Key (L x OC)

Twenty Four

"Kaori!" A desperate, even scared-sounding yell resonated through the otherwise empty beach. The familiar voice only caused more tears to well in the girl's eyes.

Ryuuzaki quickly sat behind her and tightly hugged her so that she wouldn't run away again. "I'm not sure what's going on, but I'm sorry that you seem to be in so much pain. I wish I could just make all of it go away." He said. "I hate to see you like this."

She just continued to cry. She knew that he could make her pain go away, but she wouldn't dare to tell him.

Noticing that her tears weren't slowing, he put a hand over her eyes and brought her closer than they already were. "Everything is going to be alright." He cooed in his low, raspy voice. "Just listen to me and know that you're safe."

She haphazardly threw the man's arms off of her and stood. "That's not going to help." She declared and then mumbled under her breath, "You of all people are not going to make this go away."

Ryuuzaki stood and bit the nail of his thumb as if he was analyzing her, trying to come up with some sort of reason for the way she was acting.

Kaori looked at the ground. "I know you're not going to let me be alone right now. So please, just don't speak... or look at me."

The young man's worst fear came to mind at that point. He wondered if she had discovered his true identity from someone or something other than him. He knew that she would find out eventually, but he didn't want it to be like this. He felt that could have been the only source of her bizarre actions.

Nonetheless, he obeyed her wishes and they silently returned to the hotel.

As soon as they were inside, the girl retreated to the shower, which took a remarkably long time. Most likely, she spent more time thinking about what was bothering her than cleaning herself.

Suddenly exhausted, Ryuuzaki retrieved his cell-phone in hoped of gaining insight into the girl's troubles. However, nothing could've prepared him for the words he read.

I've fallen in love with Ryuuzaki.

He couldn't bring himself to read any further. The small, electronically manifested letters managed to puzzle him more than anything he had ever encountered before.

His mind was focused on one word that he had yet to entirely understand: Love. He didn't know the true meaning, nor did he understand the romantic nature. However, it was a concept that had been circulating in his brain for a while.

And then, he pondered why. The question he sought an answer to was why she would think that she was in love; it was 'Ryuuzaki' that she loved, as well. She didn't love 'L' or 'Lawliet' in the same manner. She was in love with 'Ryuuzaki.'

His heart tightened and churned at the thought. 'Ryuuzaki' was merely an alias, so when she learned the truth, she wouldn't love him. She would be so upset that she probably couldn't bring herself to love him.

And then, there was the fact that he told her directly that he didn't love her. It was a lie; another lie he created because he was simply afraid of the results. It was childish that he did such things, but he reasoned that the fear was less bearable.

Yet, knowing what he did now, he regretted it because he knew that he had hurt her with what he said.

He sighed and sat back. He bit on his thumb nail and tasted blood, but didn't loosen his teeth. He cursed himself, and it took all of his emotional strength to keep himself from crying. He quietly admitted to no one in particular except fro himself, "I love you, Kaori."

——-+——-

Kaori couldn't sleep that night as she and Ryuuzaki didn't speak once to each other. They didn't look at each other or even acknowledge one another.

Ryuuzaki wanted to say something to ease however she felt, but he thought that would do more harm than good. While staying by her side, he waited until she began to open up to him once again — if she ever would.

The silence, enforced by two stubborn individuals, persisted for two more days. Having received no reply, the girl didn't send messages to Lawliet either.

Then, the young man couldn't bring himself to bear the pain of witnessing the girl's aching heart any longer. Believing he would end up in fear, he no longer sought justifiable actions, merely acting upon his own heart; something he had never completely done before.

Kaori was standing in front of the glass doorway to the balcony, pushing the thick curtains to the side so she could see the ocean. She looked lost and tired, and it pained the man to see her in such a way. The confident, sure-of-herself, opinionated, driven young girl was not the one standing by the door. It wasn't the girl that Ryuuzaki had come to know and care for.

Becoming irritated with her distance, he stepped behind her and wrapped both of his arms around her torso. As she gasped in surprise, he effortlessly pulled her onto the sofa.

He put his feet on the cushions, sitting behind the startled girl. He held her captive with his arms around her body, so she was unable to pry herself free. He placed his head on her shoulder and his dark, tousled hair tickled her neck and cheek. "Stop doing this to yourself." He muttered. However, his typical tone seemed broken and choked.

Normally, Kaori would ask 'stop doing what?,' but she understood what he meant by 'this.' Yet, she couldn't bring herself to say anything.

"I don't know where you've gone. Please, come back, Kaori."

Her heart began to churn, finally realizing that while he was struggling with her own feelings, she had been hurting Ryuuzaki. Of all things, that was not what she wanted.

Mustering her courage, she placed her hand on one side of the man's head, running her fingers through his thick hair. "I'm here." She whispered.

"Not the 'Kaori' that I know." He said, still hiding his face in the crevice of her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." She only said those words because she felt that that was what she was supposed to say.

"The 'Kaori' that I know would say that I'm stupid for saying such things. I want the 'Kaori' that I know to come back."

Sighing deeply, the girl felt she dismissed her insecure thoughts and emotions. She allowed herself to dwell in the present moment, with the warmth of Ryuuzaki's body surrounding her. And then, she chuckled.

He lifted his head, blinking a few times to assure himself that she had just laughed. "You say that I'm the one acting weird... but you're sitting here like this." She commented. Little by little, she quelled her insecurities.

"...Kaori?"

"Yeah, I understand what you mean. I guess I've been off recently." She acknowledged. "But I'm alright now. I promise; you don't have to worry."

Hearing her voice return to its usual brightness, Ryuuzaki breathed a large sigh of relief. "Now you sound familiar."

"Let's go for a walk. We both need the fresh air, and it's a beautiful night." She suggested quickly.

"That sounds beneficial." In his own way, he agreed. "Are you sure you want to go out this late, though? It's nearly ten o'clock."

She nodded. "I'm actually feeling relieved, so I could use it."

He hummed. "Alright, then."

They used the fire escape on the balcony to get to the beach and seemed to walk for a while in silence. However, it wasn't the uncomfortable silence that plagued them for the past couple of days. It was peaceful and light, and surely welcome.

After a while of walking under the moonlight, Kaori raised her voice. "Hey Ryuuzaki, do you mind if I take something from you?" She asked, not looking at him.

"I don't mind." He answered.

She abruptly stopped walking and quickly turned on her heel. She was fast enough so that she avoided meeting the young man's analytic, intent wide eyes. Due to his particularly bad posture, she didn't have to rise to her toes either.

She kissed him.