Part 14

Hanamichi woke up the next morning feeling like he has cried an entire ocean and at the same time, got hit by a train. He lifted his blotched up face from his pillow and saw the sunlight making it's way in from his window. He stared at it for a while, then sighed. What the hell am I doing?... He checked his clock on the wall and stood up instantly. "The date!"

He had agreed to pick Haruko up at her house at 11:30 am, then, they would take the train to the carnival. It was 10:50, at the moment.

"Kuso!" He ran around his room, finding neat clothes that he could wear, place them on the bed, and entered the bathroom, feeling the need to wash up. When he took off all his clothes, he looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked at the face that stared back. True, he never really did pay attention to how he looked, but he never realized that he could look this bad. He couldn't really describe how he looked like, but in simple terms, he looked like he had seen a ghost and saw his entire family die in front of him at the same time.

He opened the faucet of the sink and washed his face, feeling the worn out edges of his eyes run along the tips of his fingers. He blinked. Guess he must have cried an awful lot yesterday night. Pushing that idea aside, he stepped into the shower stall and turned the faucet on. The water came to him at full blast, and he tipped his head back, relaxing himself. He lazily grabbed the shampoo bottle and lathered it on his hair.

After a while of rubbing his head, he saw the image of Rukawa come into his mind. He snapped out of his reverie, and cursed himself, feeling a tear make its way down the side of his cheek. Luckily, the water washed that away, since he was suddenly too weak to wipe it away himself. He bit his lip when the image stayed on his mind instead of disappearing as he willed it to.

He place both hands on the tiles of the bathroom wall in front of him and bent his head, letting the water wash the soap suds away from his hair. Stop thinking about him, okay? It's over! Besides, like you said, you weren't really in love with him, so what's you problem?

Honestly, he didn't know himself.

He turned off the faucet when he was sure all the soapsuds were off, and his entire body was clean. He got his towel from the side, wiped his hair, and drew the shower curtains away.

"Hana..."

"Eh?" Hanamichi lifted his head immediately at that voice, and his eyes widened when he saw Rukawa standing in front of him. He was standing there by the door in his demon attire. His hair was long again, the wings were back, and even the same leather clothes were on him. Hanamichi stared dumbstruck at the raven haired boy for a while, not knowing what to do, or how to react. Finally, when he saw Rukawa blush and turn his head away, Hanamichi looked down and gasped. Damn! He forgot he was naked! He swiftly place the towel around his hips and gasped out, "Ano...chotto matte-"

"Iie." Rukawa whispered in reply as he opened the bathroom door. "I...I'll wait for you to finish changing outside." With that, he was gone. Hanamichi was about to open his mouth to say something, but Rukawa obviously heard it in his mind as the door opened again and Hanamichi's clothes floated in.

Hanamichi took the clothes in his arms and watched as the door close once again. He leaned against the tiles of the wall, feeling weak in the knees after seeing Rukawa. He grasped his clothes tightly against his chest as tears threatened to fall again. He shook his head to stop the flow of tears, and exhaled. Look, you have a date in 20 minutes, plus, he obviously needs to tell you something, so hurry up and change!

Hanamichi exhaled again, feeling totally drained both physically and emotionally, and proceeded to change.

When he was done, he took one deep breath to calm his nerves, and opened the bathroom door. He steeped out just as Rukawa turned his gaze away from the window to look at Hanamichi. He smiled genuinely. "You look nice."

Hanamichi was wearing a red, polo shirt that clung on to every curve of his body, but it was loose at the same time. The shirt was loosely tucked into fitted black jeans that gave everyone a view of how long and lean his legs were. Finally, he wore his basketball shoes, the one with the colors red, black, and white, making him look like the perfect model. Hanamichi blushed at Rukawa's comment and mumbled, "Thanks."

Rukawa smiled at Hanamichi's reaction, and slowly said, "So...you're going out on a date with Haruko, ka?"

"A...Aa." Hanamichi looked up cautiously. "We're going to that carnival that has just opened."

"Sou...ka." Rukawa shifted his weight from one foot to the other, obviously making an effort to keep the mood light. "So...are you happy?"

"Huh?"

Rukawa looked into Hanamichi's eyes and asked again. "Are you happy?"

Hanamichi remained silent for a while, not knowing how to answer that question. Was he happy? He got his wish, didn't he? He got the girl of his dreams to like him. He shrugged as he replied, "Yeah...I guess."

Rukawa nodded. "Good." Then, he looked out towards the sun and murmured, "Did you know that you were the only mortal I have ever cared for?" Hanamichi turned to look at him with a shocked face, making the raven haired boy chuckle. "No, don't get all worried. I'm not going to make you change your mind anymore about how you think of me and other issues. I just want to point it out." When Hanamichi relaxed slightly, Rukawa continued. "Anyway, you are the only mortal that I have cared for enough to make your wish come true and be happy. And I am happy for you. Really, I am. You have gotten your wish, and the answer that you have given me is all I needed to hear before I leave for the Underworld."

"Rukawa..." Hanamichi whispered.

Rukawa smiled, then sighed. "Well then," He boxed Hanamichi's arm playfully. "Have fun with Haruko."

Hanamichi stared at Rukawa in shock for a while, but when he noticed the strained look on the other man's face, he gave a warm smile and hugged the dark haired boy to him. Rukawa stiffened at the contact, but Hanamichi held on as he whispered, "Thank you."

Rukawa paused at that small whisper, then, he too hugged Hanamichi to him. "You're welcome." Then, right in front Hanamichi's eyes, he vanished into thin air, leaving Hanamichi all alone in the room, holding thin air.

Hanamichi place his arms down and looked at the sun. "Thank you for everything." Then, he looked at the clock. 11:25. He gave one last look at the area where Rukawa stood, then grabbed his black jacket as he turned, reminding himself to get to Haruko's house in 5 minutes. But even though he ran down the street, his mind couldn't forget the image of Rukawa's smile.

* * * * * *

Mitsui and Kogure lay naked together on top of the bed, both their bodies' intertwined with each other under the comforter. Mitsui snuggled closer to Kogure and gave his lover a kiss on the forehead. "Wake up, Min-kun..."

Kogure grumbled in his sleep and buried his face into Mitsui's chest even more. "Too early..."

"Actually, it's 11:40 right now, so, if you don't want your mom to walk in and find us...hey, wait a second." Mitsui ruffled Kogure's hair to get the brown haired boys attention. "How is it that you have a mother, by the way?"

Kogure snorted as he yawned and rubbed his eyes, seeing that he wasn't going to get any sleep. Honestly, they had done it-Kogure blushed-around 3 times last night until early morning, and Mitsui was still jumpy and perky. He sat up and rubbed his head as he answered groggily. "She's not exactly my mom. Her memory was altered so that I could live among humans with a normal family and life. But nevertheless, I love her as if she was my own."

"Hmmm..." Mitsui half listened to his lover as he ran his nail up and down Kogure's back soothingly. "Ne, can we do it again?"

Kogure turned around to gape at Mitsui. "What?! You mean you still-"

"Hey, I can't help it!" Mitsui said defensively.

Kogure shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable...you still aren't tired?" Kogure licked his lips to moisten them. "You do know that I have submitted to every one of your-" Kogure blushed again. "-sexual fantasies in just one night! Don't you think we should have a break?"

"Awww, come on, Min-kun..." Mitsui urged as he too sat up and started nibbling on Kogure's neck, making the other man arch back involuntarily. "I know you want more..."

Kogure blushed as he turned to look at Mitsui. "You really are insatiable."

"Only when it comes to you." Mitsui proceeded to kiss Kogure senseless as his hands roamed every part of Kogure's lean body, making the brown haired boy moan and gasp occasionally. Mitsui smiled against his lovers' lips. Kogure was everything he wanted in a lover; He responds to every kiss, every touch, every ministration. He had a passion that was equal with Mitsui, and, he was beautiful, inside and out. Mitsui felt like he was the luckiest demon in the universe. He pushed Kogure down and his lips were making its way towards the other boys abdomen when a very familiar voice broke through his fun.

"Hey there, bro."

Kogure gasped at the interruption and tried to get away from Mitsui, but instead of obliging, Mitsui sighed and place his head in Kogure's stomach as he turned his face towards the source of the sound. "Akira, can't you see that I'm busy?"

Sendoh smiled evilly as he waved at a very embarrassed Kogure. "Hey there, nice to meet you. You must be Kiminobu Kogure, correct? I'm Akira Sendoh, the stepbrother of you lover over there. Oh, and this is my lover, Hiroaki Koshino." Sendoh gestured to the silent boy beside him who had his eyes averted to the wall, giving the 2 men on the bed a little respect.

Kogure swallowed the lump around his throat and nodded back. "Yes, quite-ummm..." He pulled the comforter higher so that it would cover the parts that were not meant to be seen by others, and gave Mitsui a long-suffering look.

Mitsui smiled warmly at his lover and gave him a sweet kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry, love..." He sighed again and extracted himself from his warm lover and gave Sendoh a glare. "What do you want?"

"It seems that you aren't helping Hanamichi and Kaede get together, now are you?"

Mitsui rubbed his head in annoyance. "Look, if you have any idea on how to bring those two together despite the things that have happened, let me hear it, coz believe me, I can't think of anything."

Sendoh smiled at his brother's disgruntled look and said, "Well, what if I told you that this plan of mine would have a fifty-fifty percent of working out and not? Also, it's a long shot, and I need your help."

Mitsui's eyes shifted its attention from the ground to his brother, who looked like he was ready to burst with excitement. Mitsui blinked. He hasn't seen his brother have that look on his face ever since they were kids and Sendoh planned that they bake a cake for Satan with a bomb inside. The plan worked, and Sendoh was so happy because half the entire place was filled with chunks of cake. Now, he had that look again, and Mitsui was slowly getting curious himself. He leaned close to Kogure and draped his arm around his lover. "So, what's the plan?"

Sendoh smiled diabolically and leaned in. "Well, this is how it goes..."

TBC