Chapter Ninety: Oh Look! A New Chapter!

Kane felt genuinely happy that morning. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and Mira was glaring at him as he watched in amusement as Yasuo sulked in a corner. It wasn't his fault though, it was all just too funny.

Apparently, the overprotective redhead had done something to upset Shina because she had abandoned him in favor of going out for lunch with Hadwin of all people. Kairos had been invited, but after Noir had pounced on Hadwin, everyone thought it would be safer for the blond man to be as far away as possible from the cat. And now, Yasuo had decided that he didn't like Shina leaving him behind, and Kane found it just too funny.

"Stop that," Mira snapped, smacking his arm.

"He's already upset, he doesn't need you to make fun of him."

"But I'm not!" Kane defended, but his mouth twitched as he struggled not to smirk and Mira just glared at him all the more.

"Oh come on, it's not my fault I find it funny, besides, it's what he gets for making Shina-san angry."

Mira sighed and shook her head, turning to leave the room.

"You know, if he just told Shina-san how he felt he wouldn't be sulking right now," Kane pointed out, following after Mira.

"I know, I know, but Yasuo-nii just isn't good at that kind of thing."

"What, you mean he writes cheap romance novels but he can't even confess to the woman he loves?" Kane asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I have to say, that's pretty sad."

"You're one to talk," Mira muttered.

"Hey! I had no problems telling you how I felt!" Kane said, indignantly.

Mira stopped and looked at him.

"You hid in your apartment for a week and then ignored me," she said with a deadpan look.

And Kane really couldn't argue with that, because really, what could he possibly say? Nervously, he cleared his throat.

"Well, eventually, I had no problem telling you how I felt."

At that, Mira gave a rather unladylike snort as she tried not to laugh.

"You're such an idiot," she said, shaking her head.

Kane just grinned at her.

"Anyway, maybe we should do something to help," he said, and there was something in his eyes that spoke of trouble and Mira did not like that one bit.

"You know, give him a little push in the right direction."

"Oh no, you stay out of this," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"But I'm just trying to help," Kane argued.

"I'm sure you are," and you could hear the sarcasm dripping from Mira's voice.

"But I really doubt the kind of help you'd give Yasuo-nii. And if you even try anything you'll be sleeping in the hallway because I'm not letting you in my room," she threatened.

Sure, she liked having Kane with her at night(thought she would never admit it), but she also liked having a sane cousin. The look of horror on Kane's face was enough to tell her the threat had worked.

"But Mi-chan! I'd be so lonely! Would you really make me sleep all by myself?" and there went the kicked puppy look.

Mira was immune to it by now.

"You live on your own," she pointed out.

"Well yeah, but that can change."

And suddenly he was holding her and Mira was blushing a brighter red than her cousin's hair.

"Wh-what are you saying?" she tried not to stutter, really she did.

"Well, I did say I was serious about our relationship, Mira. That means that, eventually, I'd like to not have to go all the way to your cousin's house just to see you," Kane said with a smirk.

Oh yes, he knew he was making the girl all flustered. After all, he had just basically told her he wanted her to live with him and Mira had always been rather shy, no matter what she said or how she acted. But making her blush was just one of the reasons he brought the topic up. Mira would be starting college soon, which meant she would be busy, which meant Kane wouldn't see her as often, especially with his job and her cousin getting in the way. That thought had been bothering him for a while, and he had decided that he really did want Mira to move in with him. Maybe she wouldn't agree to it so soon, and that was fine with Kane, just as long as she knew his door was always open for her, whenever it was she decided they should move forward in their relationship. For now, though, he'd reassure her that there was no rush.

"You know, I said eventually, Kitten. I really don't expect you to start moving in as soon as we go back home," he said with a laugh.

"I know that!" Mira said, cheeks still flushed.

"Good! But the offer still stands if you ever get tired of staying with your cousin," he said, and he couldn't help but add in a wink, just to tease her.

"I'll keep that in mind," she said dryly, and she tried to sound like she didn't care, but she was still blushing and couldn't really look at Kane.

"Alright then, how about some ice cream to celebrate!" Kane said cheerfully.

"I'm not moving in yet!" Mira said, but she allowed the man to drag her out the house and towards the store.

Kane didn't say anything, just laughed, and Mira tried not to think about how happy it made her to think that he really did want her around, that he was so serious about their relationship. She couldn't really tell him how happy she felt though, not unless she wanted him to tease her relentlessly, so she settled for the next best thing, though she couldn't do more than mutter it under her breath.

"What was that?" Kane asked, not having caught what she had said.

And Mira repeated what she'd said, still looking away from Kane, and that was probably why she didn't see him smirk.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't catch that Kitten," he lied.

"I said I love you!" Mira finally snapped.

Then Kane laughed, and Mira wanted to hit him. So she did, though it wasn't a very hard punch on the arm.

"Idiot! I'm never saying that again!"

That was a lie, but Kane didn't need to know that.

"Alright, I'm sorry," Kane apologized, holding his hands up before him.

Mira still glared at him, but Kane just grinned and leaned over to leave a small kiss on her lips.

"I love you too, Mira," he said.

"So please don't hit me too much, I can't really help but tease you."

That probably wasn't the best thing to say, Kane thought, as he watched her eye twitch in irritation. Before she could complain though, he took her hand and began to lead her off to the store again. He didn't say anything when her grip on his hand tightened a bit, and she didn't complain about the way he kept grinning like a maniac. They were used to those things by then, and maybe that was a good thing, especially if Kane had his way and Mira moved in with him, even if that wouldn't happen any time soon. Kane had waited twenty-three years just to meet Mira though, he could wait a bit more.

xxxxxxx

Oh hi everyone! I'm not dead! But I am really, really, really, really really sorry about the super duper long wait and the extreme shortness of this chapter, but I've been unbelievably busy, then I lost my inspiration and had to read insane amounts of shoujou manga to get in the romance writing mood again. Then I decided I should write something to show you guys I haven't abandoned this story, so here you go. Oh, and sorry about the lack of line breaks from now on and any typos, but my Doc. Manager is just a small block of coded text that I can't edit anything on, so yeah.

I'll really try to get a new chapter up soon, but I also started a spinoff of this story focusing on our favorite evil science teacher, Hadwin! It's a romance(because I still need to practice that genre) and takes place about a year after the start of this story. I just posted the first chapter yesterday, so check that out if you want.

As always, please review if you get the chance and thanks to those that have stuck with this story thus far. Until next time!