AN: Hi, guys...I'm SO sorry this story hadn't been updated in a while. Because of college and other life stuff (I'm having MAJOR issues with my dad right now) I couldn't get around to updating. But then, recently, I looked at how you guys have supported me so much with this story, so I felt I had to update. I owe it to you since you really have been awesome.

A Shout-Out: To RadiantBeam and SasuNaruxAyumHino...thanks for reviewing the last chapter. It means a lot. And thanks to everyone who's supported me with this...

Before going to the story, there's an important note I'd like to bring up--I have a new story I'm working on, called "Keep a Secret." It's a Death Note fanfic and it's a romance/drama based on L and Misa...it's also in both third person and first person in a way, because both L and Misa narrate the fic at different times. It's different from this fic in the way that's it's not as detailed, and I don't have everything planned out...but it's not all going by the DN storyline, it's my original fic. And also, the focus on this fic is not so much what they're both observing (as it is here with Kai mainly) but it's based on a sense of feeling. I want to portray both Misa's and L's real selves, not just what you see on the surface in the story...and it covers several things. Their pasts, their doubts...it's a lot more complicated than a simple love story.

So, if you like Death Note, PLEASE, do give it a shot. I have two chapters out as of this writing, but so far no one has reviewed...and I just feel my new fanfic is unloved. I just would like it to be appreciated the way this story is...so it would mean a lot to me if you could do that...thanks so much in advance.

Part Five

Gentle Misunderstanding

Damn…I was so glad to finally get that girl out of my hair. I knew it was her own way of showing she cared, but Mao went too far that time…accusing my sister like that when she didn’t know what was going on. She’d never even met Saya.

I took a few deep breaths to try and clear all those muddled thoughts out of my head…I didn’t want to be depressed and spaced out the way I’d been all day. I concentrated on what was important…getting to the hospital. I hoped Saya was awake and better. I just wanted to know that she was okay.

The drive was short to the clinic. I parked my bike near the entrance and let out a long breath as I walked towards the building. I just needed to keep myself calm—I was tired of freaking out all the time after what had happened the other night.

When I went in I saw Dad right away—he called me over and had a very worried look on his face. He told me Saya was gone, she’d run off somewhere…

Now it was obvious I couldn’t ‘keep calm’ anymore. This was the last thing I’d ever want to have happen—

I ran out the front doors with Dad. We thought of where she might’ve gone—we knew she couldn’t be with her friend Kaori, since Saya didn’t have a cell phone so she wouldn’t know where to meet up with her—so I called Omoro’s. Riku answered and I asked if she was there. She wasn’t, so I said a quick bye and hung up…this was a pain. I’d been anxious enough over Saya before she left—

For a while Dad and I had no idea what we could do to find her…but then I thought for a minute. If she remembered anything from that night, she’d no doubt be really upset…I mean, what other reason would she have for running away? –So then I realized that she could have gone to that place I showed her, the secluded part of that beach.

I told Dad that I needed to leave to get Saya, and when he was about to protest I told him to just trust me on this one. He was still nervous but he nodded and watched as I left and sped down the road. I really hoped I was right about this…

As soon as I’d driven near that familiar cliff on the beach, I screeched to a stop and parked quickly—I ran as fast as I could in that direction, shouting for her.

I couldn’t see her at first. There was nothing there except the sand and waves…but when I reached the stairs I saw her clearly. She was facing the stairs…but when I reached them, I found the last bastard I wanted to see—the one I saw with Saya and that monster the other night…

He was just casually putting something away in some weird case with his back turned to me. Then when he looked in my direction, he had that same apathetic look on his face…almost bored. Like he was taunting me—

Why the hell would he have the nerve to look at me like that? Like I was weak?! …It was true, I was weak, and I couldn’t help Saya…but that was before. Now I was completely determined to keep her safe. To keep her away from these freaks and monsters, wherever the hell they came from—

And now I knew exactly how to do that. I had to keep him away from Saya. He was the reason those monsters appeared in the first place, and he was there when Saya turned into something else…

I had to get him away from her—I just had to!

“Get lost, Bastard!” I said as I ran to hit him. But he dodged.

So I kept swinging. He kept stepping to the side by a couple inches, stepping down the stairs each time I tried to hit him…and he had that same goddamn bored look on his face. Like he wasn’t even trying!

I didn’t care if he wasn’t human. I didn’t care if he had freakish powers like he showed that other night, or if he was ten times stronger than me. I’d beat his ass, and make him wish he’d never even looked at Saya. I wanted him to leave her alone, and get out of her life!

—But he just kept dodging!

He stepped on the beach at the bottom of the stairs, and by then I’d had it.

“Why won’t you fuck off?!” I lunged with a fist to his face and put all my weight into it.

For a split second I saw a flicker of an expression cross his face. Just the slightest hint of contempt—

And before I knew what happened, I was in the air.

I must’ve fallen nearly fifteen feet as I hit the sand. It didn’t do much to cushion my fall—and all of a sudden I was hit with pain. I couldn’t think straight and my eyes were shut. It took a while before I figured out that he had thrown me into the air…I wondered what he’d do to me now—

I struggled to move so I could get up—but then I heard her voice.

“Stop! —Just stop it, please! Don’t hurt him—”

I could finally open my eyes, only to see Saya hovering over me…crouching as if she were ready to defend me…she had a pleading look in her eyes.

This was totally wrong…it was completely backwards—I was supposed to be the one protecting her. Not the other way around…

“…Saya…” Her name escaped my lips before I noticed she was only inches above me…and as her gaze shifted down to me, without realizing it she moved even closer—

Her concerned eyes softened as she looked at me, and I had to make a special effort not to swallow my suddenly dry throat. Even in this situation, my logic and anger was dying away…I felt my whole body heat up as I noticed the warmth coming from her. I couldn’t tell if I was like that from embarrassment, or…something else…

Dammit, I wished this were happening at some other time and place. If only Saya weren’t in danger, if only that bastard were gone—

“…If that is your wish, Saya—then I will obey without hesitation…”

Saya’s attention snapped to him as soon as he finished talking. I couldn’t even see him, and I’d never heard him really speak before. But suddenly I didn’t care at all…I was way too distracted—

She moved away from me and I made myself sit up. Suddenly hit by another wave of pain, my back and neck ached and the back of my head was throbbing. It jolted me out that weird state I was in a second ago—and I realized the bastard was gone.

…Then I noticed how upset Saya was.

“…Kai…he…” she paused, then tried again. “That man…I think he knows something about me. –About my past…”

“—Did…did he say anything to you…about it?”

Her gaze shifted downwards as an almost hopeless and disappointed look dulled her eyes.

“No…he didn’t tell me anything…”

All I felt then was sympathy…I couldn’t guess what had happened with them earlier, but now she seemed in worse shape than ever. I turned my gaze away from her and thought about what she’d just said.

Could it be true…did that crazy freak have something to do with Saya’s past? It was suspicious that he seemed to show up out of nowhere…and he knew her name and where to find her…I was pretty sure that Saya hadn’t told him about all that earlier. But then, was there any proof? …And more important than that, would he help her at all…?

So far there’d only been trouble. When I first saw him with her, that monster appeared…that’s why I wanted him to disappear again, that’s why I was so scared for Saya. –And the reason I had to keep her safe from them, even if I had to put my life on the line—

“…Kai?” A gentle voice nudged me out of my thoughts. I noticed for a second how much sweeter her voice sounded compared to Mao’s, and turned to her.

“…Is something wrong? You were suddenly so quiet for a while…”

I put on a small smile to reassure her. “Nah, it’s nothing…I guess I was just wondering about that guy, is all…”

Her eyes drifted in another direction. “…I don’t really know what to think of him…” she turned towards me completely. “—But please, don’t try to attack him again, Kai.”

“—What? Why not? Didn’t he try to hurt you like before?” I gave her a perplexed look.

“…No. He didn’t hurt me at all.” Saya turned towards the waves. “…I don’t know why he’s here, and I don’t remember what happened the other night…but he didn’t try to hurt me. I don’t think he’s trying to cause me any problems—”

I frowned as I also turned towards the water. “—I don’t know, Saya. There’s something about that guy that I don’t like. I don’t know what it is…I just don’t trust him.”

Her eyes focused on the sand and narrowed in thought.

“…Well maybe…maybe, we should give him a chance. He might really be from my past, and if he is, then he can tell me and I can finally find out—”

“—Give him a chance?!” I cut in with an incredulous look. “Saya, what are you talking about? That man showed up the other night with a friggin’ monster—it could have killed you! Then he tried to finish me even though all I was doing was trying to do was keep you safe—after all that, you think we should give him a chance—?!”

I didn’t realize until after I said that…the hurt look on her face. She looked almost wounded, as she shrank away from me and clasped her arms around her knees—

It took me a little while to figure out why my logical explanation hurt her so much…but then I noticed how I said all that a lot louder than I needed to…and then as I saw those tearful glances she kept shooting me while she sat there silently, I finally figured it out. This wasn’t about that stranger anymore…it was about her. Who she used to be…and that life she desperately wanted to remember.

“—S-Saya, stop.” I started talking clumsily. “Don’t look at me like that…I-I didn’t mean it, okay? –I just didn’t understand…”

I turned to her and made myself look at her face. She still looked hurt, but at least she was looking at me now—instead of turning away every time I glanced in her direction.

“Saya, please…” I tried to soften my voice. “I didn’t mean any of that. I didn’t mean to hurt you—you know I’d never want to do that. I didn’t realize…this is about your life from before, right? –I was just angry because of him…”

I sighed and tried to calm my scattered mind.

“—I…I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

I felt a hand lightly touch mine.

“—It’s okay.” I hadn’t noticed that I’d stopped looking at her, and when I saw her now I found she was almost smiling. She quickly wiped away the moisture in her eyes and patted my shoulder gently. “…I understand now. You…were just trying to protect me.”

I tried smiling back as I nodded to her. “Yeah…”

I didn’t say anything then, because I was suddenly aware that things seemed so delicate. If I were to move or say anything wrong, I might somehow break that fragile thing I’d worked to make just now—that little moment to reassure her so she wouldn’t cry. I…never wanted her to be that way, especially…because of me.

I let out another long breath and made myself look at the ocean. It always calmed me down…maybe concentrating on it would help me take my mind off what just happened…along with everything else—

She must have noticed how tense I was.

“—Kai, I mean it, it’s okay. Really.” She placed her hand on my shoulder and kept it there this time. “—Don’t feel guilty, okay? I just reacted that way because…because so much happened…recently…”

“That’s right. A lot happened to you,” I began as I gave her a glance, “And that’s why I’m such an idiot. …You didn’t deserve any of what happened to you, that night—” I looked away. “I didn’t see everything up close, but I know you went through more than me. So you must…you must really—be hurting…”

I felt something start to twist in my chest as I looked down. “…I was there, but I…I didn’t do anything for you. I didn’t help you, or protect you—and just now I managed to hurt you myself. If that doesn’t make me a complete bastard I don’t know what will.”

I think I would’ve started being depressed all over again, if it hadn’t been for a fist suddenly colliding with the side of my head.

I didn’t register anything until I was sprawled on my back and in a daze. What happened? Did…did she just hit me—?

I heard a familiar burst of giggles coming from next to me, and saw Saya sitting and giving me a silly look. I held my aching head and squinted up at her—

“—Augh!! Give a little warning next time, Saya!”

She kept giggling before she quieted down and looked at me.

“—Sorry, but it wouldn’t have done any good then.” In a quick movement, she grabbed my wrist and pulled me up into a sitting position.

“Now quit being so hard on yourself, got it?” Her voice suddenly had a hard and almost cheerful edge to it. “I don’t want you blaming yourself because of me. What happened happened—we’ll just have to deal with it, okay?”

Her determined smile gave way to a softer one as she brushed the sand off my shirt. Then she quickly swept a hand through my hair. It expertly smoothed out every strand…she didn’t pull or tangle anything even once.

—The way she did it, I suddenly found my mind blank and noticed a pleasant jolt shoot up my spine. How did she manage to do that so easily…?

Then when I noticed her staring at me, I quickly snapped out of it—glad I still had some of my senses…

“—Tell you what. If you promise to stop beating yourself up like that, I’ll promise to stop being so upset,” she said simply. I wondered where this tough side of hers came from so suddenly. “—Do we have a deal?”

I paused, and then I smiled at her…for real this time.

“—Yeah. Promise.”

“Good.”

As she said that she hugged me so tightly and suddenly that I wondered if I’d be able to breathe. But when she loosened her grip a little…I realized I could finally do something other than stand there without moving.

—My hands slowly reached up and gripped her shoulders as I relaxed a tiny bit—just enough to notice the smooth texture of her skin. I spent just a moment, memorizing the shape of her against me—

And then just as quickly as she hugged me, she pulled away. And she gave me another of those sweet and cheerful grins…the same as before. Those smiles that said, ‘you’re a great brother, and friend…that’s how it’ll always be.’

…And it won’t ever be any other way…something inside stung from that silent message that reached my brain. She still didn’t know, how I thought of her…so the way I read that must’ve been out of my imagination. I had such stupid wishful thinking…

—But there was no way I’d let that bother me. Definitely not now, because she was happy again. She’d pull through, even though I messed up, and couldn’t be there for her when I should have…

But I’d try not to be guilty now…for her. Something told me that it wasn’t a real promise, that it was just something she did to reassure me that she was okay…that weird girl, why did she have to hide stuff from me?

But despite that, I finally wasn’t so on-edge now. I let myself relax completely as I lay on the sandy surface with my arms behind my head. I let my eyes drift shut and just barely smiled.

Now I could really listen to the sounds around me. The rising and falling of the tides, that constant crash that roared and died down, and the far-off cry of sea birds. And I felt her presence next to me, over to my left side…somehow it all seemed so peaceful. How long had it been since I could just relax like this?

Then I opened my eyes, and for the first time since I was here I noticed the moon shining above me. It gave off a pale glow, and it all reflected off the water…showing each small ripple, every movement it made—I’d never noticed it could sparkle like that.

Maybe, it was because…whenever I’d been here before at night, I’d never been with her—

When I looked at her, she didn’t seem nearly as happy as before. She looked as tense as I’d been a while ago, curled up and staring at her knees.

“—I…I just remembered something. It was about last night—” She almost shuddered for a second.

“I…saw…blood…” she was quiet and nervous, and took a sharp breath, “…everywhere. I don’t know what happened. But I…I don’t know…” She shook her head violently with a torn-up expression, and then tried to hide her face.

“—I just don’t know anymore! Who…or what I am…”

I quickly sat up and gave her a concerned glance, before looking away.

“Saya…” I looked down. “—don’t worry, okay? You can’t forget…that I’ll always be there for you. It doesn’t matter what happens—that’s not going to change. And Riku and dad will be there, too. We’re all a family…you know that. You just have to remember, you’re part of it…” I smiled in her direction.

“And besides, without you, we wouldn’t be that family. You’re important to us…to all of us.”

She gave a small smile when I said that…she even looked touched.

“Kai…”

“There’s an important saying, you know,” I said as I stood up and turned towards the ocean, partly to not get caught up in that sweet look of hers.

“It’s called ‘Nankuronaisa.’”

“—Nan…Nankuro…naisa?”

“‘Things will turn out fine’ –that’s what it means. Dad used to say it all the time. –Whenever something happened, like the time I had to quit baseball, or when you first came to live with us, sometimes I’d go and talk to Dad.” I smiled a little. “—He’d always put on a smile and say ‘Nankuronaisa.’ And whenever he did, he really was smiling, because it’s true. ‘It’ll work out for the best, in the end...’”

“…Nankuronaisa.” She said it perfectly that time, and I continued to smile as I looked back at her.

“Yeah…that’s right Saya.”

“Mm-hmm…” she smiled, and then sniffed a little and wiped something from her eye. I got a little worried for a sec, but then that teary expression went away completely when her stomach decided to tell us she was hungry—the loud way.

She got that same embarrassed look as she covered it up with her arms, but as she looked down she still had that soft smile.

I almost chuckled and took a few steps towards her.

“–C’mon…let’s go home.”

She stood up and gave me a warm smile. “Okay.”

The drive back to Omoro’s was short and quiet. But I was so relieved, she was fine now…and I felt kind of content—in a quiet way. It was so nice…such a welcome change from the night before.

We opened the door to Omoro’s, that same familiar bell ringing as we went in. Both Dad and Riku were there and gave an enthusiastic welcome to Saya. It was no wonder, I was sure both of them were really worried. Saya shyly gave them back her greetings. I couldn’t keep from smiling the entire time, feeling kind of triumphant for the first time in a while. ‘Cause I brought her home safe, and I didn’t mess up this time…

Riku gestured to all the sushi and other assorted dishes of food on the table set for both of us—apparently they’d already eaten and Dad and Riku had made lots of different recipes special for her. I was happy as I looked over at the different foods—I knew this was one way that they showed she was so important in our family. I hadn’t been lying earlier--she really meant the world to us.

As we sat down and Dad and Riku busied themselves behind the counter, I absent-mindedly listened to the random rock music going on the radio. I ate about two of the dishes of food, while she ate the other six—I didn’t really concentrate on eating—I just kept an eye on her, so happy as she slurped up the dishes with gusto. –I was so glad things were finally getting back to normal.

I kept thinking about it after we all retired for the night, before I fell asleep.

It was almost as if that night before had never happened—

AN: Hey guys, hope you liked it...so anyway, have fun, review, all that jazz! Please don't forget that I still love this fic and that it's still active...there will just be delays from the usual updates that used to happen. Right now I'm just not in that point of my life where I can keep that up regularly.

But please know that I will keep going with this fic! ...It'll just take longer than usual.

Much love, and don't forget to hug a friend!

--Saffyre Neko