"Arashi! You look beautiful today!"

I only listened to the same thing he said everyday. Sorata thought he'd gain something with his kind words, but he wouldn't with me. My character wouldn't let me allow such crazy behavior.

"Arigato, Sorata-san," I responded, trying to be polite.

The truth was that this man took my patience to its limit. Sometimes, I asked myself if he really was a Ten no Ryu. He didn't behave like one. He seemed more interested in flirting with me than in saving this city or even his own life.

Making things more difficult, today was one of those days when we had to deal with the Chi no Ryu. And by the decision, or perhaps obstinance, of Sorata I was his fighting companion. I thought that things could not be worse.

"Arashi . . . ."

"Mmmmm?"

I treated him like I wasn't interested, but his guarded silence roused my curiosity; I merely directed my eyes toward him. I saw . . . that look. That tender look pleaded for a kind answer to his words. I had avoided that stare on more than one occasion; that expression was the one that he had when he'd shout to the four winds that, that . . .

"I love you, you know."

Once again, I kept silent and I tried to ignore his words, which by the way, was something very difficult to do. How could I ignore his words, how? They made my heart melt. Oh, curse the fact that according to Kaede's prediction, Sorata was the one who would love me. The cost of believing it was too high, and also . . . Also, his words made me feel . . . . oh, affected.

"You know, right?"

"Good, I . . ."

I kept silent and resumed my long walk to avoid listening to his voice. Sorata followed and soon he was shoulder to shoulder with me. I watched him fleetingly and was surprised to see something in his eyes I'd never noticed after my other rejections; he seemed to have an almost imperceptable brightness, perhaps of hope. Good, I had to admit that Arisugawa was very persistant.

The day had begun to die and the dark mantle of night fought to stay victorious over it. For today, we had finished our difficult task as Ten no Ryu; according to Hinoto, they wouldn't bother us for the next few days. That relieved me at least a little.

At last, we arrived at Ise Shrine; I stared disinterestedly for a moment. Finally, I took my leave so I could enter the shrine, but his hand settled on my arm and turned me to face him; he said my name and I . . . I tried to get out of his hold, although I couldn't no matter how hard I tried; he didn't hurt me, but it was more obvious that he was stronger than I.

"Please," he said to me, "let me prove that love for you overflows in my heart."

His words were a plea for me to give him even a breadcrumb of my affection . . . but I could not, the destiny that awaited me as a Ten no Ryu prevented me from loving anyone. Willingness to fight to the death was enough. I could not put my heart in someone else's hands.

"I'm not interested. Leave me in peace."

No matter how hard I demanded that he let me go it only made him tighten his hold. I was about to release my sword to teach Sorata a lesson when he quickly and firmly pressed his lips to mine in a desperate attempt to gain my affection. What he did shocked me into complete awareness . . . this was my first kiss. I hadn't planned to give it to anyone; instead, Arisugawa stole it from me. Finally, I managed to put some distance between us, though his strong hands still held onto my arms and prevented my escape.

"What is the matter with you, you crazy person? Are you scared?"

xxxx
"Fear . . . is what must have the sky;
It will be invaded . . .
By delirious lovers, by a kiss
By exiled lunatics and prophets."
xxxx

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't speak . . . I didn't want to answer her question because it saddened me to think about that word. She was right; what happened to her happened to the earth. Suddenly, prophets like Hinoto or Kanoe would appear and bring us into death duels to decide the destiny of the city and later, the earth. She was right. Deranged people like Seishirou and the other Chi no Ryu wanted to eliminate all life on this planet. And . . . she was right, love and delirium made me steal a kiss from her . . . Was that fair? Yet this . . . it wasn't possible to be scared. Nevertheless, one thing did frighten me . . .

I didn't understand, so I held onto Arashi; she was the woman I loved and in some ways I was hurting her, but . . . I would've given anything to return to the feeling of having her lips against mine. In fact . . . I pulled the girl back to my chest and held her tightly enough to keep her there, then I lowered my head to steal another kiss from her. Even without her interest, I gave her my whole life and my only love . . . I wanted a response from her.

Arashi managed to escape the prison that my arms had formed to not let her go; her glance reflected certain hatred for me. She hurried and slapped me with great force . . . The sound her hand made against my cheek was heard in my mind; its echo apparently woke me from love's delirium.

I lowered my eyes . . . How could I force her to kiss me?

"I feel that . . . wasn't smart."

I tried to apologize, but it didn't matter; she would never forgive me for what I finished doing to her.

"It's only that my love is so great, it made me . . ."

"As much as you love me? If you did, you wouldn't have done that."

"You don't understand . . . and that's because you don't feel anything for me."

"That's not certain!" was shouted.

I had never seen her so affected; her composure was shaken by her emotions which rarely happened. "What do you mean?" I asked. Her words made me think that I had a chance with her, but . . . I got no answer as she entered the shrine; she didn't say anything, not even to take her leave. I didn't understand and I didn't know, but . . . I followed her inside the shrine and I looked for her . . .

There she was, still before an altar with her eyes fixed on a single point and her face flooded with coldness . . . That coldness protected her emotions and I knew it. It might have been wise, but I didn't like it.

"Arashi . . . . ."

"How do you know that you love me? . . . I do not understand."

I wanted to speak to her but she interrupted me, questioning my feelings. I didn't understand how she could have so many questions when there simply were no answers, just love.

"I just feel it, like my heart vibrates with the truth of it."

"How do you believe that to be?"

"How great? Let me prove my love."

"How?"

I didn't answer her; I approached her small body slowly and subtlely, then stopped. I felt like time ceased as I watched her tenderly. "You're beautiful," I said to her; she merely stared into my eyes and I felt as if she was looking into my soul . . . god, whatever the master.

Finally, I raised my arms to reach her figure and I embraced her . . . I gently pulled her body to mine; I held her with immense affection and tenderness. Also, I closed my eyes to enjoy the magic moment, having her so close to me was too much happiness; I had never dreamed of it.

Suddenly, I was surprised into awareness; Arashi . . . she returned my hug with some fear, perhaps of deception. No, that would never do for her. With joy, I watched as she closed her eyes to let herself take just as I did. Heavens, if it was a dream, then I begged to not wake up.

I sunk my face to her neck and wanted to breathe in her sweet aroma; I also left a small kiss on her earlobe and later whispered to her that I adored . . . Desire made me look for her lips and catch them with my own. It was a new sensation and nothing could compare to the kisses I was taking from her; perhaps it was because she had begun a shy response to me and accepted my lips after all.

I imprisoned her waist with my arms and begun to kiss her with desperation and madness . . . I had always wanted to have her close and once I did, I couldn't let her go. I knew that kissing her would become my vice. When my kisses grew deeper and bold, Arashi asked me to please stop and listen to her.

"Not here, please," she asked; I didn't understand what she was talking about. I didn't understand the difference between kissing her here or in any other place. She saw my confusion, so she looked at the altar and lowered her glance to the floor . . . Then, I understood. I suppose that it wasn't a very good idea to kiss her in a sacred place, I should've known that.

I stood for a moment and didn't say anything; she took the initiative and guided me by my arm to far from that place. We crossed the inside of the shrine until we got to a medium-sized room . . . one moment! . . . it was her room! I was astonished and I watched her curiously; why had she brought me to her room? I didn't understand.

She cast me a fleeting glance over her shoulder and explained that no one would bother us here or rather, we wouldn't offend the kami at their shrine.

I embraced her from behind as I slowly pressed small kisses on her beautiful neck; I couldn't move other than to give her a little more tenderness. I carefully turned her to face me and her eyes fixed on mine.

"I love you," I said to her between countless kisses of true passion. The kisses were long because I didn't know what I'd do when the kissing finished, I didn't know . . .

"How will you do it? How will you prove the love you say you have for me?" she asked me.

The question was a very good one because I wasn't sure of how I'd show my love, either. I stopped my insistant lips for a moment and her eyes stared deeply into mine. "How do you want me to? Please, tell me what you want and I'll do it," I said, putting my hands on her blushing cheeks.

"I don't know, perhaps . . . No, I forget," she tried to say to me, although her desires were overcome by her pride and her reputation of coldness.

I embraced her again, begging her to please tell me what it was that she wanted; I'd have done anything she wanted no matter what it was . . . if she asked me to give my life to her that very moment, it was hers anyway . . . I'd have done it.

"I, it's that . . ." she hesistated, "I . . . want you to make love to me," she finally murmured.

Of all the things that I thought she'd ask of me, I had never imagined that that would be it. She wasn't the Arashi Kishu that I knew; she had never asked for anything like that before.

Why had she asked me to make love to her?

"Arashi, why do you want to do that? I don't want to take advantage of the moment this way, I . . ."

I tried to make her change her mind; it wasn't my style to take advantage of a woman. That was to say, I desired to make her mine more than anything in the world . . . but the fact was that making love to her wasn't what I had meant when I had told her that I'd prove my feelings for her were strong enough.

When I didn't start kissing her again she surprised me with a kiss that begun to rid me of all doubt . . . She truly wanted what she asked for and was speaking very seriously.

"I . . . don't want to die without knowing what it's like . . . to be with somebody . . . loving. I don't want . . ."

Her words were full of sadness. It felt as if destiny was weighing on the priestess . . . Her words didn't please me at all.

"NO," I challenged her, "You're not going to die, do you understand? I decided to give my life in exchange for the life of the woman I love . . . and I will do it."

"I do not want you to do that," she said to me and went deeper in my arms. She became the one who stole a pair of kisses from me.

I kissed her . . . My kisses grew demanding and wild as she gave more of her soft, beautiful lips to me; the knowledge that no one had ever tasted the exquisite flavor of her lips made me incredibly happy.

Also . . . my lips crossed her neck and gave small suctions to her skin which made her moan as though it was more pain than pleasure.

It certainly pleased me to have her timidly return my embrace since I hadn't left her side since becoming a Ten no Ryu.

I asked myself, "Why have you always wanted to protect her? Is it because death doesn't frighten you?"

xxxx
"Fear is what must have the life;
It will be faced . . . .
By solitary prisoners and wizards.
By you animals of judged children."
xxxx

Fear must have had the same life. The city was being devastated by forces wanting to "purify" the planet perhaps, perhaps not only Tokyo . . . Perhaps only luck let the rest of the planet endure less than we did for now. The magical and spiritual abilities that we had only brought death and destruction to the world.

Sometimes between dreams, I'd see the souls of those who had perished because of this battle. I was hopeless. Many of the dead were children who had nothing to do with any of this. They couldn't have imagined that they would die at such a young age.

So . . . fear. No, perhaps I wasn't afraid of death. Life held more fear for me . . . but I feared for the life of the woman I loved . . . if something happened, I, aahh . . . For that reason, I protected her.

"No."

That was the only word I spoke. I didn't want to talk about it anymore; yes, I understood what I had to do in the future, but I wanted to live in the present and love it . . . love it like a madman that night, and tomorrow I would return to worries about life.

I gave a reckless kiss to my beautiful priestess who had questioned me about my acceptance of death. Anxious, I brought my desperate hands, pressed them against her body, and begun to caress her beautiful silhouette; that sensation made Arashi close her luminious eyes. She enjoyed it as much as I . . . and that made me happy.

The heat grew beyond my ability to support, so I placed my hands on both sides of the girl. At this, she opened her eyes with surprise . . . they were peaceful and she watched me with new color in her cheeks as I begun to explore her feminine form . . . for me, this was paradise. I had her body only, only for me . . . The reality of having her was indescribable.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was nervous, confused. Sorata crossed my body with his hands, enjoying it, and I . . . only let myself enjoy his smooth, ardent caresses. I had never felt such sensations; he was so new, so pleasing, so much . . . that my legs didn't support my weight and they couldn't keep me standing; I begun to collapse, but Sorata held me in his strong arms. He kissed me, and our lips looked for each other's very insistantly, with passion, desperation. I could only accept his lips, allowed them no matter what, and moved us further into my room.

I felt as if forces had robbed me of strength even as they maintained my weakened body; he took me in his arms, lowering me onto my futon. I laid back and felt well taken care of as he smoothly lowered his heavy, manly body onto mine. Aaahhh, the heat he lavished on me was so exquisite. His crazy hands caressed my body, that time with more desperation and force as he pressed them against my breasts. That touch made me moan with joy . . . He smiled and tangled his hands into my hair, shortly after guiding them back over my body.

One hand stopped . . . took my school blouse and removed it hastily so that my breasts were only covered by a small, embroidered brassiere. My blush embarrassed me as his eyes focused on that part of my body, watching it fixedly. Sorata lowered his head to my chest and there he rested it on my breasts; with both eyes closed, the boy seemed to be listening to my gentle heartbeat and breathing my perfume . . . he seemed so calm, so tender, his expression filled with peace.

"Sorata-san," was whispered in answer.

He embraced me and brought his hands to my back, caressing it smoothly. One hand slid into the brassiere and with a movement he unfastened and removed it; then, he quickly slid his hands down to my skirt's opening, slowly lowered it, and removed my skirt completely. There in his arms I was almost totally naked as he discovered my most intimate secret . . . . my nudity.

"You're beautiful," he said, his eyes completely transfixed by what he saw.

Only, he watched me steadily, without morbidity, nor lust . . . just a little tenderness with a touch of eroticism.

I didn't understand him very well because I was shamed by the situation; I used my arms in an attempt to conceal my body, though I sincerely doubted that it worked.

"I cannot follow you. I think that . . . it's too much for me, I'm not ready for this," I told him.

He seemed to not understand, or rather not accept my excuses. Now that Sorata had retaken his senses, he continued despite my small pleas. To tell the truth, I didn't doubt the fact that he didn't stop meant that he was making his pleas in return.

xxxx
"Before death, allow love in life,
Until the sky . . . . falls by us,
Before death, allow love in life,
Until the sun . . . . escapes with the moon."
xxxx

"Please, Arashi," he said to me, "let me make love to you without rest, even if the sky falls from our sin. That, more than anything will calm the fire that burns my feelings and my heart. Let my only desire before the end of my destiny . . . be fulfilled."

Those words full of tenderness, sincerity . . . love, made me want to put aside my excuses at that moment. I had to reject him and not follow more, but . . .

He held me in his arms and kissed me, a tender act that was overcome by a wave of passion that consumed us both.

My god of the thunderclap begun to cross my body with his lips, savoring each corner . . . my hair, lips, hands . . . my breasts; I loved his touch and felt like a feast before him. I was pleased to see his face flooded with pleasure, but I didn't exactly understand why he wished to make me as happy as he did with me?

Sorata ran his hands over the curves of my body, enjoying what he found. When he got to my waist, his fingers slid into my panties, and I felt him pull them off smoothly so he could discover all of me . . .

His eyes examined me from feet to head; his stare was graceful and a goofy smile crossed his face. His grin made me smile, too, and let me forget my shame.

Without taking his eyes from my naked body, Sorata took his clothes off: trousers, shirt, tennis shoes, boxers . . . everything, so he could be as free of clothing as I. Now, I was the one who watched with attention and curiosity. That moment, I thought "He's . . . heavens, he is perfect."

We were still for awhile as we tried to learn each other's bodies. Emotion grew until our cheeks were covered with blushes; we lowered our glances onto the ground. His modesty, even at that point, was sweet and good.

"I'm cold."

Not even I knew why I said that. I suppose that I wanted him to embrace me, but didn't have the courage to tell him so. My companion smiled slightly at me, then gently pulled me into his arms . . . The feel of our naked bodies pressed together and the warm refuge of his flesh made the special feelings within me grow. I couldn't help myself and rested my head on Sorata's chest. He'd managed to slip the mask from the few feelings my heart ever kept . . . all were by him and for him.

The imposing boy didn't hold back any more; I laid back on my futon and felt him move down immediately so he could learn the last secrets of my sex. He didn't even give me time to plea for modesty. Without warning, first one, then another huge wave of pleasure attacked me. It was unlike anything I had ever felt before.

In truth, I was enjoying the feel of his lips against my smooth skin since his tongue was moving downward so that he could slide it inside my . . . I wanted more, it was so wonderful.

Sorata's tongue slipped inside me very instinctively, time and time again at a delirious rate and without tire. All the opposite, he seemed to draw strength from the forces growing in my body.

My moans were fierce and strong, so he left the weakened opening of my sex briefly, feeling the desire that electified the entire room. I brought my hands up so I could entangle them in my dark hair and I tried to resist the growing pleasure, tried to keep from completely overflowing into Sorata. And with my eyes closed, I looked for something to thank for Sorata and the happy things he was doing to me.

When the sensations got to the point of no control, I begun crying out; my pupils contracted and I could only arch my back in an attempt to keep Sorata's lips on me.

I breathed hastily, with my hands tightening on the futon; Sorata brought his face up to mine . . . and kissed me slowly, deeply. His kiss relaxed us both and readied me for what would happen later.

I saw Arashi close her pretty eyes, gradually calming down in those moments. She embraced me with tenderness, yet at the same time a lot of strength; she didn't want it to be over. No, I couldn't stop pleasuring her peaceful form . . . I desired more of her.

I brought my head back down to her smooth breasts and pressed my lips onto them; I needed to delight her body, first one breast then the other, again and again, so . . . .

"It tilts?" she asked, seeing my impatience for her.

Arashi and I looked at my crotch and I realized that she'd been asking about me. My need for her was urgent and I was more than ready to get to our point of greatest pleasure.

Arashi's eyes held both shyness and worry. I kissed her right cheek, letting her know that the answer to her question was yes.

"You'll split me in two if you put all that in me," she said, blushing hotly. Perhaps she was scared of pain, after all.

I remarked, "Oh, nee-chan . . . . Love hurts!" and gave her a teasing smile that didn't really do much to reassure my beloved, who made a gesture of annoyance toward me. The only thing that I could do to calm her was to give her a calm kiss, full of sincerity and affection for her.

"I made a promise. I will never make a woman cry."

Confession: she seemed to watch me with sadness and her anger had vanished completely. Then, I lowered myself into the arms that she wrapped around me. I felt her trying to be even closer to me than I was to her. She kissed my lips, cheeks, eyes, forehead, over and over again. Those tokens of affection only made her grasp me tighter and hold me closer as if that was the only thing that she had ever wanted.

"Sorata-san, what is this that I feel in my heart? These feelings make me so hopeless that I want to run and flee without knowing what they are. What are these emotions inside me? They're something that I don't understand, I don't understand . . . I cannot explain."

"Perhaps after tonight, you'll know the answer."

Her confusion made her watch me curiously. And I wasn't able to delay my love and desire for her any more. I took her right hand to kiss each of her fingers, with deep passion, deep desire . . . with deep tenderness.

While I moved up her slim arm, I admired her face as it gained an expression of pleasure and gentleness.

When I got to her neck, I started kissing her madly, the caress of my lips coaxing moan after moan from Arashi. Finally, we pressed our hungry lips together. She surprised me by opening my mouth with her tongue, letting me explore her mouth with my tongue, both touched and looked for very insistantly. Her passionate response made me take my young love tightly by the waist.

With care, she parted her legs, opening up to me so that we could start to couple our bodies.

I watched her face as I got closer and my member arrived at her woman's entrance. I couldn't wait for more, so I slid the tip of my thorn inside her as she parted her lips and tried to moan . . . . Moans were cut off and drowned by the fierce pleasure that intensified. I sighed deeply as I felt the touch of her wet inner skin.

She was so exciting and really beautiful. As I first entered her, I wanted to take it slow and enjoy every inch, but my need for her grew to the point that my thrust inside her grew stronger and faster.

xxxx

"Death . . . you will embrace . . .
Done demons meet by a dream,K
Done bodies are dust without justice."
xxxx

And then, I felt like I'd gotten to Arashi's limit. I thought that I couldn't go any deeper inside her, so I pushed against her forcefully. That was a mistake because she cried out in pain which shocked me from my delirium. She'd been so sweet that I'd forgotten that this was her first time, too . . . She was innocent and I'd hurt her by not watching my strength.

I felt awful, like I wasn't any better than a Chi no Ryu, only concerned with releasing the earth, without stopping to think about the pain they caused or the innocent people they killed. I was exactly like them. I only thought about myself and not about the pain I'd inflicted on the woman I love. My dreams of having her were all that had mattered, making me a demon who destroyed her inner body.

I watched a few tears cross her cheeks and saw more unshed tears cling to her eyes. I didn't want to watch them slip down, but . . . . it was necessary, after all. What I saw as I stared down at her crotch wasn't very reassuring; our sexes were dyed red with blood . . . . her blood.

Arashi didn't say anything, she only repressed her pain completely, not wanting to show her emotions, thus was she.

She embraced me tightly while she closed her eyes and tried to calm her pain; countless times I apologized for hurting her. I had never hurt a woman before, I'd sworn to never do it. I was practically her fiance. Now, I had hurt the only woman in my life that I'd ever loved, my dear Arashi . . .

But as a comfort, the girl held me tight and tried to control her pain with quick breaths.

"You have the reason why . . . . love hurts."

I could hardly hear her. Arashi's voice was weak. She was only human after all, so her voice was tired and pained.

What she had said disturbed me. She'd not only accepted the pain and forgiven me for hurting her, she also said the word "love" . . . the way she had said it and what I'd felt when hearing her . . . . . "Is it possible that you love me, Arashi?"

"You know, Sorata-san. This pain was inevitable, but . . . . you have also made me very happy. Pain is the price I have to pay for this happiness. I only want you to keep making me feel this way, make me feel wanted, calm, without having to think. Although, even this one night, I am a Ten no Ryu."

"Arashi."

What she'd said cut like a two-edged dagger. My soul was relieved by her words that partially meant she wanted me by her side this way, but she'd also been talking about the enormous sadness that she'd kept in her heart: fear of being a Ten no Ryu along with everything it represented, fear of feeling, and fear of not feeling at all.

But although the pain she felt was normal when making love for the first time, that didn't mean she had to only feel pain; from that moment on, I wanted her body to only be flooded with pleasure.

So I kissed her again, tasting her tired lips, giving her all of my love and affection in that gentle touch while my manliness nailed deeper inside her.

I thrust inside her desperately time and time again and tried to hurt her as little as possible. I doubt that I did, though; I felt her tremble in my arms a couple of times. It could've been pain, or the cold night, or the new sensations of having me within her.

There were moments when I saw her hands tighten on the blankets; shortly after, she gave a very deep sigh of relief. Her pain had almost stopped completely so that she was more used to my body.

Blessed was that moment. I didn't have to worry about any more pain or it didn't matter enough to bother her. She gave me a deep, desperate kiss, demanding more of my frantic attempts to reach the limits of her body.

I was even more pleased when she begun to move with my thrusts into her and out of her. I'd never forget those moments . . . as she took my head and brought me down to her smooth breasts; when my large hands clasped her slender waist; when I tenderly devoured her breasts and tried to sate my desire for them. I felt very near, yet very far from being completely satisfied.

"Aaahhh, aaahhh, Sorata!"

Her moans were loud enough to fill the room which pleased and excited me more and more. Her breasts were left in peace for a moment so I could watch her and I noticed that her gaze held affection for me. Her eyes shone with emotion rather than the coldness she'd always carried since I knew her.

"I'll never, never stop loving you, my dear Arashi . . . . Ten no Ryu. Even when I die, my feelings will live on . . . in you."

"Sorata," she whispered, her voice a blend of joy and sorrow at my words.

We embraced each other forcefully. I held myself on the verge of a thrust inward, then sunk my face between her breasts. Each one was kissed smoothly and then was left alone.

I raised myself up cautiously and got lost in Arashi's wide eyes. Her cheeks were burning red with passion. Constantly, the pleasure grew unbearable and I was forced to put my hands further under my woman's hips.

My penetrations, entering and leaving her, were insistant in their rhythm. We were both moaning with the strain and joy of what we were doing, moaning so much that mine and hers were heard and confused with each other's. Although I entered her easily, her vagina begun to grip my thorn tightly. I heard her heavy breathing made more difficult by the whimpers she released.

The whole time, I kept telling her "I love you, I love you, I love you."

Suddenly, the girl tightened her embrace. A series of spasms attacked her from the inside and I felt her tremble under my body.

Exhausted, she collapsed into my arms, breathing hurried. I hadn't even gotten to my climax yet, so I kept thrusting into her with enough force to make her have even more orgasms. During this, I kissed her desperately. I loved watching her come.

Moments later, I felt that she couldn't take any more, so I whispered to her . . . .

"Arashi, my love, please let me come inside you."

The only answer I got from her was a long, furtive kiss and a slightly weak, tired embrace. Our cheeks were pressed close while Arashi's soft hands slid up my back, tickling and soothing me with her touch.

I pushed inside her slowly a few more times and soon . . . I overflowed within her, I couldn't control the pressures any more and I released my semen into her.

Now, we were both exhausted. My body collapsed onto my woman's fragile figure and our mouths devoured each other. I stayed within her, moved slowly and weakly, and made her release one last time, then finally relax.

Her hands played with my messy hair for awhile while we kissed each other's faces. I didn't want to leave her, so I pulled out slowly and laid down beside her. My arms wrapped around her as I covered us both with a blanket.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We stayed silent for awhile, so I laid my forehead on my man's chest; I thought that we'd go to sleep immediately due to our fatigue, but that wasn't to be.

I was at war with myself over what I'd expected and believed. I had just given myself to one of the most powerful Ten no Ryu, and also . . . I'd given more than just my body, though I enjoyed that very much, but I had to confess that today my heart was filled with joy and happiness. I only felt that way when I was with Sorata, and . . . . now more than ever.

"What are you feeling?" he asked. Sorata-san had told me earlier that I would be able to answer his question by the end of the night. I asked myself if I could perhaps tell him . . . . I love you, Sorata Arisugawa, but I couldn't say it. He gazed at me as I tried to speak.

I was surprised and blushing as he watched me tenderly. That tenderness sometimes made me feel almost hopeless because it made my heart melt with . . . . . love.

My eyes closed little by little as I saw him slowly bring his body close to me, lower his head down, and press his lips against mine again.

He said to me, "I love you."

My eyes closed as he hugged me. I thought that the others would be very surprised to see us acting like a pair of newlyweds. Why did I think that? Moments ago, I'd decided that I wanted to always be at Sorata's side. While it wasn't much, it was all I needed in life.

The expression on his face grew serious. I thought that he'd at least gotten upset and it reflected in his gaze . . . . .

xxxx
"Before death, allow love in life.
Until the sun . . . . escapes with the moon . . . .
Until the sun . . . . escapes with the moon . . . ."
xxxx

"Before death, let me love you for more than just one day. As for what we did, it doesn't matter if the sky falls from our sin . . . Until the sun and the moon escape together in an eclipse . . . . let my love be for more than just one night, let it be eternal."

He said that to me and looked more serious than I'd ever seen him before. I smiled at him. I'd forgotten that even though he was very lively, he was cheerful and he made jokes, when he had to be serious, he was more than anyone. He was serious about the things that truly deserved it and what was important to him.

"It's true, this will never end . . . . or be ended."

What I said made him smile widely; he was well aware of the fact that my words were an answer of yes to his earlier questions. I kissed him, and begun to believe that I was becoming obsessed with feeling my lips pressed to his.

We separated slightly, just a few millimeters, and even with closed eyes and peace reflected on his face, he said to me:

"I even chose my destiny before knowing what it was. I will protect you, I'll give my life for the life of the woman who owns me, and you're well aware of the fact that you're that woman, Arashi."

He focused on me when he finished speaking which delayed my response to him. He saw the ironic expression on my face; I smiled slightly at him when he asked me why.

"I . . . . . will not let you act like such a madman."

After listening to my words, he kissed me and said an annoying thing very sweetly. He said that what I thought about it absolutely didn't matter to him and when it came to that subject he'd already made his choice.

To this, I said something similar to him, that I had made a choice as well, but he interrupted me, asking me what it was before I could say. My response was:

"I choose to overcome the fears that eat away at my soul . . . . . Fear of my feelings for you and fear of living without you. Nothing else frightens me."

He hugged me and watched with surprise when I gave him a radiant smile, filled with great happiness and a strange affection.

"The feelings you have for me?" he stressed, wanting to know what I meant by that.

"Sorata . . . I will also give my life for yours and it doesn't matter to me what you think about it. You're not the only one who can choose to die for the one you love, because I . . . . . . will also protect you always, because I . . . ."

"Arashi, you . . ." he interrupted when he saw a pair of tears slide down my cheeks.

"Ai shiteru."

I couldn't let him finish, so I finally said the words that I'd always wanted to say. I kissed him as he embraced me; I wanted to fill his heart with strength and emotion . . . for me, for us.

Now he sheltered me in his arms until the arrival of daylight, until the purpose of our lives begun again . . . . . After fulfilling our destiny, I knew we'd be together, him and I in the heavens . . . . for eternity.

xxxx
"FEAR
Fear of life
Fear of death
Fear of living without the person who loves me
Fear of hurting those who we love
Fear of experiencing feelings like love
Fear of the same life"
xxxx