Thank you for reading. It is greatly appreciated and I hope you will stay with me for the end.

Happy reading!

Another week flew by. It was the beginning of a new week when I felt my optimistic heart falter once I woke up that morning. I kept telling myself a few more days, one more day, maybe tomorrow, maybe tonight: but still no sign of Reuben. Not even any word from him. Kraud and many others haven't anything to report in either, meaning that Reuben really wasn't around anymore. Was he seriously so hurt that he was still trying to heal before coming over? Knowing him, that's what he would want to do, regardless that we would be able to help him heal faster. That man was a handful, I thought as I rubbed my eyes. I was up late the night before so it was around eleven in the morning when I woke up and I thought about how nice it felt to finally sleep in. Distractions. I just needed some distractions. I let out a small sigh so I wouldn't wake up the brunette next to me who was still fast asleep with his tanned, muscled arm hanging lazily over my waist. I watched his bare chest rise and fall as it peeked out from under the sheets of the bed and how his long strands of hair moved whenever he breathed out from his nose. This was a nice distraction.

His hand twitched and rose up to his face to rub his eyes as he yawned, sleep escaping him. He let out a manly sound and stretched his arms over his heads, giving me a show of his muscles working and his chest trying to escape the sheets even more. I blushed and tried to remember if he put on any pants last night. Looking down at myself under the sheets, I blushed harder at my sleep wear consisting of just Hikuro's shirt and a pair of black underwear. Hikuro noticed me looking down at myself and let out a laugh that made my insides warm up from the morning sound of his extra deep voice that was still rough from sleep. He scooted even closer to me and hugged me around the waist, letting me know that he was wearing something underneath the blanket, making my heart ease down a bit. Boxers or not, he was still a little happy to wake up next to me.

"Good morning." He slurred against my neck, rubbing his nose against my jaw, making my blush come back in a shade of pink. I smiled and turned over so I was facing him so I could put my arms around his neck and kiss him on the nose.

"Good morning, yourself." Hikuro smiled back and kissed me gently on the lips, cradling my face in his large hand. The kiss got a little more intense and his body started to meld with mine while he moved himself on top of me, still kissing me and starting to play with the hem of his shirt I was wearing. His warm hands found their way under the shirt and he went past the panties, thank god, and moved up my stomach slowly, his fingers playing meaningless patterns along my skin as my heart raced. I kept kissing him with my fingers tangled in his messy hair but felt my breath catch when I felt his hand so close to its destination-

And then the phone rang.

I parted my lips from his and flung my head back, sighing, my heart still racing from the thrill and the jump of my phone ringing. Hikuro, on the other hand, let out a growl and started to kiss my neck, trying to distract me. It worked for a moment but I shook my head and put a finger to his lips, "I need to answer it." All his did was stick my finger in his mouth. I let out another sigh and reached for my phone that was on the floor next to the bed. "Hello?"

"Rise and shine, sweetheart. We got an unexpected full day today." Ash's voice sounded from the other side of the line.

"Where are you for you to be calling me?" I asked. "And what kind of full day?"

"I'm calling because it'd faster for me to call you than knock on your door, wait for you to get dressed, and talk to you while Atsukai glared at me." I gaped at the phone and stared at Hikuro who was still over me, who busted out laughing and sat up on top of me, straddling my waist, laughing his ass off. He let out an "it's true" before Ash continued as if that didn't embarrass me, "We have formal events to attend to. More like social parties, whatever, the ones where you dress up, show your face for an hour, talk to important people, then leave."

"Aren't those usually at night?" I asked, then jumped when Hikuro hooked a finger inside my panties casually. He looked up at me when I jumped and grinned, enjoying my reaction. I glared at him and put my free hand against my forehead, trying to distract myself from him. Okay, so he wasn't the best distraction to have.

"Yeah, but for the other worlds' time zones it'll be nighttime. We're party hopping so we gotta leave within the hour so we can make to all of them that we're required to go to."

I sighed again and stuck my tongue out at the ceiling. "Who's going?" I asked.

Ash laughed into the phone. "If you want a distraction, entertain your man. I'll see you up front in an hour." And he hung up. I did my face-turning-pink-again shit and dropped the phone on the floor, but yelped in surprise when I felt Hikuro tug at my panties to bring them lower. I jumped up and grabbed his wrists.

"What are you doing?" I yelled at him.

He grinned at me and laid his lips against my neck, "Entertain your man." And he bit me gently, making me squirm away. Damn him.

"No, I have to get ready." I tried to get up but he was still sitting on top of me, so I couldn't scoot out from under him. I jut out my bottom lip at him.

He made a sound with his teeth and got off of me, surprising me not once, but twice, as he positioned himself between my legs and rubbed his hands from my waist all the way up to under my arms, carrying my shirt up along with him, as he laid back down on top of me, our bare stomachs touching. His warmth made my insides feel nice and his heated gaze didn't help me when I stared down at him, his face right above my chest that was so close to revealing me. His hands scooted higher, moving the shirt more and I tried to bring the shirt back down as I said his name, telling him to stop. He moved his lower body so the inside of my legs were against his, making my voice catch and my face go hot again at the feel of him against me.

"Damn you, Hikuro." I whispered.

He gave me a seductive smile and lifted my shirt higher, showing most of my bare chest, causing me to look away, embarrassed. "I can't hear you." And he played with my chest with his mouth, telling me he couldn't hear me. He kept doing it until I finally yelled at him, "Damn you, Hikuro!" It was then he finally stopped and looked up at me, his hands doing work his mouth was doing earlier. "This needs to come off." He said, reaching down to tug at my panties.

"I told you I need to get ready." I said.

He sighed and sat up between my legs spread out around him and looked down at me, practically exposed to him as I pulled my shirt down. But he had already gotten a good look at me and his eyes were already starting to change into what a man gets right before he goes to sleep with his lover. His eyes scanned me from bottom to top until his eyes met mine. "We've got an hour."

-o-

Twenty five minutes later I was in the shower and out in another ten, putting on a simple, tight at the top, yet loose on the bottom, red dress with red pumps. The dress had tiny straps and made a v-neck in the front, letting men's imagination run wild with my chest teasing when in the right angle, and the back that was a little low for my taste, but still managed to look great on me. To top it off in case something happens, a slit running up one side to show off some leg and for maneuvering in case we ran into trouble. But even if that happened, I'd use my powers to change into different clothes in an instant. Either way, the dress was a gift from Crystal and since she was going to be there with me all day, I might as well.

I stepped out of the bathroom, light make up already on, and thanked my parents in heaven that they didn't teach me how to put on too much make up or how to put it on in slow motion like other girls. Hikuro was just grabbing his button-up shirt from a chair when I came back in the room, and he stopped in mid-motion, staring at me in just his fitted jeans and bare chest. I blushed at the sight of him, his gorgeous body getting me every time, and looked away, going to grab my heels that were waiting for me near the bed. I sat on the bed and slipped the heels on, looking up when I saw Hikuro standing in front of me, still staring at every inch of me. "Yes?"

"You're gorgeous." He said. "Dress or jeans or nothing, you're perfect."

His compliment hit home and my heart did enough back flips to set a world record. "Uhh, so, as always, try not to get into trouble, okay?" I stood up and straightened the dress out, trying to avoid Hikuro's brown and golden eyes.

"Only for you."

I looked up at him and smiled, "Being a bit poetic today, aren't you?"

His eyes calmed when he looked at me and a flash of worry passed behind his eyes. "You be careful too. I hate not being there with you while other men hit on you."

I kept my smile in place. "Of course. And don't worry, I'll have all the leaders with me and Skylar will be there too."

He frowned playfully, "Yeah they pick the least-sociable person to guard you at a party. Makes perfect fucking sense." He crossed his arms and pouted. I laughed at him and stood on the tips of my heels, because he was still too tall, even in heels, and kissed him on the lips. He circled his arms around my waist and kissed me back, breaking it before he got carried away. He let out a half sigh half groan and grabbed my hand, leading me to the door to go downstairs abruptly. My smile grew as he lead me downstairs and I laughed when I had to ask him to slow down, letting his high school boy moment stop.

Skylar was at the bottom of the steps, waiting with his hands in his pockets, while we made our way down the staircase, meeting Lan on the way down as he was adjusting his tie while walking. By the time we reached the bottom of the grand stairs and I had hugged and kissed Skylar good morning, or good afternoon, Lan was still struggling with the tie. I asked him if he needed any help and he just blushed and shook his head, muttering, "I'm not used to this."

The sound of Sora and Ash laughing sounded nearby and they both walked up to Lan, putting a hand on each of his shoulders. He looked up, surprised, and his face turned even more red. Poor guy was embarrassed so easily, especially around his own best friends. Sora watched him continue to struggle, and do a worse job now that two smoking hot men were watching him closely inside his bubble, and laughed again, shooing Ash away to make room. Lan stopped and looked up at Sora, still red, "Don't say anything! It's usually Aly who does my tie." The mention of his girlfriend made him look away, blushing still in action, and it was adorable and Sora knew it.

Sora gave Lan his special grin and ruffled the top of his head that had his small headband still under his bangs. After that, he started to redo Lan's tie properly, Lan's head still turned away. When he was done, Sora grinned again and flung an arm around Lan's neck, "All right, let's go party!" And he dragged him to the front door with Lan's expression showing pure annoyance. I stifled a laugh as I watched the two carry on with Ash dragging Chiro along, pushing his buttons too. Luckily, Chiro had a high tolerance for anyone.

Spyro and Balto entered the room and it was as if all of the power in the room shrank down. Sure, all of the leaders had a tremendous amount of power and could hide them pretty easily, but with Spyro it was different. Just the sight of him made someone cower down in fear or fidget in discomfort. I mean, we were used to it, but it was still surprising sometimes, since I haven't seen in a while. I gave him a good morning and he looked over at me through his long purple hair, and smiled. He was in his human form for all of the parties so his black suit with a dark purple dress shirt underneath matched his gold tie that represented his colors as a small dragon, his original form. His hair went down to his butt and was a shade of almost dark purple that matched his also purple eyes. His body frame was tall and thin but his broad shoulders gave him the image that he had a lot to hide. Which was awfully true.

Then there was Balto who looked like a typical teenager when he was in his human form. His beach blonde, wavy hair that was brushed to the side like a skater was normally under a billed beanie but today it was just his hair brushed neatly to the side, and his suit was a light shade of black: a dark grey was a little too light to describe it as. His tie was grey with two stripes going diagonally across it in shades of black and light grey and just like everyone else, his shoes were black.

Ash had on a black suit with a white dress shirt underneath while Chiro was the opposite. His white suit and black undershirt went well with his normal spiffy black and white clothes that he wore on a daily basis. A black and white striped tie and black shoes completed his sharp outfit. Lan had the darkest of blues as a suit and metallic blue as a dress shirt with a white tie. Sora was the daring one with Chiro who had a dark red suit, bright red tie, and black dress shirt underneath. It was safe to say that our leaders did a pretty damn good job at expressing themselves.

Spyro and Balto made their way to the boys and gave them each a sheet of paper, their faces falling from the work coming at them. Probably a list of people they had to know for the upcoming parties. Then I heard heels clacking behind me as if someone was running towards me. I turned around and was hit dead on by Crystal who had tackled me into a hug with her arms around my neck. Her face was full of joy and her eye make-up was gorgeous, making her eyes look bigger than they already were. Her simple but sexy black dress with metal trinkets as sleeves made her look edgy, just like her personality. And yet the first thing she does is compliment me:

"Ryume! Oh gosh, no matter what you wear, you always look gorgeous." And she hugged me again, but kept her arms around my neck in a best friend kind of way. I kept my arms around her waist and laughed with her. I heard Hikuro mutter a "That's what I keep telling her."

"Yeah, right. You don't need any kind of makeup to look gorgeous." I said back to Crystal. She rolled her eyes.

"Oh, please. You don't either."

And then there was a flash of light from a camera that blinded us.

"Ow!" Crystal said, covering her eyes. I waited for my eyes to come back from the dead and smiled when I saw another one of our friends Kat holding up a camera, giving us a thumbs up.

"Sorry, lovies. That pose was picture worthy." She blew a kiss at us and ran over to Ash to say bye to him, her long light brown hair flying behind her. Kat was Ash's girl and although they haven't been going out for that long, it still looked like they belonged together. Especially after Ash had been cheated on by his ex, who he had thought was the one for him. That was the one of the worst experiences he'd gone through, but he had met Kat while in his depression. She was the one who patched him up, after a lot of fighting and bickering, that is. But that was a whole different story for another time.

Crystal laughed with me and kissed me on the cheek before running over to her lover to say bye. She jumped into his arms and he twirled her around in a small circle while kissing her. Kat snagged a few more pictures and I felt a stupid grin appear on my face at the sight of them being lovey dovey. Then a hand came from behind me and blocked my view. I knew it was Skylar's hands as he pulled me against him and hugged me from behind, kissing the back of my head. "You look beautiful."

I turned around and stuck a tongue out at him. "Babe." Was his reply.

"All right, kids, time to go." Ash called to everyone.

Skylar took my hand and I gave him a squeeze before letting go to go back to Hikuro to say bye. He smiled at me and circled his arms around me, kissing me once before letting me go back to Skylar's open hand. We walked to the front and waited for Crystal and two more to come over. The other two were friends of mine as well from my world: Risu and Kinaga.

My apologies on all of these people, but it was normal for everyone to know everyone else in this large group we called a family. Risu was my best friend in my world and also my partner besides one more. She was a tough girl and didn't take shit from anyone. But for tonight, she had on a strapless forest green dress with her medium length hair up in a bun and her usual side bangs still brushed to the side neatly with hairspray. Her dress went down to her knees, tight at the top, and loose and puffy at the bottom to match her considerate black heels. Kinaga, her all-time crush, was also a guy who you didn't want to mess with. He was physically bigger than most of the guys here but it was because of his big-boned body and large arms. Mostly called a gentle giant, he was quiet, blushed easily, and was the peacemaker, but when angered, he was a monster. Besides all that, he was a pretty simple guy on the outside with his simple-cut short brown hair and brown eyes.

We watched them approach us and once they were close enough, Spyro opened the door leading to outside and walked to one of the vehicles parked outside. Everyone got their own car except for the ladies. Crystal rode with Ash, Risu rode with Kinaga, and I rode with Skylar. All of the cars were gorgeous but I was glad to get the new black shiny Cobra Mustang with red racing stripes. I loved this car and my face showed it as Skylar opened the door for me. He gave me a small laugh and closed the door behind me as I buckled myself in. We were all buckled in and ready to go when Spyro's small black corvette started to move forward as a large door (or portal) appeared. The normal sized door grew in size until each car was able to drive through it and one by one we all drove through the various blue and white swirls of the portal.

-o-

The first party we attended was normal and was very formal but at a simple convention center in another world where people weren't known about us who had powers. Probably a reason why we didn't bring anyone who would stand out too much. I took a drink Skylar had gotten for me and took a sip of the alcohol. Wow, expensive stuff. I thanked him and he leaned down to my ear to kiss me, but actually whispered cautiously in my ear, "Be careful." And with that, he snuck an arm around my waist as two men approached us to talk business. Oh. Looks like I was being watched. Skylar was playing the lover tonight.

All of the conversations consisted of either business or my personal life. The business was why I was here, it was expected. The personal life shit, so not my thing to talk about. For this world, we do business in the police force and help train the officers at camps, so there were plenty of officers here in uniform, showing off their badges or ribbons for whatever they did. The two men in front of us were in uniform but one was obviously in charge of the other as he began to start talking about me personally after a while. He finally asked if I was married and I felt Skylar's body move as he tried not to laugh while I gaped at him as I said I was too young to be married. The expression on his face when I told him my age was priceless and the man next to him made me walk away after excusing myself politely.

"It's fine, I like young women." And he gave me a smile that said many things I did not want to think about.

"Excuse me," And I walked away with Skylar following behind me, his laughter gone at the younger officer's comment.

The next party was more enjoyable because it was more laid back and people were a little more aware of our powers so we didn't have to hide our energy as much. Plus the people were nicer and we were there just for image, just to let people know that we were still there. The party after that was back to business and I made sure to transition carefully from a carefree attitude to a formal attitude that was strictly business. The people here thankfully didn't want to know anything about my personal life.

By the time it was around ten at night, I was ready to go home to go to sleep. I eyed a drink a business friend offered to me and I politely took it. In my head I was dreading another drink of alcohol as I felt it take over my body and make me feel funny. Great. Now I was getting tipsy. By the time we killed another hour at that party, I was sitting down at a table, eating finger foods and drinking plenty of water. One more party to go and I was free. Positive, Ryume, positive. I felt hands come to my shoulders and start to massage my neck. It made my head slack down in bliss and the hands moved my hair out of the way so he could massage my bare back. The feel of his hands felt good and I had to put my arms on the table to stable myself. "Skylar." I muttered.

His hands slowed as his face bent down next to mine, but his hands didn't stop, "Hm?" He kissed my temple.

"If you keep doing that I'll end up falling asleep on the table."

"I'll carry you back." He whispered and added more pressure to my lower back, right where I needed it because of the heels. It made me bite my lip to make sure I didn't make a noise and sigh, begging for him to stop.

"Skylar, please."

He made a sound in his throat and moved his hands around my waist to hug me from behind, kissing the side of my head again. Oh, the simple pleasures.

"Next party, guys." Ash called from across the table. He waved for us to go and he went outside to rev up the cars. I got up and felt my legs go wobbly from both the blissful massage and the alcohol. Skylar wrapped his arm around my waist, something he's been doing a lot tonight, and guided me to the front to get to the car. By the time my butt hit the car seat, I let out a long sigh and shut my eyes until we arrived to our next destination. The car shut off and I opened my eyes to look over at Skylar who hadn't moved yet.

"We can go home." He said.

I shook my head. "I can do one more." I said.

He tilted his head at me and stared at me with his black eyes. I leaned my head back against the seat to rest my head but that gave him an invitation to trail his eyes slowly down my neck and to my chest, all the way down to the slit that ran up the side of my dress. I blushed as he stared at me and his eyes went back up to mine. "Or we can stay here."

I laughed slightly with my mouth closed but his eyes were serious. Oh boy. I looked away from him and shook my head. "Back seat's too small anyway."

He gave me a smirk, promising me something different, and I felt my pleasure spots squirm in pleasure. I got out of that car so fast.

I thought I would be able to last for the rest of the party but I was so wrong. Not even a half hour later I was leaning against Skylar to help me stand and sitting more than usual. My eyes were halfway closed while Skylar sat next to me when Ash approached us.

"You look exhausted." He said. I looked up at him and smiled weakly, admitting my defeat. "Why don't you guys go home? You did well." We thanked him and left as soon as he turned around to entertain someone else. Risu and Kinaga had already gone the party before but Crystal was still there, having the time of her life. She saw me leave and gave me a finger wave before I left and did the same back to her. Except, you know, a normal wave, not a finger wave. I don't get those.

We got in the car and made our way back to the mansion with me ending up falling asleep in the seat. It was a helpful short nap and I didn't complain when Skylar was at my open door, stroking the side of my face to wake me up. My eyes opened to meet his and he smiled calmly at me. "I'd carry you upstairs but you need to change out of the dress." His warm hand trailed down to my hand and he just laid it there on top of mine. I smiled back at him and nodded.

"Good idea."

And then the surprise came. The moment Skylar opened the door (after I stumbled up the steps from all of the drinks I had), Hikuro was in front of the door, as if he was about to open it himself. His eyes were angry and he was just overall pissed. Once he saw who had opened the door he jumped and was calm instantly once he looked over at me. "Cupcake…" He muttered then looked away from me.

But that wasn't what shocked me. The moment the door opened I sensed him. His energy filled the room in a warm heat that made me feel like I should be sweating in my dress, but instead my heart just started to beat quickly. I took a step forward to see behind Hikuro and an unknown source of energy sparked within me as soon as I saw my demon friend in the middle of the room, hands in his pockets. He looked up at me and grinned, showing off his sharp canines.

"Hey, princess." He said, lifting his hand in a wave.

I didn't know what I was doing by the time I was halfway to him. His face showed slight shock at the sight of me running to him in my heels, my arms outstretched towards him. Then the wave of nausea hit me and I stumbled, forgetting that I was still a little drunk. Strong arms caught me and I breathed in the scent of Reuben as he held me gently. My vision was blurry and I blinked a lot to try to get a clear sight of him while he laughed at me. "Damn, just couldn't wait to see me, huh? Nice dress, by the way. Nice view." And he looked down at my chest. I snapped out of my blurred vision, finally, and tried to stand up by myself.

"You jerk!" I yelled at him. "That's the first thing you do?" I felt myself sway and the room blurred again, this time Hikuro was the one to hug me from behind to hold me up. He picked me up bridal style and carried me to my room with me protesting saying I wasn't done with Reuben yet and that he was an asshole. The whole time Reuben grinned at me and waved at me from the first floor as I was carried up to my room with Skylar following us, keeping an eye on Reuben.

Hikuro threw me on the bed and I tried to get back up but was stopped when his finger poked me in the forehead and pushed me back on my back. "No." Was all he said before going to take off my heels. I sat back up, disobeying him, and waited for him to take off my heels. I stretched my toes and welcomed the cool air that hit them and the freedom of being released from the tight footwear.

"When did he get here?" I asked.

"Few minutes ago." Hikuro said, not happy, standing back up, crossing his arms.

"Why?" Skylar asked him directly. Whoa.

"Hell if I know." Hikuro gritted his teeth, "He just showed up out of the blue and acted as if nothing happened. Tails let him in but made sure to tell Spyro about it."

"What did he want?" Skylar asked, his arms crossed too, pissed.

"Her?" Hikuro pointed at me.

I glared at him. "What's your problem?" I asked. Then I stopped and slapped my face with my hand. "Sorry… Cranky."

Hikuro sighed and sat down on the bed next to me, making circles on my back with his fingers. "No, I'm sorry. He just pisses me off. Who does he think he is to come back out of nowhere for no reason?"

The only answer I had was silence as I shook my head and held my head in my hands, feeling a headache approaching.

A knock sounded from the door and all of us knew who it was before he entered, letting himself in. "Hey, that wasn't very nice." Reuben said, closing the door behind him, still grinning.

The sight of him made my throat tight and the only thing I wanted to do right then was either run up and hug him or slap him and yell into his face, asking where he'd been. The alcohol was getting to me and I only realized this when I felt my throat choke up as I kept staring at Rueben who was casually making his way to us with his hands still in his ripped up jean pockets. He had a chaotic shirt on with a black leather jacket and his usual heavy combat boots were hidden underneath the ripped jeans ends. His ears and tail were showing and he still had the cocky attitude visible on him. Damn it. I bit my lip and looked away from him. Shit. Why was he doing this to me?

"Yeah well you haven't done very nice things either," Hikuro said, standing back up to stand partially in front of me.

"Why did you come back?" Skylar asked.

Reuben looked over at Skylar and Hikuro, grin still in place as he motioned towards me, "Because the little lady over there made me promise to come back."

"You didn't need to. We were fine without you." Hikuro said.

My heart felt as if it was stabbed by a needle. That wasn't true. I waited every day for him. I crossed my fingers together in my lap and clenched them tightly. Reuben noticed and raised an eyebrow at me. "I don't think your princess agrees."

"Shut up."

I looked up at Reuben, not realizing that I was the one who said it, and glared at him, my throat still tight and hurting on the inside. "You tell me something important than vanish just like that, not giving me any sign as to when you're coming back. Then you show up randomly and act as if nothing ever happened," My voice was breaking and my gaze was starting to move lower to the ground, "It pisses me off at how I thought every day when you would be back and if you were okay, or hurt, or even dead. I didn't know. How could I fucking know? You tell me how you think you feel then just run away, leaving us with the backwash of everything. Your brother shouldn't have gotten us involved." I felt a tear roll down my cheek and that pissed me off, "He was terrifying." Was the last thing I whispered before hanging my head down in front of me, closing my eyes so I wouldn't see the bruises and wounds that weren't there anymore. I was being childish. The alcohol was getting to my head, I was tired, and I didn't want Reuben to see me like this the moment he got back. I didn't realize I had muttered a sorry before Reuben snapped at me.

"Don't be fucking sorry." I couldn't see him, nor wanted to, but sensed Hikuro and Skylar move in front of me. "And why the fuck are you crying? Cut it out."

"Get out, you piece of shit." Skylar growled.

"Now," Hikuro emphasized.

"No, screw this, I want to know what the fuck she's making a big deal out."

My heart clenched. Shit. I was going to regret all of this tomorrow. My girl emotions were going overload and the tears just kept coming. Why was I making a big deal out of this? There are logical reasons to everything, so why was my brain denying everything logical I sent to it?

Then Hikuro said what my brain was trying to tell me, "because she missed you, you dumbass."

And everything went quiet except for my quiet shaking. I resisted the urge to sniff and let the silence pass on for as long as it wanted. It was Reuben who broke the silence, but I still refused to look up at him. "That's stupid."

My heart was killing me. I couldn't take much more of this beating. Hikuro was the one to snap, though. The next thing that happened was him punching Reuben in the face. It came as a shock to everyone, including Reuben, and I gasped, my hands to my mouth, staring at Hikuro as he growled at Reuben. "You're a heartless son of a bitch, you know that? She backed you up on all the shit you did and that's the fucking thanks she gets?"

Reuben touched his face where a drop of blood was coming out of his mouth and laughed, "I didn't ask for any of this shit, moron."

"Then why are you here?" Skylar said, his voice tight.

Reuben's laugh faltered and he stared at Skylar, dumbfounded. His eyes passed over Hikuro then landed on mine, my hands still to my face but the tears still falling slowly down my cheeks. Then he really looked at me and I watched as his whole body released all of the tension it held. "I don't know."

"Then leave, for good this time." Hikuro said. "The only thing you do is cause problems here."

I shook my head and hid my face in my palms again. I heard Reuben try to step forward but was stopped by my two men. "You're not going near her."

"I think I need to talk to her."

"Not now."

"Leave."

"Tomorrow, then."

"No."

"Fine."

I heard Hikuro growl at Skylar's response. "Why?"

"I want this settled."

I let out a reply in a feeble voice, "I do too." I looked up at everyone and they were staring back at me. My tears had stopped but the sight of Reuben staring at me like his brother had done made more tears fall down as the memories of Ray came flooding back. The way he tossed me across the room and how he forced a kiss on me. It all came flooding back to when Reuben had first kissed me by half force and the other times he had kissed me whenever he wanted something. Did he ever kiss me out of something other than to gain?

The memory of him taking me to the utility closet in the factory came rushing to me and it didn't help. I remembered how he had kissed me so gently as he held me in his arms. Then he had kissed me twice more on his own to surprise me. Why had he done that? He didn't gain anything out of it, right? I called Reuben's name through my tears and choked up throat. He tried to take another step forward but was stopped again.

"Hey, I'm here, why are you crying?" He asked gently.

I shook my head and let out a small cry, cradling my face again. "I don't know."

He knelt down on one knee and tried to catch my gaze through my fingers, "Let me ask you something." He paused and looked away before coming back to me, "Do you want me to stay?"

I put my hands down and looked up at him, nodding my head. I kept nodding my head as I continued to cry and sniffle everywhere. I was a fucking mess.

The last thing I remembered was Reuben nodding then disappearing in a shroud of fire, promising to be there in the morning, and Skylar and Hikuro calling for Kasaigaru to sleep beside me. As soon as I felt his fur against my skin, my body relaxed and I was instantly asleep.