I am Artemis

Love

Acheron

I turned and saw she was back in her suit. I followed after her shutting the wooden door behind me.

"Kaori, wait." She stopped in her tracks.

She turned to me.

"What is it, Acheron?" She bit her lip.

"What was Leto speaking about," she tensed, "she said someone loves me? Who was she speaking of?"

Kaori looked down at the floor and shook her head, "I don't know."

She turned away and continued walking.

"Don't lie to me, Kaori." She stopped.

"I know a lot about your life, Acheron. I also know that you don't get close to people, well you do now. That's not the point, I know who you are supposed to be with. When you meet her I don't know," she took a deep breath, "but I do know one thing. You will be the happiest man alive. So it doesn't matter what she means or who she's talking about."

Kaori met my gaze and smiled. The happiness reached her eyes, but I could still see something was bothering her.

"You're still not telling me everything." She sighed.

"It's not that easy. I know everything about your life, your future even to a certain point. So let me ask you something. Would you ever be able to sleep with this body?" She was out of the suit and in a blue dress.

I didn't understand what she meant. Why would I ever sleep with Artemis- I gasped. After everything Artemis had done to me, I can't even think about touching her body. I wouldn't be able to. So Leto meant Kaori?

"That is why I won't say anything. Love is sometimes one sided, and I have been prepared for that the moment I ended up in Artemis's body. I never said anything because I am your friend. I care about you, I will do anything to protect you, Inu, Simi, and Matera. You are the few people I have in this world. So please understand. I was just trying to leave it alone. Let things go." She bit her cheek and walked away.

She just kept walking away from me. I didn't know what to say. She looked at a few pictures as she passed and smiled. Then she stopped. She took a deep breath and turned to me.

"I loved you the moment I read about you in that book. I felt a connection with you. I felt your pain. I had hoped that life would get better for you. Then it did. You found her. I was happy, so happy, but a part of me wished that maybe just maybe I would get to take her place. However in my world that's pretty common. The day I woke up in this body I knew it wouldn't happen, I didn't want it to. I didn't want to add to the pain and loss you had been through," she smiled, "I knew that pain. I wasn't about to cause that pain to you. I would prevent that at all cost even if I suffered for my decision. It wouldn't be the first time I sacrificed my happiness to protect someone I cared about. It's a habit I have when it comes to protecting the people I love."

She gave me a small smile. Her eyes were sad and she looked guilty.

"Come around whenever you want Ash, and please let Matera, and Inu know they are more than welcome to come see me." She turned away.

She wrapped her arms around herself and finished setting off towards the bookcase wall. She stepped through and was gone.

She loves me?

Kaori

I relaxed into my office chair. I thought about everything Leto had said, everything Ash had said. I sighed. A part of me will always love Ash in some way. Then I thought of Inu and Apollymi. I hadn't seen Inu since that day. I missed him, but his words hurt me a lot. I would never do those things to anyone. Inu's words hurt, but I still missed him. A knock sounded on the door. I looked up and saw Eduardo.