Impending Devotion

Chapter Six

"Even in death... We shall not part..."

Those were the few words that Takabayashi said which sent shivers down my spine.

Could he possibly be one of those --...

No... He isn't! Is he?

I laugh nervously at Takabayashi and try to lessen the tension, "Quit kidding around Takabayashi-kun! You're scaring me!"

But his expression doesn't faze, and he asks me seriously, "What if I'm not 'kidding around'? What if what I said was true?"

"Takabayashi-kun?"

"I'm serious about you Yuiko." he says with a straight face that makes my heart skip a beat, but also tense up in the process. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

I stop and stare at Takabayashi for a short while and mumble my way into the conversation, "W-Well, you are a nice guy, and you're handsome and all..."

"I'm not your type?" he cuts me.

My eyes then widened as I look him in the eyes to say, "No! You're mistaken! ... It's just..."

"Are you scared?" he asks, and I pause for a while before nodding once, "I promise I'll treat you right! And I won't let anyone harm you!"

"I know..." I smile to the side.

Takabayashi then looks concerned, "So? What's your answer?"

I think long and hard before looking into his eyes while I answer him, "Well... I-I do love you... S-So..."

"Is that a yes?" he cuts me again, this time, with a willful smile. And I nod twice in approval with a shy smile. He then lights up, where his smile was too bright that it was blinding. "Alright!" he shouts as he then pounces on me to give me a bear hug, "I love you, Yuiko! I'll treasure you and never make you want to break up with me!"

"I am thankful that you love me so much... But... It's just sad that everyone will ignore me..."

He scratches his head in embarrassment and apologizes, "I'm sorry, I'll tell them that you're okay now..."

"Thank you Takabayashi-kun..." I smile at him.

"Call me Kei."

I was shocked to his sudden request and I tense up as I try to say his name, "K-... Kei....-k-kun..."

"One more... Properly this time..."

"K-Kei-kun..."

He snickers at me, "That's good enough for me..." he then asks, "Yuiko? C-Can I kiss you again?"

I gulp in nervousness but look to the side and peek at him in embarrassment, "Y-You c-can..."

He then places a hand on my cheek as he then stares into my eyes and kisses me passionately. After the kiss, he asked, "So? Can you live with me?"

"I-I'm sorry Takabayashi-kun, but I can't leave the house all alone. Even though I live in an apartment with my dad, I still can't leave it alone because he comes home late and I do all the chores. And my dad might worry over me..."

I explained so much that when I looked over at Takabayashi, he looks as if he's sulking. "Are you mad that I can't live with you?"

"No. It's not that, I can understand you not wanting to leave your dad and the place... It's just that... I told you to call me by my first name!"

He was sulking over that?

"Oh! I'm sorry... K-Kei-kun..."

"I know that it'll take some getting used to, but I still want you to call me by my given name."