowly kissing his way up the column of her throat, making her whisper his name and loll her head to the side. He scraped his teeth gently along her jaw line and felt her tremble. More. His heart shuddered and swelled as his mouth laid claim to hers, hints of greed making her arch into him. He wanted more. Her skin, soft and smooth as silk, went hot under his mouth. The box bumped a little against his leg, and with that small reminder of what was to come, he smiled softly and skimmed his fingers tenderly over her cheek, making her heart stutter.

He wanted it all. He lowered his mouth to hers gently in a bare whisper of a kiss that made her eyes darken and her heart yearn. Then, he kissed her so thoroughly and passionately it made them both weak. And as he did, he found the courage he'd been searching for.

"Marry me," he breathed against her lips.

"What?" She drew back slightly, her head still muddled.

His heart threatened to burst as he gazed at her. Her eyes were misty with pleasure and her hair was falling out of its clip in a cascade around her face.

She was beautiful.

He fished the black velvet case he had bought out of his pocket and snapped it open, revealing the ring that had been made for her despite being second-hand. Bright, delicate, and shining like the stars, she was all of these and more. With a look of pure adoration, he drew her up so she was sitting. "Kaho-chan…I…could…I mean…" he licked his lips, "will-will you let me join your family?" He closed his eyes briefly to calm himself down before turning his impassioned gaze upon her again. "More than anything in the world, I want to be with you and Yuji for the rest of my life." He gently caressed her face before cupping her hand in his. "To…to love you for the rest of my life." Amber locked with gold. "So…please, will you marry me, Kahoko Takashina?"

She stared dumbly at him, her brain racing a million kilometers a second. But not in a good way. His words had wakened her from the dream she'd been living the last three months like a slap to the face. She should have been prepared for this. Why hadn't she been prepared for this? For a man like Kazuki-senpai, it was natural that love would lead to marriage and children. It had been the same for her once.

But things were different now.

No one knew how deep-seated the fear and guilt were, how real and alive they had remained all these years. She was powerless as the memory roared to life around her. Despite his respirator, his labored breathing echoed from the walls of the sterile room as doctors did all they could to try and save him. His face—which had been flush with health and life not even thirty-six hours before—was pale, ghastly, and clammy to the touch. Cold, sickly sweat drenched his hospital gown as he shivered uncontrollably. Every movement in the room slowed before her eyes in painstaking detail; every sound magnified until it threatened to deafen her. Helplessness, fear, and desperation suffocated her. Then, in a tremendous hacking cough, his body jerked and fell lifelessly into the mattress as the shrill alarms of the monitors clamored all around her assaulting her with their final declaration of death.

She closed her eyes in shame. She hadn't done a thing to prevent it. She had let him die. She had killed him. How could she not have seen his illness was more than just a cold? What kind of wife was she?!

Icicles of pure terror latched onto her heart. What had she been thinking letting things get this far? "Never again," she swore with a shaky breath. She would never die so painfully again. The last few months had been more wonderful than anything she'd ever dreamed, but this was reality. And it was time to start living in it.

"I…I'm sorry, Kazuki-senpai," she averted her eyes the second his face fell. She couldn't let him break her. "I love you, but…I-I can't marry you."

"Was-was this too soon? I can wait-"

"No," she shook her head even as her heart ached within her. "I can't marry you. Not now, not ever."

"Why?" The pain cracked in his voice.

"I…I wouldn't be any good for you, Kazuki-senpai." She wrung her hands. "You have to see that."

"Don't say that," he countered gently. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"You just think that. I'm no good," she repeated in desperation.

"Why are you putting yourself down?" His mouth pulled into a deep frown. "I mean it: you're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"We can't make it work!" Get away! Get away!

"Why?" he shot back.

"I-I can't take this." She shook her head vehemently as she rapidly scooted away from him. Retreat! Retreat! "You have to go. You have to go now!"

He grabbed her arms roughly as his temper spiked. "You think you can push me out of your life with a simple no and expect me to just take it knowing you love me?" He shook her a little to get her to look at him. "Just what do you think I'm made of?!"

"I-I can't handle it," she cried as she crumbled before his eyes. Rivers of tears streamed painfully down her face. "I can't go through it all again, Kazuki-senpai. I-I just can't." She covered her face with her hands as she sobbed. "Please, I can't—I can't stand it. It's happening again. I can see it happening all over again." She shook her head violently. "I don't want everything to be taken away from me again. I just can't risk it; I can't!"

Kazuki just stared at her completely baffled. He desperately wanted to soothe her, but he had no idea how, or even what exactly was wrong. What could he use to penetrate this fortress of fear and grief? "Kaho-chan…if-if this is about Takeshi-san-"

"No!" she cut him off as she tore herself from his grip. "No more! I don't want to hear it!" Before he could speak, she locked herself in the bathroom and hid.

"Kaho-chan! Kaho-chan!" He pounded on the door. "Kaho-chan! Please, let me in! Let me try and help you!"

"Just go away!" She covered her ears as makeup ran down her face. "Please, please, just go away and leave me alone!"

La, la, la. I can't make the main genres of this story romance and drama without any drama. Hopefully this was fairly believable. I tried to do a little foreshadowing here and there, but not a lot a lot, so I'm sorry if this blindsided anyone. Or maybe it would be good to catch people unaware. Not sure yet. I guess we'll see. (^_^)

I suppose I could have made the guys less okay about the whole relationship thing, but considering like Kazuki had pointed out a couple chapters previous that they're all engaged or married, that seems like a pretty jerk thing to do. They already moved on with their lives and chose different paths that make them happy. I can't envision them being petty and cruel enough to still be holding out for her even now despite having another girl at their side.

In other news, I think this story is going to wrap up in the next couple of chapters. Thank you so much to those who've stuck through this with me. =) I'm sorry again for taking so long to update. (x . x)