A/N: I have nothing to tell you guys. I'll just let you enjoy the chapter now. :3 hehehe... you don't know what's coming...

Yeah, that got you excited, huh? Now you're gonna read full-speed-ahead, I teased you into freaking out. Hey, here's a warning that'll make your eyes pop out-

WARNING: Beware of the smut in this chapter! It gets pretty smutty. Well, not THAT much. But it does. I'm confusing you? Good.

Chapter Twelve. Father Sends An Overzealous Messenger

Another uneventful day of school kept Akari pleasantly indulging in the fact that it was a Friday, and once school was out, she could do whatever she wanted for the weekend. Which meant, eating, napping, and maybe hanging out with her friends if she didn't feel too lazy. Oh, and she'd also have to start up on that math homework, she supposed, as well.

"I'll see you later." She patted Yukimura on the head, ruffling his hair playfully, and he just blushed and blurted a quick "Good bye." while Kanou nodded his head to her quietly.

She then turned to wave back at Aika and Seiji- they were headed down the hall to go to their after school club together. They waved back, and then continued in whatever conversation they were involved in with each other.

Walking outside, the sudden chill in the air caused Akari to wrap her coat tighter around herself. The wind had picked up, and the windows had been shaking a little bit while they were in class. She scuttled hurriedly past the other students, trying desperately to keep her warm hood down around her ears, though it kept blowing backwards because of the icy wind. Her ears were red by the time she got to the limo, and she hurried into the backseat before the wind could tear off her scarf and everyone could see the faded pink marks that still covered her neck. They weren't all that visible anymore, they were actually barely even there now, but she didn't want to take any chances. She'd been wearing the same scarf for the past week now, and she wasn't going to take if off in public until there was absolutely nothing left of Kai's sadistic attack.

When she settled herself comfortably in the car, she really wasn't expecting to look up and see the face of a stranger staring right at her. As the door slammed shut beside her, she screamed.

"Calm down, Miss Michiyo." The young man said in a controlled, slick sort of voice.

"Oh, of course I'll calm down when a strange man asks me to!" She breathed heavily, scooting to the furthest place away from him in the car. She tried to unlock the door, but the automatic lock had set in as the car started to drive away. She glared at the man- how had he managed to get a ride in the car that picked her up from school? Did the Igarashi's know about this?

"I work for your father." The man suddenly said, trying to make her relax.

If anything, those words gave her more of a reason to feel uneasy about him. She slowly scooted back to her original seat across from him though, and folded her hands politely in her lap after smoothing her skirt like a lady.

"Did he send you to give me cardiac arrest?" She asked, in all seriousness.

The man laughed, a low drone that made her feel on edge. She watched him through narrowed eyes. His hair was dark brown and combed back elegantly, he was sharply dressed in a grey business suit and black tie, and he folded his hands in that business-demeanor way that all men who worked for large companies did. His slim black eyes glinted at her like dark diamonds. He looked to be in his mid-twenties or so.

"No, and I would like to immediately apologize for frightening the daughter of my employer. Forgive me, I had assumed you knew I was coming."

"This isn't my car, is it?"

He laughed again, and then abruptly stopped and caught her eye.

"No, it would be mine. I made it clear to your driver that he could take today off."

"Do the Igara-

"Sorry to interrupt, but let me just explain. I was sent by your father to speak with you today, he called me when I was already in this area, coming back from a meeting. He told me that it would be fine if I just picked you up from school. I originally went to Miyabigaoka, but," He gave her a puzzled look. "After talking with their Student Council President, the young Mr. Igarashi himself, I was informed that you now attending this school."

"Yes, that was planned by him at the last minute."

His gaze sharpened on her.

"Your father doesn't know, does he? I would assume not, because he sent me to Miyabigaoka."

"I do not know all the details. You will have to speak with Miyabigaoka's President once again."

"I see. Well, after talking with him, he told me that he would call your driver and excuse him for the day, so that I may pick you up."

"I understand, but what are you here to talk to me for?"

"We shall discuss that at a later time." The man leaned back in his seat, making himself obviously comfortable. Well, it was his limo. "By the way, I should introduce myself. My name is Kichiro Ikehara. You can call me Mr. Ikehara."

"Where are we going?"

The man suddenly 'tsked' her, shaking his head.

"Being away from the estate has made less of a lady out of you, Miss. You should address your father's underlings properly."

"I apologize, Mr. Ikehara. Where are we going to discuss whatever matters I need to be made aware of?" Akari wanted to puke from the sweetly sick tone that she used. She used to talk like this all the time- how had she endured it for half her life? She was suddenly very grateful for living with the Igarashi's.

"Since the drive to the estate will take much too long, and it would be pointless to go there anyway because I was only sent to have a little chat with you, I've arranged for us to talk at the Igarashi estate."

"And you've spoken with-"

"Pardon me for interrupting once again, but the only person I've spoken with is the young bachelor Igarashi. Mr. Igarashi himself is busily booked with many meetings today, and it has been raised to my attention that the woman of the house is ill."

"So, Tora is okay with this little meeting?"

The man shook his head slightly, leaning back in his seat even more.

"Ah, he seemed just the same as ever. He didn't object."

Has he met Tora before? I wonder what he meant by that...

"Alright. I suppose I have no choice but to agree to this?"

His sharp eyes found hers, and she squirmed slightly in her seat. She wasn't sure about this character...

"I can assure you that you have no reason to disagree. By the end of our meeting, you'll be feeling quite-" He paused looking to his right and stifling a tiny laugh that was trying to push past his lips. "Pleasurable."

Akari shrunk back in her seat. Pleasurable? What does that mean? And what was so funny?

Tora watched as the man stepped into his home with Akari, his hand placed low on the girl's back. A muscle in his face twitched unpleasantly, but other than that, he greeted the young man with a cordial smile, and had the servants take both his and Akari's coats.

"It's nice seeing you again so soon, Kichiro-kun." Tora said, bowing slightly. As he rose, he caught Akari's eye- she looked both confused and uncomfortable. Had something happened in the car? Knowing Kichiro...

"Ah, Tora-kun, likewise." The young man merely glimpsed at Tora though, and his hand reached up and wrapped itself at random around Akari's upper arm.

"Huh?" The girl looked up as Tora stood in front of them, watching the interaction take place.

"Shouldn't you be taking off that scarf? It's much warmer in here." The other man said.

Tora looked at the girl, who had her coat off but was now just wearing her school uniform, a sweater, and a scarf. It didn't quite fit in to the house's warm atmosphere.

"Oh. Right, I should just..." Slowly, and with a hidden scowl on her face, she peeled the scarf off of her neck.

Tora could see the faint markings where lips and teeth had been, still plastered onto her white skin like that, and a feeling of discomfort spread from his head to his toes. Meanwhile, the business man beside the two gasped rather audibly.

"My, my, what happened to your neck, Miss Michiyo?"

"Something unimportant. If you knew what happened the knowledge would certainly be of no good use to you."

Tora blinked, taken aback by Akari's official and lady-like tone. He had never witnessed her speak like this. It was the rehearsed tone of someone who had spent years talking like that, and new exactly what to say. Nothing like how she would normally speak to him.

Mr. Ikehara smirked a moment, and then nodded his head in defeat.

"Shall we talk in the parlor?"

"Feel free to talk where ever you like, make yourself comfortable." Tora said, smiling again. He realized Akari's eyes were on him, giving him a fierce, knowing sort of look, as if she alone could see right through his fake and pleasant facade. He ignored her and continued his role of the polite and gentlemanly host.

"I'm much obliged, Mr. Igarashi, Thank you."

And with those words, Tora watched with a suspicious gaze as the older man half-dragged, half-escorted Akari into the next room.

"My- my father wants me back home?!" Akari couldn't help it, she blurted it out without any thoughts on how 'lady-like' she sounded.

"If you continue on living here, the press will continue to ask questions."

She thought back to what he had told her. Her mother's death had caused enough of a riot for Akari to go her own way without the press going into a ruckus about it, but now they had finally noted her absence at the parties and the meetings. People were whispering gossip, and though no one knew she was living with the Igarashi's, it was only a matter of time. She didn't see why it was so bad if the press found out, it wasn't a big deal that Mrs. Igarashi was actually her godmother and indebted to her care, but apparently, something wasn't right with the situation.

Akari huffed shaking her head.

"This is really ridiculous. My mother told me that I could chose where I wanted to go when I was older."

"You are still only seventeen, Miss."

"I'll be eighteen soon enough! Besides, I don't think my living back at the estate will make anything better. Things will just go back to the way they always were."

"Your brother tells me that you've always been a trouble maker for the family."

Akari froze suddenly. Hayate...

"I'm a good friend of his." Mr. Ikehara smirked, seeing her expression of fear.

"That's..."

"So yes, knowing you, it wouldn't exactly be the best idea for you to go back to the estate. However, what's worse is the way things are going now- because of your disappearance, people are starting to assume that your father isn't the nice man that we all know he is."

Akari blinked. Of course her father isn't a nice man! Not like when he was before he became rich...

"Erm. That's absurd..." It wasn't absurd.

"Well, your mother died, and then you disappeared. People are thinking the truth- the only reason you stayed apart of that family was for your mother's sake."

"Are there still the rumors about my father's... problem?"

"The fact that he's emotionally abusive isn't just a rumor. Like I just said, it's a fact. And apparently, the same person who mentioned hearing all of the shouting, also mentioned that the shouting stopped as soon as you left the home. Your father's good reputation is steadily decreasing and becoming soiled."

"So I'm supposed to come home and be his puppet again?" She sounded enraged and the man was now laughing sadly at her sudden response.

"Do not get angry with me. I'm simply the messenger. And all your father wants for now is for you to come to the estate. It may not have to be permanent- perhaps you can have a talk with him about it. He might listen to you or..." He gave her a strange knowing look, and she knew what he was thinking.

But of course, her father would yell at her. He'd refuse to accept her demands.

"It doesn't matter anyway though," The man said, smoothing a hand over his hair and standing up suddenly. "if you go back now or not. Because in the future, when you really are older, you won't have any choice but to go back."

Akari got to her feet as well. She was slowly losing her patience. He was acting polite, and yet, his facial expressions were almost... deceitful. And taunting. But she knew she really shouldn't be mad at him- like he said, he really was just the messenger, the bringer of bad news. He was under the control of her father, and it was her father who deserved her anger, not this man.

"What do you mean?" Akari sighed, thinking it might just be-

"Marriage. You will most likely be put into an arranged marriage in order to merge your father's company with another successful company."

"Alright. Thank you for the information. You can tell my father that if he wants me back, he can come get me himself." She said determinedly, coming to stand next to him and urging him towards the closed parlor doors.

"Is that your final answer?"

"Yes. If he wants to see his daughter, he can make the effort himself. If he needs me so badly, then he can only prove it by personally trying to fix things between us. He should have asked this favor himself."

"I'd rather think it's more of a demand than him asking your permission..."

"Not how I see it."

Akari was in front of him now, opening the doors and stepping out into the hall.

The man grabbed her arm suddenly, making her spin around and look his way.

"Wait- there's something else. Is there a place where no one will bother us?"

She blinked uncertainly at him.

"...Why?"

"Your father wished for me to rely certain specific information to you, things he said can't be overheard by anyone." His eyes shifted in a strange way as she listened to him finish. "Things no one else is to hear, he told me very distinctly..."

Akari sighed. What was it now? Hadn't she just told him that she'd rather her father himself tell her whatever important things he had to?

But then again, the sooner Mr. Ikehara got out of here, the better. She was sick of talking about her father and her old life, but if there was just one thing left for him to tell her...

Her head swarming with the unpleasant thought of her father consistently sending associate after associate to rely messages to her if the first one he'd sent didn't get to finish his job, Akari made up her mind.

"One last thing? Then you'll leave me alone to enjoy my weekend?"

"Of course. I'm just here to do rely information, and then I will leave."

"...Well if you're so worried about the parlor not being private enough, I suppose there's my room. We can sit on the couches and talk, so it won't be uncomfortable if this will take much longer."

He nodded, a smile on his face.

"Oh trust me, this won't take up that much more of your time."

She nodded, her head feeling heavy with thoughts of her father and half brother, and he let go of her arm, following her gesture for him to walk behind her as she maneuvered through the house, passing doors and staircases and fancy statues, until, finally, they arrived upon her room. She opened the door and he followed her in without her having to invite him.

As she walked into the room, she suddenly realized how late it was by the dark light coming in through the windows. She turned around to find the light switch in her room, but they were hidden behind the wall that Mr. Ikehara was standing in front of.

"Oh, excuse me, you're standing in front of the light switch." The man didn't make a move. "Um, are you waiting to be ordered to do something? I'm sorry, I'm not my father so you don't have to worry about that. Just take a seat on the couch, please, and we can continue with our talk."

In a sudden move, as soon as she finished talking he had grabbed her arm again, but this time he had a much harder grip on her and his eyes were glinting evilly in the darkness. His face neared hers, as did his body as he brought her close, too close, and then he seemed to talk in a growl that was not his usual business tone from before.

"You're just as ravishing as your mother."

Her eyes widened as she wondered what the hell was going on here.

"My- my mother? Is what you have to tell me about my mother?"

"No, I don't have to tell you anything anymore. I've done what I came here to do." He smiled and brought her even closer, pressing his lips to her ear as he whispered; "And now I'm going to reward myself."

Akari suddenly realized what was going on, and the sound that started in the back of her voice ended when he pushed her off of him and stood around behind her, pressing his arm into her mouth while his hand gripped her waist and backed her, with him, across the room while she struggled.

To her surprise, they ended up in the bathroom as he shut and locked the door behind them, and then stalked over to the shower, his grip still on her as he turned it on and the sound of water on marble erupted in the echoing room.

"Now that idiot Tora won't hear us..."

She again tried to get free of his grip, and managed to reach up and unlock the door before he pulled her back harshly, and re-locked it once again. Then, without her consent, his hands were all over her, brushing her here, touching her there, it was an awful experience for Akari, for she had never been handled in such a way before. Sure, the boys at school sometimes gave her predatory looks, and Tora had certainly been 'playful' before with her, and Kai had even tried something like this with her too, and her other experiences like this had happened forcefully as well, but none of those experiences had been this forceful. They were all boys, and though they were strong, they had young minds. None of them would actually, you know, rape her. They weren't those kind of young men, she didn't think.

But the guy handling her now was a man. A greedy, dirty, overly-perverted, MAN, who obviously lacked control over his male urges. How could she be so stupid? How did this even happen? And it all happened so fast too. She thought it sounded reasonable enough for him to want to discuss things in all privacy, but... her thoughts had been too clouded, he had caught her at a bad time. What an idiot she was, offering to take him to her own room! She was so stupid-

"Ah!" She suddenly exclaimed, his hands and mouth distracting her from her thoughts as she realized he'd pushed down the sleeves of her shirt and now had it hanging half-off of her, her bra in plain site, with his hand that wasn't holding both her wrists pulled underneath her bra's fabric, squeezing her nipple, and his mouth sucking at her neck ferociously.

No, she had NEVER been handled in such a way. Tora would be firm, not harsh, he would withhold himself, prolong it, and Kai would have gotten distracted and loosened his grip on her, so that she could have the chance to smack him off of her. But this guy- this man- was harsh, quick, and not even trying to make it easy for her. He didn't let go, and she found herself being pushed away, her shirt coming over her head, and then being pushed back into the wall behind her as steam started to mist it's way through the air, coming from the wasted water in the shower.

"Stop it!" She growled, and then he bit down onto her neck, and her voice faded as she whimpered at the feeling.

"You're so sweet..." He replied, and with both of his hands he lifted up her arms on either side of her head, and leaned in dangerously close, until his lips forced themselves on hers as she tried to yell out for someone.

She wasn't kissing back and felt her arms throb from how his grip was constricting them, and then he bit her lip so hard she tasted blood and she opened her mouth in a cry, to which he grunted happily at and shoved his tongue right in. As she felt him kissing her like that, she became suddenly enraged, and not being able to move her arms or head, she wriggled her body, trying to get around him, trying to press free from him.

When he realized her attempts of escape, he positioned his hips right in front of her and pushed them into her stomach, pressing her to the wall with his lower body and moaning as he did so, while he brought his chest flat to hers, his suit wrinkling against her bra in a way that disgusted her.

"Get... the hell offa me!" She demanded in a muffled sort of way as he broke the kiss. She tried to lean her head forward to bite him, showing him that she wouldn't be having him kissing her again without a fight.

"Hmf. You get all riled up like your mother, too. Oh don't worry," He added, noticing the appalled look on her face. "I never did anything with your mother. I just knew what she was like, and I liked watching her... I admired her, really."

"STOP TALKING ABOUT MY MOTH-"

He kissed her again, and when she allowed his tongue to enter her mouth this time, she bit it.

His muffled scream was what she heard and that made her happy enough, until he jerked his head back, brought her arms around him in a painful yank, and used his freed hand to reach up and grab her cheeks, shaking her head back and forth slightly with a look of anger.

"You will regret doing that! I was going to ease you into things, but NOW?"

And when he let go of her face, his hand snuck down to his pants, starting to unbuckle them.

Her eyes widened in horror, and she cried out for help but realized that the shower indeed was making a lot of noise, and she went quiet abruptly as the shock of the situation took hold of her.

"Excuse you."

She jumped, as did the man still fumbling and cursing at his belt, when the voice made itself heard over the sound of the shower.

When Akari turned her head, she couldn't help the massive wave of relief that enveloped her at the sight standing by the bathroom door, a set of keys still dangling from the lock as he opened it wider.

"Tora..." She said thankfully, and tears of relief prickled in her eyes as he stood there, giving the man still holding her a long, hard, stern look.

"I-Igarashi!"

"Get off of me already, bastard!" Akari suddenly found herself screaming, and yanked hard, but the man for some reason wouldn't, still, let go of her wrists. It was as if they were glued in his tight grasp.

"Do as she says." Tora said in a manly, stern sort of voice that even scared her for a moment.

The man shoved her off of him as if she were a dangerous animal, and she roughly hit the wall behind her, her wrists and arms throbbing from his grip, her head spinning a little bit. Through the haze of her mind and the steam in the room, she could hear Tora scolding the man.

"I hardly think," The blonde said. "That this sort of thing is business oriented at all. And I highly doubt that she wanted it to happen. I would actually call this attempted rape."

His words were shockingly blunt, and the man being accused had straightened himself, and then bowed, and then straightened himself up once again. He had a look on his face that equaled severe anger and lust, but nothing at all like shame or guilt. The bastard wasn't even ashamed after being caught!

"I apologize for my behavior. I shall be leaving now, I suppose."

"Not only will you be leaving, but if I ever see your face again at this estate, I will be sure to kick your ass." Tora said. Akari found his words to be hilarious, as he had said 'kick your ass' in such an extremely business-like manner that the words didn't seem to fit in.

The man pushed past Tora, but not before she looked up and thought she saw him double over in pain. Tora had kneed him in the stomach.

"Get out quickly, Kichiro, and be sure to tell Miss Michiyo's father that he doesn't need to send any more of you worthless rats to my home. I, personally, will make sure to bring her to his estate tomorrow, so he doesn't need to worry about that."

And with those words, Tora yanked the man up from his bent state, and pushed him behind him and out the door.

Though Akari was filled with relief, when Tora turned his head and his yellow eyes found hers, she was suddenly feeling a bit helpless once again. He gave her a quick once over, and then proceeded to start unbuttoning his shirt. Her mouth dropped open as she watched.

"You- you're a hypocrite! You just told that man to- and then you- get the hell away from me!" As she exclaimed this, she backed up with great haste as he didn't stop proceeding to take off his shirt.

She found herself backing harshly into the tub, and then she was slipping, leaning back too far, about to fall head-first. She squeezed her eyes shut, expecting pain to fill up her head and make her pass out, but instead she felt a strength encircle her. When she opened her eyes and looked, she saw Tora right in front of her leaning all the way over her bent body, one of his arms steadying her at her waist while the other had stopped her fall, scooping around her back and keeping her instead, pressed close to him. The steam billowing behind his head made it seem like an image from a dream as his golden eyes stared down at her, his mouth set into a tight line, and he looked so serious and yet... dreamy at the same time.

She blinked.

His eye lids lowered slightly as he dipped her like that, leaning over her, his arm behind her the only thing keeping her from head-butting the marble of the bathtub.

"Uuuuhhhhh...~" Was all she could get out. She suddenly felt dizzy despite the fact she hadn't hit her head.

Just as quickly as he rescued her, he pulled her out of the dip and let go, stepping back, and she noticed that he was shirtless. Her blush spread across her face quickly, and she thought for a quick moment that if he asked, she would say it was from the hot steam building up in the room. No one had thought to turn off the shower yet, but when she was about to, his arm flew up and suddenly he was handing her his shirt.

"I wasn't going to try anything. I wanted you to have my shirt, seeing as you don't have yours." He glanced behind her, and she turned her head to see that her shirt, when the guy had taken it off of her, had landed on the floor of the shower, and was now completely soaked through.

Feeling ashamed at thinking he would try anything on her after she had already been attacked, she grabbed his shirt and turned around, proceeding to button it up properly, until it was done up all the way to the collar, and then she turned back around to face him with a quick apology.

"Sorry, I- sorry..."

When he had a hunch that something weird might be going on with that sly business man Kichiro, he followed that hunch and went to the parlor. When he found they weren't there, he was thinking that the man might have left already until he found the guy's shoes at the front door. Being suspicious and paranoid, Tora had made his way to the study, the library, the kitchen, even the back terrace. When he didn't know where else to look, he had gone to Akari's room. When he walked in, he saw no one and the lights were off, but he noticed the bathroom door was closed and there were sounds coming from it, sounds of the shower going over the sounds of fumbling.

And when he reached the door and realized it was locked, he was angry because he knew then what was happening.

And when he unlocked the door and saw the man just then trying to take off his pants, and saw how Akari looked, and saw the guy gripping her tightly like that... he was furious.

Afterwards, (meaning after he handled the situation and made sure to give the Kichiro a good punch to the stomach) as he caught Akari when she slipped, all he could think in his head was-

That bastard got even further with her then I did! He got to see her shirtless, damn it, it's hardly fair!

Now, as he watched her turn around, her hair ruffled around her shoulders, her eyes bright and her face flushed, and her small form hidden underneath the longer sleeves and bigger size of his clothing, a different thought occurred in his mind.

I very much like the sight of her in my clothes...

Without meaning to at all, he blushed, and wanted to slap himself when he realized that that was what the warm sensation in his face was all of a sudden.

Tora Igarashi.

Did not blush.

What was this world coming to?!

"Thank you, so much, really Tora. Thank you for stopping him from... and then catching me when I slipped... and thank you for your shirt." She said it as respectfully as she could, and when she took a closer look at him she noticed his fists were clenching his pants and his face was slightly red. She tried to ignore the fact that his was shirtless...

"Are you feeling okay?" She says, sounding concerned.

"Oh. I might have a fever." He stated very bluntly. He sounded distracted.

"If you'd like to, go lie down on my bed until you start to feel a bit better." She says, and she blushes as she accidentally looks down at his chest and muscles before she forces herself to turn around and address the still-running shower. "I'll just turn this off now..."

Her thoughts as she turned off the shower were muddled. He was being so... unlike himself lately. He had apologized to her yesterday, giving an honest and true apology, and just now when she was standing before him in nothing but her skirt and bra, he only handed her his shirt. What... he was just... oh she didn't even know!

When she turned around, thankfully, he was gone. She could do without the distraction of his pheromones for a moment. She turned towards the mirror, and, seeing herself, she immediately felt embarrassed.

Her hair was the epitome of messy. Her face was so very red, and it made her bright silver-blue eyes stand out like sharp kitchen cutlery. Her skirt almost when unseen, as the edges of Tora's shirt came to just above the rim of the bottom of it. His shirt she had on hung off of her slightly too big, the sleeves went past her finger tips and it just overall looked too big on her.

A strange thought entered her mind, making her blush harder as she tugged the sleeves up, rolling them to her sore wrists.

She kind of liked the way she looked in his shirt...

She just about slapped herself. No, she couldn't think like that, it was... weird, to think like that. But as she tried to clear her head, she found she couldn't, and then another thought popped up.

Tora had been her hero today.

What's going on? How did the villainous figure turn into a hero?!

Tora was at a crossroads inside his mind. He didn't know whether to hate himself for having her cover herself with his shirt, or hate himself for wanting to do the exact same thing that that bastard was doing to her. Ah... he was such a pervert. But he had accepted that long ago, had he not? Yet still, it annoyed him and he had to judge himself for having the same thoughts about her that that scumbag of a man did. Idiot Kichiro...

Apparently, Tora's thoughts equaled that of a man who liked to sexually assault his employer's daughter. But wait... hadn't he tried to force Misaki into the same situation a long time ago? Eh, but that was a one-time thing. The circumstances had left him getting a bit out of control...

This was ridiculous! He was scolding himself for both what he had done to help Akari, and what he had wanted to do to Akari but didn't! Ugh...

She walked back into her bedroom and stood a little ways away from the bed, completely turned to stone, frozen solid as a rock to the carpet.

There he was, lying on top of the covers of her bed, his chest tantalizingly rising and falling and the tight muscles of his stomach quivering just slightly with each breath he took. Her eyes wandered down to the rim of his pants, watching his hips, those jutting hipbones that poked out of his white tailored pants, swivel slightly as he moved and adjusted on the bed, covering his forehead with an arm. Her eyes shot upwards, and she tried to snap herself out of it, but then they found his long arms coiled with muscle, and she found herself suddenly fantasizing about how warm those arms were around her... she noted that the Igarashi boy's arms were so much warmer than the man's before him who had touched her so coldly, gripped her so possessively. Though Tora's grip on her was also always so possessive... but the man's had been a bad, eerie type of possessive, while Tora's was... in it's own way... that it just... it made her feel protected. There she said it. (To herself)

Suddenly his head turned, and his contemplative look changed to that of a more serious, stern one. She gulped when he lifted himself easily from the bed, and swung his legs around, and as he sat to face her she saw his bare stomach clenching and tightening with his movements, his long arms resting, defined and muscular despite being relaxed, on the bed beside him.

The pair of them stared at each other for a moment. Whenever their eyes met, he was always astonished at her opposite silver gaze on his golden one, how she could always level it with his. And she was always taken aback by how fiercely his eyes glowed, like a severe yellow fire flickering over her dangerously.

Unknown to either of them, they both were inwardly groaning.

I can't take this anymore! He's not being fair!

She's not being fair! I can't take one more second of this!

Tora stood up, clearing his thoughts from his head until he was focused on only her, and the situation from just a few moments before. He opened his mouth, making his eyes give her a serious look.

"You can't just let men do things to you like that. You can't allow men to have their way with you."

She looked utterly shocked by his words.

"I know th-"

"You only ever stop my approaches, but never anyone else's."

He silently cursed himself for sounding a bit too harsh. He sounded like he was making this personal now.

"First of all, what happened today wasn't my fault, I TRIED to stop him-"

"You need to learn I'm not the only dangerous guy out there." He says, her words sliding off of him and being left alone.

"Of course I know that already!" She stares at him with a hard gaze, a glare, and then almost dares him with a look when she adds in; "And you aren't really all that dangerous."

Before thinking, only listening to those words echo in his head, he pounces at her, and together they land on the floor.

A/N: I'm not gonna say anything. I'm not gonna say anything. I'm not gonna say-

Okay so as I've said before, sexual tension is heightened in this story, and it's getting closer and closer to their first lemon moment... lemony lemony lemony... Mmm so sour, so sexy!

That is all. No, really, I mean it. I mean it!

love youuu you all rockk BIG TIME! your reviews make me glow with an aura of self-empowerment! I'm not kidding, I look like a freaking light bulb! My face is glowing as bright as Tora's eyes! Keep sending in reviews so I know how you like things, mmkay? That'd be sweet as ice cream for me.

Also, it's a little late in coming, but I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving! If you celebrate that holiday, that is. Anyway, I just hope you didn't all explode due to gluttony.

CK :*

ooh, Apocalyptica just came on Pandora.

Hey I know this song! If you were dead or still alive... I don't care, I don't caaare... just go and leave this all behind... cause I swear... I don't caaare...

(Sorry, I accidentally typed what I was singing aloud...)

... I'm such a talkaholic. :( BAD ME! BAD! sorry, I'll go put myself in the torture chambers and tie myself up and have my characters do weird things to me now. I've been sharing too much again. U.U hmf. I get what I deserve. I'll be back.