Author's Note: In the previous version, I almost felt like I made Yunoki a bit too villainous. I mean, yeah, he's a jerkface, but that doesn't mean he's inhuman. He can be nice and/or vulnerable. Sometimes. Perhaps that vulnerability is what causes him to lash out the way he does. Who knows. He's a teenager for goodness sake. Teenagers are irrational and emotional (for you teenage readers, I'm sorry, but you have to admit it's true).

What I'm trying to get at is that this chapter might seem a little out of character for Yunoki, but it'll play into the story later on. :)

Yunoki's eyelids snapped open as a crash of thunder sounded in his room. With a sigh, he sat up in bed. Trying to sleep was pointless. Usually the sound of rainfall and even thunder helped carry him off to dreamland. There was something about the underlying rhythm, the low bass rumble—it was almost musical, he supposed. Tonight, however, was an exception. Tonight the sound of the rain gave him goosebumps; the thunder was an angry voice, a powerful roar reminding him that he was not in control of his own life.

He reached in the dark for his slippers and robe and made his way down the hall. He would make a pot of tea, something strong enough to put him to sleep.

Yunoki knew that the weather wasn't really trying to send him a message. He was intelligent enough to know that it was his own subconscious that attached a voice to the workings of nature, but he didn't feel like psychoanalyzing himself at the moment. He slid the door to the tea room open and stepped inside.

It was dark. It was silent. The rain had stopped.

Acting on impulse, Yunoki turned around and went back the way he came. He didn't want tea. He didn't want to be in this cold empty house. He wanted to escape. He wanted . . . He paused, realizing what he was doing. Somehow, he was outside, fitting a key into the door of one of the cars.

He would never admit it out loud, but he wanted her. He reached into his pocket and flipped open his cell phone. It was a little after two in the morning. Definitely too late.

He got in and started the car anyway. It took him a few moments to get used to being back behind the wheel, but he had the hang of it by the time he pulled out onto the main road. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel as he made his way to Kahoko's house. Aiming for discretion, Yunoki parked the car several houses down. He stepped out of the car and ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't know what he was doing. He certainly wasn't acting like himself. He just hoped that nobody saw him.

Yunoki made his way quietly to Kahoko's gate. He flipped his phone open and typed a quick text.

Kahoko.

He pressed send and waited a few seconds, noting with a smile that the air was thickening with fog. He sent a second text.

Are you awake?

He counted quietly. It took seventy-five seconds for her response.

No.

He smirked.

Too bad.

Before she could reply, he called her.

"What do you want, Yunoki?"

Her voice sounded thick with sleep. He smiled. "Azuma," he corrected.

He heard the sound of sheets rustling. "I—fine. What do you want, Azuma? Do you know what time it is?"

He shrugged. "I have a vague idea." He leaned against the gate. "And you know exactly what I want."

"No way. I'm in bed. I'm at home. I'm not leaving. Besides," her voice sounded distant, "it's almost three."

"The time doesn't matter, Kahoko."

"I beg to differ—ˮ

"And I find it rather convenient that you're at home and in bed. Mind if I come up and join you?" He had to remind himself to lower his voice to a whisper, in case her neighbors had particularly good hearing.

"You…what?"

"I'm outside."

"Stay right there." She hung up and Yunoki placed his phone back inside his pocket.

It took fifteen seconds for Kahoko to open the gate and join him on the sidewalk, latching it quietly behind her. "What are you doing?" she hissed.

Yunoki shrugged. "I wanted—ˮ

She waved her hand to cut him off. "I don't care what you wanted. What are you doing in front of my house in the middle of the night? What if someone sees?"

"I'm not the one making a big fuss out of this. I was thinking that we'd just go inside. Quietly. No one would know any better."

Kahoko put her hands on her hips. "My family is in there. I'm not letting you into my house. That's . . . indecent."

"I wasn't planning on waking them."

"That's entirely beside the point!"

"Is it? And you might want to think about keeping your voice down, speaking of decency." She frowned at him and folded her arms. He noticed that she was shivering. "Shall we go in before you catch cold?"

She shook her head. "How did you even get here?"

Yunoki gestured towards the car. "I parked a little ways over there. I figured you would throw a fit in any of your neighbors saw anything."

"You drove?"

"Yes."

"How?"

Yunoki sighed. "If you're not going to let me inside, can we go to the car to continue this conversation? I think your lips are turning blue."

"Fine."

They walked back and he opened the door to for her, closing it and getting a blanket out of the trunk before joining her on the backseat. "Here." He handed her the blanket and she nodded gratefully, wrapping it around herself.

She looked out the window to avoid his gaze. "Aren't you cold?"

He smirked. "Why, would you like to share?" He was pleased to see her blush in response.

"Not particularly. Only if you asked." The second sentence was uttered so quietly that he almost missed it.

He scooted closer. "May I?"

She nodded, and after a few moments of fumbling and rearranging, Yunoki managed to lay down and tuck the blanket over them both, Kahoko curled up against him. "Did you really drive yourself here, or is your chauffeur hiding in the bushes outside?"

He laughed. "For my fifteenth birthday, one of my drivers taught me how. I had been asking for months, and he finally agreed on the pretense that we kept it a secret. He didn't want to lose his job."

"And you managed to keep it a secret?"

"So far. Though that does mean that I'll have to head back to my place in an hour or so, just to give my grandmother a wide berth. Sometimes she wakes early to watch the sun rise." He shifted, moving off of a seat-belt that was digging into his back.

"Are you okay?"

"You know, this would be a lot more comfortable in your bed."

"You know I can't have that. It's too much of a risk."

"I'd be leaving soon anyway."

"But what if they hear—ˮ

"Hear what?"

She hesitated. "You know . . . us."

Yunoki sat up so that he could look at her. "Kahoko, I didn't visit you tonight for sex."

" . . . oh?" She looked as though the thought hadn't occurred to her. Yunoki resisted the urge to lean in and kiss her. It might seem somewhat contradictory.

"As much as I enjoy that, I also enjoy your company."

"So . . . you came over just . . . for company?"

He nodded. Because I was lonely. Because I was suffocating and I couldn't take it anymore and I knew that seeing you would fix it.

Kahoko frowned slightly. He knew that she didn't trust him. He had never given her any reason to, after all. A few moments passed and then she sighed. "What time did you say you'd be leaving?"

He shrugged. "Between four and five."

"Okay. Okay fine." She held up her hand. "But we can't . . . inside the house."

"Fine by me."

"Okay." Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and set a brisk pace back. Yunoki locked the car and followed quietly. He noticed her tense up as they entered her room and shut the door. He realized that he must be the first man she'd ever had in her bed. Perhaps in her bedroom, even. He took a moment to observe the surroundings in the dim light—her furniture, the knickknacks on her desk, her violin case.

She was standing beside her bed, wringing her hands. She was nervous. She didn't trust him to keep his word. With as vulnerable as she looked, part of him wanted break it. Wanted to pull off her clothes and push her back onto the bed and—

He pushed the thought out of his head. He stepped close to her and leaned down, placing his lips at her ear. "Just a kiss," he whispered.

She swallowed and nodded.

He cupped her face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed her, smiling slightly as he felt her relax against him. He pulled away and placed one additional kiss on her neck, his heartbeat racing a little as she inhaled sharply.

They got into bed and Kahoko pulled the covers over them both. She didn't resist when he pulled her close. She fell asleep quickly, and Yunoki followed suit, listening to the sound of her steady breathing.