Love conquers age

[usagi_no_kami]

But with Kei-chan still going after Yuko and now Maki in the picture... this could end very badly.

[cool_kickin_dude]

A few days later, I got a phone call from Kaori, telling me to meet up with her at the TV station. I had told her I would be there in a few minutes. After what had happened over the past few days with my situation with Gocchin, I was glad to have things finally back to normal.

Of course, how things change in a heartbeat..

Nothing out of the ordinary happened, I guess you can say that I finally got a little peace for the first time before I met Yuko. To be honest, I don't know what would happen if I hadn't met up with Yuko and her friends.

I met Kaori at the TV station as she led me inside. That was when I forgot to bring my disguise with me. I was about to run back outside before she stopped me.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"I forgot to bring my disguise with me," I answered.

"Which one?"

"Nothing really, just a hat and some shades."

"Don't worry," she smiled, "you won't need one anymore." She had told the producers about me, telling them like I was one of the girls brother's or something along that matter. Of course, both myself and the producers can tell that I'm not Japanese.

"So, what is it?" I asked.

"Oh, I was wondering if you wanted to go out today," she said.

Going out with someone..that's the same thing that got me in trouble last time.

"Well..," I tried to explain. "I'm actually.."

"Busy?" she asked.

"Not that, it's just that I'm a little cautious over what happened."

"Oh, you mean Maki?"

"Exactly."

"Don't worry, we'll just have a little brunch. Nothing else."

I have to tell you, I really wanted to trust Kaori. I knew she would never do anything to me. Besides, I knew she wanted to go out with me, because of the stories she wanted to tell me a few days earlier.

"Well, all right," I said. "Guess one brunch can't hurt anybody, right?"

"Of course not," Kaori smiled. "Let's go."

We got on a bus and we sat down and started talking for a while. I forgot to ask her where we were going, but I don't think it would seem to matter. Besides, nothing bad could go wrong, right?

Except forgetting to call Yuko, of course. I promised her I would call her, and it just finally hit me. Might as well leave her a message.

Gone out with Kaori. Call back later.

Again, this is Kaori we're talking about. Besides, Yuko never went out with Kaori, right?

[cool_kickin_dude]

It took a little more than a half hour before the bus stopped at where Kaori wanted to have her brunch. I couldn't remember the name of the place to save my life, but at least I could remember the food. There was a buffet that had every type of Japanese food imaginable.

I had a feeling that Kaori didn't want to take me to bruch, just to eat. I had a feeling that she was going to tell me something that she couldn't tell me a couple of days earlier. I began to wonder if I was wrong all along.

Maybe Kaori and Yuko did date, but I forgave Yuko for everything she's done.

After all, she forgave me for what happened the night before.

We ordered a couple of teas and sat down. That was when Kaori hit me with more bad news. "You realize you have no idea what you're doing, do you?" she asked.

"I don't think so," I said.

"I thought so," she said. "Let me tell you a few things about what happened."

"But..."

"First, me and Yuko didn't go out together. In fact, the only person who was serious with Yuko was Kei-chan."

"What about Mari?"

"To be honest, I thought they were a couple for a while, before Mari told me otherwise."

"I hate to tell you, but I forgave her."

"You mean, you forgave Yuko for not telling you?"

"Of course, I'm in love with her."

Kaori gave me a look that was both puzzling and a little surprised. To me, it looked like she didn't want me to say what I just said. She smiled and put her hand over mine. "She really is lucky to have someone like you," she said. "She's lucky that you forgave her for what happened."

"There's nothing that I would do for her," I said.

"You would be surprised," she smiled.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

That was when my phone rang. It was Yuko, demanding her attention to me. "Hello," I answered, "did you get my message?"

"Where are you?" Yuko asked.

"Well.." I looked around but eventually gave the phone to Kaori. She gave Yuko directions on where we were. She gave me the phone, knowing that I was about to face Yuko's wrath.

"You don't even know where you are?" Yuko asked.

"Actually, no," I answered.

"You really are something..," she groaned.

"Sorry, but why don't you join us?"

"I will, but it will cost you."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll see." That was when she hung up. I looked at Kaori and shook her head. "Looks like you're right," I said.

"Told you so," she said as she drank her tea.

[cool_kickin_dude]

A few minutes later, I saw a taxi pull up. I knew that it could be Yuko, wanting to get her hands on me. Before I could stand up, I saw that Yuko had a friend of hers come with her as well. She was a litle shorter than Kaori, but she almost had the same brown hair as Yuko's. "So, you must be Yuko's boyfriend?" she asked.

"That would be me," I said.

"Too bad, you're not getting him," Yuko said.

"Aww..just for a few minutes?" Yuko's friend asked.

"Excuse me," I said, "but, are you Inaba?"

"How did you know?" Inaba asked.

"I just know that Yuko didn't want to see you a few days ago," I said.

"I would have come over last night, but I would have a feeling Yuko wouldn't be here," Inaba said.

"I know," Yuko smirked, "because I was with him.

"Why didn't you tell me you had a boyfriend?" Inaba asked Yuko.

"Because you wouldn't believe her," I told Inaba.

"Actually, I still can't believe it," Inaba replied.

"Maybe I should kiss her in front of everybody," I said.

"Baka," Yuko said, "I wouldn't try it if I were you."

"What are you going to do?" I asked, "Beat me up?"

"After not telling me you were going with Kaori," Yuko said. "You deserve to get beat up."

"But we were having brunch," I explained.

"Leave him alone Yuko," Kaori said, "you can't have him all the time."

What Kaori said was true. The past few days, I've been almost glued to Yuko since my tryst with Maki and to be honest, I don't think she really let me go. Maybe it would be better if she put me in handcuffs and scream to the world that we are a couple.

"Why don't I take him out and have him meet everyone else?" Inaba asked. "It will only take a few hours."

"You can't wait to have him, can you?" Yuko asked.

"She's right," I said. "I haven't met everyone else."

Yuko looked at me, wanting to strangle me in front of everyone. It wouldn't matter if I turned blue from the strangling, I would still love her no matter what. Instead, she smiled and knocked me on the head. that almost equals a slap on the wrist in her world.

"I'll come and pick you up tomorrow," Inaba said, before handing her number to me. She began to leave as Yuko gave me a look, before winking to me and smiling. I looked at Kaori and just shook my head. She couldn't understand it either, but I believe she was agreeing with what I was saying.

Wonder what will happen tomorrow? I wonder if everybody else will accept me and Yuko. But another question comes to mind:Does love also conquer other barriers besides age?

[glcorps2002]

But another question comes to mind:Does love also conquer other barriers besides age?

That is a very thought provoking question.

[cool_kickin_dude]

The next morning, I wanted to wait outside the apartment, so Inaba wouldn't be waiting for me. Turns out, that she got there earlier than I had expected. She led me inside a taxi as we made our way to another part of the city. This time, we would be going somewhere to do a show.

"What are we supposed to be doing?" I asked.

"Well, it's just us meeting up with Morning Musume," Inaba answered. "They've been wanting to know more about you."

"I know that, but do you realize what they're doing?"

"Don't worry, I told the producers you're one of the guest's friends."

What happened was that Inaba had done a show with them last week and one of the guests had stated that they had met up with someone who almost looked like a relative. Long story short, Inaba said some words about me and that's how we got there.

The taxi stopped over to a park, almost familiar to where I first met Kei. What it was in reality, was part of a zoo. As soon as I got out of the car, I first met Miki who was walking towards me at a frantic pace.

"So, you're the guy that's courting Yuko, right?" she asked.

"Well, yes," I said. "I am dating her."

"Good choice," Miki smiled.

"Hello!" a voice yelled from afar. I looked up and it was Makoto, Yossie's girlfriend. The same one that I told Yossie to go ahead with that night at the movies. She ran over and nearly plowed me over as Miki gave both of us her evil glare.

"I hope you know what you did," Miki told me.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Thanks to you, that's all she's been talking about," Miki explained about Makoto. "You basically got her and Yossie all lovey-dovey."

"Sorry," I said, "but I believe that was the right thing to do."

"You also took her from me too," she glared.

"Leave him alone." I looked up and saw Yossie who pulled Makoto off of me. "You know you got Aya, don't you?" she asked Miki.

"No I don't," Miki said, "leave her out of it."

"Don't worry," Yossie told me, "she likes Aya, but can't tell herself that."

"If he ever does, I'll beat him up," Miki said.

"Excuse me, but can I borrow him for a minute?" There was a black haired girl that saw all of this happened and walked toward me.

"Don't worry," Yossie said. "I'll take care of Miki, you go with Kamei-chan."

I went with Kamei inside the zoo as we looked at some of the animals. "So, are you dating Yuko?" she asked.

"I am," I said.

"Good, then maybe you can help me."

"What is it Kamei-chan?"

"Just Eri is fine. You see, I've been wanting to go out with this girl for awhile and I haven't been able to tell her that. That's why I need your help."

"Sure, who is she?"

"She's my friend Sayumi."

Before I could say anything else, I saw a girl who ran up to me and Eri and was wondering who that was with her. "Who's that?" she asked Eri.

"Oh, that's Yuko's boyfriend," Eri said.

"Really?" the girl asked. "Kawaii!"

"Who are you?" I asked.

"I'm Sayu," she said.

I looked at Eri and asked if we could be alone for a few minutes. She left, hoping that I could get Sayu to like Eri more than a friend. Unfortunately, Sayu gave me a look, saying that she couldn't tell Eri either.

Time for another matchmaking account.

[cool_kickin_dude]

"Can I ask you something?" Sayu asked.

"I think I already know," I said. "Why don't you ask her out?"

"Well..," Sayu said, "that's the problem."

"Hang on." I took Sayu's hand and ran toward Eri, who quickly saw me. She was already ecstatic, even though I haven't said anything to her yet. I took her hand and put it with Sayu's and hoped that would work out instead of saying anything else.

"Eric.." Sayu said.

"Eric?" I asked.

"Sayu always calls me that," Eri said.

"Oh, ok." I began to walk away, knowing that I had already done my good deed for the day. Before I could get away from them, they caught me from behind and kissed me on both cheeks. "Arigatou!" they both said.

"I guess you're now together, right?" I asked.

"Yep, and we're never leaving each other," Eri said.

"Well, I better get going. Yuko's probably waiting for me."

"Why is that?"

"I'm dating her now."

"Speaking of which, isn't her birthday tomorrow?" Sayu asked.

"I almost forgot!" I began to ran toward the front of the park as Inaba looked on. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I gotta get Yuko something." I didn't want to say the word 'birthday' in front of everyone, knowing I would probably get in trouble.

"Well, why don't you ride with me?" someone asked from behind me.

I turned around and saw Mari, apparently hearing every word I said. "Something for her birthday, right?" she asked.

I just simply nodded.

"Let's get going then," Mari replied.

We hailed a taxi and began to go to every jewerly store in town. During the ride, I had gotten a text message on my phone:

I haven't forgot about last night. You were terrific.

Uh-oh...

I decided to call the one person that got me into this and who would help me out.

"Hello? I need you to come over, meet me around 7:30."

"Who did you call?" Mari asked me after I hung up my phone.

"I called Kei-chan," I answered.

"Do you know what you're doing?"

"Yep. I forgave her from the start."

"Then why did you call her just now?"

"Something happened the other night."

"What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you later."

Lucklily, the taxi made it to the jewerly stop without Mari asking me another question. I hated to leave her hanging like that, but I needed to do that for the time being. I already told Yuko about what happened with me and Gocchin the night before, but I couldn't tell Mari for the time being.

Several hour later...

"Hi, can I come in?" Kei asked.

"Sure." I let Kei inside my apartment as she went to the couch and sat down. I sat down beside her and began to tell her the reason why she was here with me tonight.

"I need your help," I said.

"Is it about Gocchin?" Kei asked.

"How did you know?"

"Yuko told me today."

[JFC]

Dun dun DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!

[cool_kickin_dude]

"But at least she forgave me," I said.

"I thought you didn't want to forgive me," Kei replied.

"What are you talking about?"

"About me and Yuko going out."

"I have no problems with it at all."

"Then why did you ask me to come here?"

"Well..I'm afraid Maki's going to do something."

I showed Kei the message that was on my phone and she nodded. "Has she called you since then?" she asked.

"No," I answered. "I'm actually glad."

"Well, I'll talk to her," Kei said. "Hopefully, I can get her off your back for a while."

"There's just one problem.." I said.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I..kinda like her."

"I see what you mean. I was that way with Yuko as well."

"What was it like?"

"Well.." That was when her phone rang. It turned out to be Nacchi, wanting Kei to go out with her tonight. "I'll tell you all about it soon," Kei said after hanging up.

"Didn't you get Yuko something?" I asked.

"For her birthday?" Kei asked. "Of course I did. She'll never let it down if I forgot about it. Sometimes I wonder if she ever wants birthdays at all."

A few minutes after Kei left, I headed out for Yuko's apartment. I had already got her something from the jewerly store and was rushing towards her house to give it to her. I looked and saw that Yuko's house was already lit up. Thinking somebody else was already in the house, I decided to go ahead and knock on the door.

What I saw in those few seconds, just instantly took my breath away. There was Yuko, already in a black dress. It appeared that she had been waiting for me all along. I gave my present to her, which she opened to reveal a gold necklace. The look on her face explained everything.

"It's beautiful," she said. "It's like you knew what I wanted all along."

"You mean besides me?" I asked.

"You know what I mean..besides, having you for my birthday is just as good."

"Happy birthday Yuko."

"Thank you. I bet you Gottsuan can't kiss you like this."

She was right too. Not only her tonuge was in my mouth, it also seemed to get rid of the taste that Gottsuan's kiss took a hold of me a few days earlier. That was when I shut the front door, and well..I'll leave it here.

It was a very god birthday for Yuko indeed, for the both of us. I could only imagine how our anniversary would be like.

[cool_kickin_dude]

A few days later, I was back in my apartment. Nothing much happened since, except going to Yuko's play, to which she suggested that I go. My thoughts have turned back toward the people I had been in contact with:Yuko and Kei, Yossie and Makoto, Eri and Sayumi. The same people that I have gotten them to date each other, thanks to me.

But there was still someone else that I was aware of: Gottsan

I'm not scared of her, it's just the fact of telling her that I love Yuko is the basis of it. After what had happened to us weeks earlier, it's a wonder that she hasn't come to the house. At least Kei-chan knows that me and Yuko are dating and gave us our blessing.

Of course, there have been a few things that had been going on since that time. Two major things exactly and both have to do with pregnancies and marriages. I had read in the paper that Tsuji was already pregnant and there was talk already that she would be kicked out. I certainly wouldn't hope so, besides, I never got a chance to meet her yet.

The other one was the one I found out this morning. I turned on the TV and heard the news: Kaori was now pregnant and was getting married to one of Tsunku's old friends which was in a band long ago. That got me to really start worrying.

The truth is, Kaori is like a sister to me. She was the first person I stareted watching when she was in Morning Musume and the first graduation I ever watched. I remember the girls made her a clock as a graduation present. Maybe one day, I'll see if it's still at her house, if she invites me over.

I don't want her to leave fully, it's like a part of me already is gone.

"Can we come in?" someone knocking at my door asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Huh? Oh, sure." I went to the door, unlocked it, and in stepped Nacchi and Mari. They had already gotten the morning paper, hearing about the good news. "Did you read the paper?" Mari asked me.

"Just saw it on television," I answered.

"What do you think?" Nacchi asked.

"Well.." What could I say? I couldn't say anything to hurt their feelings, even though I couldn't tell them about how I feel. "I'm as surprised as you guys are."

"Aren't you happy for her?" Nacchi asked.

"I would be," Mari said. "I'm almost jealous of her."

"I guess so," I said. "To be honest, I don't know what to say."

"I bet Yuko wants to marry you right now," Mari laughed.

"Well, I got my own problems," I said.

"What's wrong?" Nacchi asked. "Are you and Yuko arguing?"

"Not that. It's just that..I like Kaori."

"Everybody likes Kaori. She's sweet and nice to everybody."

"I mean, she's like a friend to me."

"She's like that to everybody."

"Wait," Mari replied. "You have a crush on Kaori?"

"Not that," I said. "I just hate to see her go, that's all."

"Don't worry," Nacchi said. "I believe she'll still be performing after she has the baby."

"Speaking of crushes, someone has a big crush on me."

"Who is it?"

"Gottsan."

"You mean Gocchin has a crush on you?" Mari asked.

"More than a crush I believe," I said.

[JFC]

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

Letting Nacchi and Mari in on the "secret"? Hopefully they'll have some advice.

[glcorps2002]

Lucky guy. Well, maybe if they can work it out like in your other story then he's lucky.

[cool_kickin_dude]

"What do you mean?" Nacchi asked.

"Well she kissed me," I explained, "but the problem is that I liked it."

"Wonder why she would do that.."

"You guys went to the movies a couple of weeks ago, right?" Mari asked me.

"That's when I thought she was going out with Yossie," I explained.

"By the way, Yossie wanted to thank you for getting her and Mako-chan together."

"Has Gottsan called you recently?" Nacchi asked me.

I showed the two the text message I got days earlier. Funny that it was still there, knowing that I wanted to delete it, just like the kiss from memory. "Who else knows about it?" Nacchi asked.

"Just about everybody," I answered. "Kei-chan said she would talk to her."

"Why don't you call her and tell her you're with Yuko?" Mari asked.

"And get kissed again?" I asked. "No way!"

"She has to know.."

"You don't understand. She basically had her way with me."

The girls began to explain that Gottsan was every fanboy's dream and fantasy(funny how I knew that now). Ever since the last few singles from her and her last photobook, every man from Japan and probably the fans I have back home in the States would probably bow down and kiss her feet for the chance to be with her.

"What are you guys saying?" I asked the girls.

"What we've been telling you," Nacchi replied, "go ahead and call her."

"Fine," I said, sounding defeated. I may as well go ahead and take care fo this problem myself before Yuko gets to her. Unfortunately, I have a bad feeling that things are going to get worse.

As I watched the girls leave, I took a deep breath and called her number. I was expecting her to answer with the first couple of rings, but all I got was her answering machine. I hung up and waited for a few minutes before I got a message from her:

Sorry, just got out of the shower. See you in a few minutes.

I'm surprised that she knew that I called without leaving a number. Apparently, she had left her number in my pocket that night. I believe she wanted me to call her, knowing that she would wait for an eternity for me to see her again. Unfortunately, I had to do what Nacchi and Mari told me to do and break the news to her.

I waited a few minutes before I heard someone knock on the door. Sure enough, it was Maki, wanting us to continue what had happened a couple of weeks before. "Did I keep you waiting?" she asked mischievously.

"I have to tell you something," I began to say.

"I already know what you want to say," she said before kissing me again.

Now what do I do? She's trying to steal me again.

I told Mari and Nacchi that this wouldn't work. Why didn't they listen?

[JFC]

Dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuun!

[cool_kickin_dude]

I grabbed her shoulders and got her off of me for a brief moment. "You don't understand," I told her. "I already have a girlfriend."

"I know that," Maki replied.

"Then why do you keep kissing me?" I asked.

"Well.."

That was when it finally hit me. It was because I took the one love away from her which I know she would probably never get back. Of all the girls that I had hooked up with the past few weeks, I had forgotten that she had a crush on me the whole time. Probably since that night at the movies.

"That's why," I said. "Why didn't you say something about it sooner?"

"To be honest," Maki explained, "I didn't think you were dating anyone at the time."

"Unfortunately, I am. I'm dating Yuko."

"I see." She was about to leave before I stopped her. I could see the sad expression on her face, knowing that her heart was broken(or maybe it was me doing the heart-breaking) for the second time. "I'm so sorry. Ever since that night, I just thought we were meant to be."

"It's not your fault," I said. "I'm not mad at you at all."

She was about to cry before I put my arms around her. She cried for a few minutes before she smiled again, knowing that everything would finally be all right. "I do have to admit something," I said to her.

"What's that?" she asked.

"You are a good kisser," I answered.

"Really?" she smiled. "I should say the same for you."

We both sat down and started talking for a few hours before my cell phone rang. I excused myself for the bathroom to message Kei-chan about everything. The message I sent was:

Don't worry about Maki. I took care of everything.

Minutes later, Kei-chan called me back. Unfortunately, my cell phone was on vibrate. I saw that she had left me a message which read:No problem. I'm glad that you got everything settled.

I went back into the living room and saw that Maki was about ready to leave. She thanked me for the conversation and gave her blessing to both myself and Yuko. I watched her leave before I got another phone call. It was from Yuko, but all she left me was a message.

I'm so lonely. I wish you were here.

I left her a message saying that I would be over tomorrow. Before I went to bed, I turned my phone back to ringing. That was when I got another message from Yuko which made my day. It read:If I haven't told you, I love you

Those words. How they melted my heart after the kiss from Gottsan. To me, that was a kiss that I would to return to Yuko tomorrow. I couldn't just go to bed without a message to her. I quickly sent her a message before turining in for the night which read:I haven't told you either. I love you too

I really can't wait to see Yuko tomorrow.

[JFC]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.

[cool_kickin_dude]

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of Yuko's music on the radio. Actually, I had put my radio on to make sure that it would play her music as I woke up the night before. After everything that had happened with Maki, I was glad that everything had finally calmed down and I could focus on only one person.

That was when she knocked on the door, I didn't need to know who it was.

It was her, the girl of my dreams, my girlfriend Yuko Nakazawa.

She made her way inside and kissed me for what seemed to be an eternity before she let me go. We both sat down on the couch and cuddled for a few minutes before her cell phone rang. "Can't anybody leave us alone?" she asked.

"I would say the same thing," I answered.

Unfortunately, it was Inaba on the phone, telling Yuko that she needed to head for the PV shoot. After she hung up, she looked at me and had her patented look gazing out at me. "Why couldn't you be here with me last night?" she asked.

"Sorry, I took care of everything with Gottsan," I explained. "I don't think she would be bothering us anytime soon."

"Good. All I had was some wine and wondered what would be your excuse of not coming."

"I just told you."

"You still should have come over. I had everything planned out."

"Tell you what, after the shoot, we'll go out for some dinner."

"Baka."

"Baka?"

"That's what I said." She clasped onto one of my hands which were stroking her light blonde(wishing that it was orange) hair. "All I had with me last night was some wine and you couldn't drink it with me."

"Sorry, but I don't drink."

"What am I going to do with you?"

"I don't know, but I'll make it all up to you." I led her out of the apartment as we went for the video shoot. The shoot was several miles away and much to my surprise, I saw that it would be played in the same park where I first met Kei-chan. The looks on both of our faces almost were identical.

We got out of the car and saw that Inaba was waiting for us, as well as Kaori. I thought I would have to leave them, but the producer let me stay, knowing that I was one of the members from UFA. If they only knew what they were getting themselves into.

Time flew by in those precious hours before I was approached by Kaori. I had this worried face, knowing that I might never be able to see her in concert or in PV's again. Still, she had her Kaori smile that flashed out as she walked over to me. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"Nothing really," I answered.

"I was wondering, would you like to go out for dinner?"

"Well, me and Yuko was going to do that tonight."

"Don't worry, I told Yuko and she said it was fine."

"More like I better take you, right?"

"Sounds like it."

Without saying anything, we both got into a nearby taxi and made our way to Kaori's house, which was several miles away from Yuko's house. When the taxi dropped us off, that was when I began to cry, but for a good reason.

"What's wrong?" Kaori asked. She reached out for my hand and took it.

"There's something I have to tell you," I cried.

[cool_kickin_dude]

"What is it?" Kaori asked.

"Well.." I began to say.

"Tell you what, let me get you inside." She led me inside her house, which was almost as beautiful as Yuko's. I watched her go into the kitchen as I looked around in her living room. I didn't see anything that caught my eye, until I saw something that brought back a memory.

It was the clock, the same one that the girls gave her for  her graduation.

It also still worked. Each person represented a number for the clock, with Kaori being the number 12. It almost made me break down again, almost bringing me to when the girls presented her the clock. It made me realize just how much everybody loves and respects Kaori.

"I remember when they gave me that clock," she said.

"You were one of the first people I watched," I said.

"Really?"

"That's why I feel sad."

She handed me something to drink as we sat down on the couch. She reached for my hand and took it, as she saw me crying again. "What did you want to tell me?" she asked.

"I don't want you to go," I said between tears.

"I'm not going anywhere."

"I know, but.." I stopped crying and began to realize what I was doing. "I should be ashamed of myself."

"Why is that?"

"I should be happy for you instead of feeling terrible."

"I know what you're saying, and you're right. You should be happy for me."

"You're right, and I'm sorry. Can you forgive me?"

"Of course I can." She hugged me tight, knowing that everything was back the way it was. "Hopefully, I can come back after I have the baby, but if I don't, I'll still be cheering for everyone."

"Aren't you also going to get married soon?"

"I am, but I still like to work with the girls."

"No offense, but won't the girls be jealous of you?"

"Not really..except for Yuko."

"Can't help me with that, can you?"

"Ask her to marry you."

"She'll never agree with it."

"You're dating her right?"

"That's another issue."

We laughed and talked some more for a few hours before Yuko called Kaori, wondering if I would come home. She said that she would drive me home in a few minutes. After she hung up the phone, Kaori gave me her phone number before we went outside.

"If you have any problems, call me." she said.

We drove back toward the city before I remembered something. "We forgot to have dinner," I said.

"Don't worry," Kaori replied, "you can take her out somewhere."

"Ring shopping?" I laughed.

"That's a good idea," she laughed.

When we got back to my apartment, I saw Yuko talking to someone. I couldn't tell from the disguise she had on before I saw someone else coming towards Yuko. That was when I knew who it was. It was Aya walking over toward Yuko, which meant Miki couldn't be far away.

As I got out of the car, Yuko walked over and grabbed onto my arm. "Just in time," she said.

"For what?" I asked.

"Time for our double date," Yuko smiled.

"Oh, no..." Miki said.

"What are we waiting for?" Aya asked.

Miki gave me her patented death-stare, almost asking me why did I come at the wrong time. Maybe I could get Miki to open up, of course, that's the same problem I have with Yuko.

I'll figure out something when we get there.

[cool_kickin_dude]

None of us said a word during as we went to the restaurant. In addition, none of us said anything before we took our order. I could a feel a chill up my spine as everyone was looking at me, wanting to say something. Before I could, Aya decided to break the ice first.

"So, how long you and Yuko been dating?" she asked me.

"About two months," I said.

"Only two months?" Miki asked. "I'm surprised that's been that long."

"Miki!" Aya exclaimed.

"What?" Miki asked. "It was a compliment."

"So how did you meet?" Aya asked me.

"Well, I went to a bar one evening," I explained, "and I didn't even know she was there. She had forgot her purse and I went over to return it to her."

"That's not the only thing you forgot," Yuko said.

"Yuko!" I turned around and looked at her, almost like Miki's death-stare, to which I couldn't pull off because I was smiling.

"You almost look like Nacchi when you do that," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Your face is puffed up and pouty, just like her."

"Well, I'll let you explain yourself to her," Miki said. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Wait for me!" Aya said, running out toward Miki.

I watched them go as Yuko looked at me, almost giving me the same expression I gave her moments before. That was when she kissed me, for almost half a minute.I looked around to see if Miki or Aya had come back yet, before I kissed her, for almost a full minute. We both looked at each other and smiled. If we had our way, we would have either kissed for awhile or left the restaurant and continued kissing all the way home.

"Why did we agree to the double date?" I asked.

"It was Aya's idea," Yuko explained.

"We could leave them."

"Wish we could, they have been annoying me all morning."

Aya and Miki came back in moments later, smiling like nothing wrong had happened. I had my doubts as they sat back down. "What took you girls so long?" Yuko asked.

"We was about ready to leave," I said.

Then it happened, I was looking right at it. The death-stare of the infamous, legendary Miki Fujimoto.

Can't say that I deserved it though.

[JFC]

Man, I'd kill to get the Miki death glare.