• CHAPTER 68 - ANOTHER LATE BIRTHDAY

    Great, I've forgotten another birthday.

    "Oh my God, Kai!!" I shouted, splitting the silence of the early morning.

    I jumped right out of my--Kai's--bed and darted to the chair in the corner where Kai was sleeping...sitting up with his arms and legs crossed for some strange reason. I grabbed the collar of his shirt and thrashed him violently. I saw Kai frown and his eyebrow twitch as he tried to stay asleep. I knew he was getting pissed with me, but I couldn't care less.

    "Kai, wake up!" I shouted again.

    Kai's large and frozen hands grappled around my wrists and he stopped me where I was and frowned at me, "What do you want? I'm sleeping." he growled immaturely.

    "I don't care if you're sleeping," I frowned back at him. "I just remembered that I missed Kira's birthday!"

    "What?" Kai's eyebrow twitched again.

    "Kira's birthday! It's on January thirty-first, isn't it??" I interrogated, shaking him a little more.

    Kai stopped my thrashing again and sighed, "Yes, but it's already March,"

    "I don't care!" I hissed at him. "I still missed it! Come on, we're going into town and getting something!"

    I started pulling on Kai's shirt in a hopeful--yet hopeless--attempt at getting him off of the chair but he stayed planted where he was. Kai refused to move, probably too tired to get up, but I still didn't care. I was too concentrated on how much of an idiot I was for forgetting about Kira's birthday. I probably wouldn't have forgotten for as long if I were here at the time.

    Kai rolled his eyes while sighing and stood up, knocking me off of my balance and I was about to crash into the floor face-first before Kai coiled his arm around my stomach and pulled me back up. I looked around in confusion for a moment and laughed at myself as I realized it was Kai who broke my fall. I sighed and smiled, staring off into space.

    "Hey," Kai tapped my cheek with his knuckles and I snapped out of my daydream of nothingness, "You're too tired. Go back to sleep."

    "What are you talking about? I'm fine." I yawned.

    Kai rolled his eyes again and scooped me right off the ground and carried me towards his bed. As he was carrying me, I snuck a glance at his alarm clock and it read eight thirty-nine in the morning. Kai placed me delicately on the bed and as soon as he was letting go of me, I snapped back into my senses and locked my arms around his neck so he wouldn't leave.

    "No! I'm not going back to bed yet!" I argued. "I want to give Kira a present!"

    "Get some sleep first!" Kai argued back.

    "I will when we get back!" I jumped out of the bed and ran to the dresser and threw some clothes out to put on.

    "You can't be serious," Kai sighed. "You're all disoriented from lack of sleep."

    "I am serious!" I waved Kai away, turning my back towards him. "Now get out, I'm getting dressed."

    I started undressing quickly and it took me until I was in nothing but my lingerie that I realized there was no sound of teleportation or the door closing after I told Kai to leave. I peeked over my shoulder hesitantly and gridlocked where I was as soon as I saw Kai still standing several feet behind me with his arms crossed and a pissed off complexion. I screamed and threw my pajamas at him and covered myself with a shirt I was planning on wearing.

    "Get out, you pervert!" I shouted at him, chucking my pants at him. "I don't have to do as you say!"

    Kai sighed and I continued to shout at him to leave, but he never did. After about ten to twenty minutes of arguing with him--which his only responses were sighing and rolling his eyes and occasionally frowning--I finally gave up and got dressed with him in the room. Of course, I was facing him to make sure he was turned the other way and my face was on fire the whole time. I left the bedroom without warning Kai and he glided after me shortly after I opened the door and started heading downstairs. Kai caught up with me quickly and I only ignored him. I slid my shoes on and my jacket and headed out the door and towards the garage.

    I looked back over my shoulder at Kai, who was still following me, "I hope you brought money," I huffed.

    Kai rolled his eyes and pulled out his car keys and pressed the pin number to open the garage and we both climbed into his car. I immediately turned on the heat, frozen by the early March morning air. Kai took off out of the garage and drove down the country road at the typical ninety miles per hour. Well, what do you know, he was actually driving slower than usual this time.

    "I don't understand why you're wasting time on worrying about Kira's birthday," Kai sighed. "It was a month and a half ago."

    "I don't care," I yawned. "Kira is a part of this family so he deserves a birthday too."

    "You never gave me anything," Kai frowned.

    "I accepted for proposal, for God's sake!" I shouted at Kai. "Was that not enough?!"

    "Technically that was my own present for me," he smirked. "You didn't contribute anything from yourself."

    I frowned at him, "You don't care about your birthday anymore,"

    "And Kira is no different," Kai chuckled. "You're just wasting your time."

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    When we arrived in downtown Sapporo, I had Kai park in the parkade and we hopped out of the car, walking to our destination--wherever that was. I was getting ahead of myself and started rushing myself severely and Kai slowed me down by grabbing my hand and pulling me back. I sighed and managed to relax a little and allowed my hand to wrap around Kai's and slip my fingers through his. We walked throughout the city and I kept scanning vitrines to see if there was anything I thought Kira would like. I found nothing. I felt so retarded because it took me until nine months to realize that I didn't know what Kira liked. After walking around for two hours, Kai and I found a park and I plopped myself down on a bench and sighed.

    "I don't even know what he likes," I bummed out.

    "You could ask him," Kai offered.

    I frowned at Kai as he sat down next to me, "You're his brother. You should know what he likes."

    Kai sighed and thought for a moment, "Let's get you something to eat,"

    "But my feet are killing me," I complained. "Carry me."

    "Come on," Kai rolled his eyes, extending his hand towards me, "it's only two blocks away. You can walk."

    I rose from the bench and grabbed onto Kai's hand and shivered at the cold feeling of his skin. Kai released my hand and wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his side. We found a neat little café at the corner of one of the blocks. We sat ourselves down and I had a sixteen-ounce french vanilla cappuccino and a slice of chocolate chip cheesecake and Kai had nothing.

    "Thanks for making me feel less self-conscious," I snorted in sarcasm.

    "Oh, don't get started," Kai frowned. "You're the most emaciate woman in the city."

    "Whatever, I'm not a woman," I sighed. "Yet."

    "You're right," Kai pondered. "You haven't lost your virgi--"

    At that, I spat out my mouthful of cappuccino and instantly stabbed Kai's hand with my fork--probably hurting the fork more than Kai--and wiped my mouth off while glaring at him, "Don't you ever bring that up again," I hissed at him.

    "Oh, relax," Kai rolled his eyes. "Did you think I was serious?"

    "Pretty much!" I shouted at him, drawing a few pairs of eyes over to us. "You're embarrassing." I whispered to Kai.

    "Just relax, kid," he pat my head. "You made an abstinence promise, didn't you?"

    "Yeah," I blushed. "But you never know how soon we will get married."

    My face turned a dark maroon and Kai's cheeks flushed with pink and we avoided eye contact. I lost my appetite and pushed my half-eaten cheesecake away from me and stood up off of the booth. I exited the café and Kai was right beside me. This time, his hands were in his pockets. Sure, I loved Kai more than I loved myself, but thinking about something like that going on between him and I is way too much to take in.

    "Um," I blushed again. "Let's continue finding something for Kira."

    "Yeah," Kai agreed lightly.

    The silence between us was awkward and almost scary. Right now, the farthest I would ever go with Kai is no farther than kissing...and making out.

    I was getting fed up with the silence, "I know things like that happen with married couples, but we can--ooo, shiny!!!"

    My concentration was immediately broken as I spotted something shimmer in a vitrine and I abruptly handed Kai my cappuccino and I pressed my face and hands against the window. Kai stood where he was, flabbergasted by my sudden ADD moment. He finally attended my side once he realized I was just being silly and childish after reacting over something so seemingly meaningless.

    "What is it now?" he sighed.

    "Look!" I pointed inside the vitrine at the shiny object I was eying.

    Kai peeked into the vitrine at what I was drooling over and he sighed again. Inside of the window were several navy blue, velvet pillows with multifarious kinds of diamond jewelry displayed on them. There was one pair of earrings that really caught my eye. They were placed delicately higher than the other jewelry items and under the white light that made the diamonds shimmer an enamoring rainbow. The earrings were a long and narrow silver triangular shape with four diamonds filing down each earring in perfect formation.

    "Look at them," I sighed in a musing and desperate fashion, wishing I had the pocket change to afford something such as those.

    "They're...shiny," Kai looked away with a frown on his face, not wanting to admit the earrings were pretty.

    "Why couldn't you have gotten me those instead of this engagement ring?" I held up my finger with the ring on it to Kai and asked him sarcastically.

    "Sorry, I guess earrings have more meaning than an engagement band," Kai answered back just as sarcastic.

    "But look at how shiny those earrings are!" I gasped.

    Kai slouched his shoulders and sighed, "It's just the lighting,"

    "I still want them," I frowned and pressed my face against the window again, oblivious to what we were talking about just a moment ago in the café.

    "I thought we were shopping for Kira," Kai gripped my bicep and pried me off of the vitrine that was now smeared with my carbon dioxide. "Don't get so distracted."

    "Okay," I sighed in defeat. I wrapped my arm around Kai's and we continued to walk.

    "There should be some accomodation adjacent to here that Kira has always admired," Kai looked around at the stores on the sidewalk.

    "Speak for real, Kai," I sighed and looked away. "Don't be so formal."

    Kai shrugged, "I grew up in the eighteen-hundreds," he chuckled. "Our vocabulary was greater at that era than this era."

    "Whatever," I ignored him.

    We walked for a few more blocks and my feet were ready to fall off of my ankles. I ended up using Kai as ninety-eight percent of my support. Kai kept scanning the stores and vitrines and would frown every time he couldn't find whatever he was looking for.

    "Maybe we should come back some other time," I sighed, my feet throbbing.

    "Here we are," Kai lead me to a little vitrine at a small shop.

    I looked up at the store sign as Kai browsed inside the vitrine and I frowned, "You're serious?" I sighed. "A bakery?"

    "Yep," Kai smiled. "This bakery has been in the vicinity since Kira and I were eleven and twelve years old."

    "They had stores back then?" I cocked an eyebrow and Kai frowned at me.

    "He'll probably like those," Kai pointed at whatever he was eying.

    I paused for a long moment, staring at what Kai was pointing at. I stared at Kai and cocked my eyebrow again, "You can't be serious,"

    ~*~*~*~*~*~

    "Hello?" I called out as Kai and I stepped into the house. I removed my shoes and Kai assisted me in removing my jacket.

    "They could all be sleeping," Kai suggested. "Might want to wait a while."

    I dug my cell phone out of my pocket and frowned when it read eleven eighteen in the morning. I shoved my cell phone back in and walked into the living room with the bag of Kira's present in hand. I sighed and called out again to be sure at least Kira could hear.

    "Ki--!" I was stopped short by Takeuchi teleporting right in front of me and knocking me off of my feet.

    "Welcome back!" Takeuchi greeted immaturely.

    "You creep, you scared me!" I grasped my chest and stood back up.

    "What's in the bag?" Takeuchi eyed the paper bag I cradled in my arms.

    I held the bag closer to me, "It's none of your business,"

    Kai sighed and pushed Takeuchi back, "It's not for you,"

    "Kira!" I called out. "I've got a present fo--!"

    Just like the Takeuchi instant just a second ago, Kira also interrupted me by teleporting right in front of me. This time, I screamed and jumped backwards about three feet. Kira's face was excited and curious at the same time and he--like Takeuchi--eyed the bad in my arms.

    "A present?" he asked.

    "Not necessarily a 'present'," I clarified, "but just more...something to give you since I missed your birthday."

    "Ooo!" Kira's face lit up and he extended his hands. "Gimme, gimme!"

    I sighed and rolled my eyes at his immaturity and pulled out one container of what Kai and I bought at the bakery. In the container were three rows with four chocolate cupcakes in each row. The frosting blended from a light green at the bottom to a light blue at the top and was rained on by rainbow sprinkles. The cupcake cups were a light blue, much like Matsuda's eyes. Kira stood and stared at the cupcakes in both shock and awe and desperation. I backed up cautiously, extending my arm so the cupcakes were far away from me.

    "You...got me..." Kira paused and then dove at the container and smiled. "Cupcakes!!"

    "Y-yeah," I fake smiled, creeped out by his sudden love of cupcakes.

    Kira read the label of which bakery it came from, "Yes!" he shouted. "My favorite bakery!"

    I whipped around and stared at Kai in disbelief, surprised he wasn't tricking me or anything of the sort. When I turned back around, Kira had already finished a row and a half of the mini cupcakes. Standing near him, Takeuchi was staring at Kira with begging puppy eyes. Kira only ignored him and continued to sow down the gourmet cupcakes.

    "Happy birthday," I smiled for real.

    "Thanks, Arisa," Kira pat my head and I brushed off the cupcakes crumbs that landed in my bangs.

    "Oh, here," I almost forgot and I handed Kira the paper bag. "There are four more containers. Kai said you would like a lot."

    "No way!" Kira grabbed the bag from me and was officially overtaken by the omnipotent power of the chocolate cupcakes.

    Kira made his way out of the living room and sped up to his room. Takeuchi switched his puppy-eyed attention to me, now that Kira was gone. I sighed and rolled my eyes at his immaturity.

    "It's for Kira's birthday," I told him. "You'll get your chance when it's your birthday."

    "My birthday is in thirteen days,"

    I instantly face-palmed my forehead and groaned, "Kai, we're gonna have to go shopping again,"

    "Not for a while," Kai smiled. "It's only the fifth of March, we still have until the eighteenth."

    After another hour of conversing about Takeuchi's suddenly upcoming birthday, Kai announced his departure and went upstairs to his bedroom. Takeuchi and I snuck into his room to check up on the sleeping Toshihiro and I congratulated him once more. After I was in there for several minutes, Miku started moaning and sweating a little and it turned out she was in pain since the morphine was wearing off. I dismissed myself while Takeuchi injected Miku with a little more morphine and I snuck up into Kai's bedroom. I opened and shut the door loudly and when I turned back around to face the bed, I froze where I was after realizing Kai was napping on the bed. He was sleeping?

    I tip-toed around the bed and checked the alarm clock which now said it was one in the afternoon. I would normally nag at him for ditching me to sleep, but he probably hasn't gotten any sleep in the past month and a half. Since I came back about two weeks ago, he's only been watching over me, hardly sleeping a wink. He definitely deserved the sleep, so I'd leave him be. I stood at the side of the bed and watched him in complete awe as the sunlight seeped in through the windows and reflected off of his porcelain skin. I closed the drapes, not wanting the sun to end up in his eyes if he sleeps for a long time.

    I climbed onto the bed and sat cross-legged and just stared at him, stared at his enamoring self. He still looked incredibly peaceful in his sleep, despite his hardest days. And if there was a period of time where he had hardly gotten any sleep, he'll sleep like a clam when he finally does shut his eyes. He was lying on his back with his right hand propped under his head and he bent up his left leg, as if he were lounging and fell asleep by accident. I leaned over to stare at him some more, my face heating up after thinking of how much of a creep I seem like. He had unbuttoned his shirt about halfway, revealing part of his perfectly sculpted torso. Something faint on his skin caught my eye and I moved the collar of his shirt lightly and lost myself when I observed some more. There were...scars on his neck. Two little red circles square on the side of his neck; Vampire bites. Was that were he was infected? Was that where the Vampire bit him and changed his life?

    "My God..." I whispered below my breath, tracing over the scar on his neck. It was queer, though, because Vampires don't get scars. But if they became a Vampire by infection, then a scar must be left.

    I lowered myself slowly so that I was lying on my side right next to him and I cuddled up to him as stealthily as I could. I stared up at Kai for the longest time, never tearing my eyes off of his complexion. I would never have guessed that a Vampire could ever look so peaceful. I gripped onto his shirt lightly and lowered my head so my ear was pressing against his heart. My heart ripped in two as soon as the absence of Kai's heartbeat came into play. It was hollow, empty, no form of rhythm or life beating in him. I wrapped my arm across his torso and embraced him, sorrow overflowing me. It's no wonder he's so addicted to my heartbeat, it's because he doesn't have one anymore, he wishes he were still human, he wants a heartbeat.

    "I love you, Kai," I whispered to him to where I could barely hear it.

    I sighed out of relief and relaxation that our shopping trip was over and we could relax for the rest of the day. It was Sunday, so it was a lazy day for us. I cuddled against Kai's torso and attempted to ignore the cold that was seeping through his clothing and I managed to accidentally shut my eyes, drifting off into a deep slumber. My intention was to just relax a little, but a nap ended up sneaking up on me and I allowed it. It wouldn't bug me to sleep next to Kai once more; we were engaged after all. I embraced him tighter, fatigue dragging me down into a deeper slumber with the man I've been reunited with.