Chifuyu's family's apartment was smaller than mine but was neat and orderly. His parents were away so it was just us inside it. He grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and then handed them to me. I changed from my wet clothes inside the bathroom. When I was already dry and clean, he led me to his bedroom. It was neat, too, like the living room. There was a shelf of manga and a separate one for games, his TV, and a DVD player. From the corner of the room, a black cat with wide eyes approached us.

"That's Peke J," Chifuyu carried the cat and filled its bowl with food.

"He's a cute cat," I said as I watched Peke J munch his snack.

The boy caressed its fur. For a moment, none of us talked. We just listened to the silence. And just like the other times before, it wasn't awkward. Like being with each other was enough for us to be contented.

I watched the rain through the window. It might take a long time before it stops.  I remembered stalking Chifuyu before, watching his actions through this very window. Maybe, at that time, I'd already somehow fallen for him. He piqued my interest and then became the boy I wanted to be with. To be my boyfriend. And, now, I didn't know what Taiju was planning to do to him.

"Taiju Shiba..." I heard Chifuyu speak. "He's really your cousin?"

"Yes," I lied so I refused to look into his eyes. I sat at the foot of his bed while Chifuyu stood up from beside me and sat at the window's sill. Right where I was looking.

He said, "You don't know much about me, too." He picked up Peke J and cradled the purring black cat. "Black Dragon is not exactly a group of saints. Being blood-related to its leader, you might have things you are not so proud of about your family." 

Oh, Chifuyu. If you only knew. I was truly an awful person.

He continued, "It's alright. You can keep your family secrets." Then he beamed at me. "Let's be both mysterious to each other."

I couldn't contain my pent-up emotions. How did someone like me land on such an angelic being? Tears flowed like rivers from my eyes and I started to sob. Fuck, I hated this. I hated lying to Chifuyu. I hated my background. I hated being Death.

With all my fucking heart.

"S-sakura." Chifuyu flailed and handed me a tissue paper. "Why are you crying? Is it something I said?"

But all I could say was "Idiot."

He laughed and went to the shelf with DVDs. He pulled one. "Do you want to watch something before we prepare dinner"

"What is that?"

"You'll see." He inserted the disc in the player and I saw that it was a recording of Sweetie Cuties' concert. "I'm sure you already saw this but I think it'll be fun watching it together!"

It was my turn to smile. I stood up and sat right beside Chifuyu. Thinking about it, I owed so much to this boy. Taiju might've given me another life but I realized that since then I haven't really been living. I was just a walking talking corpse that obeyed Black Dragon's every command. Separating myself from them wouldn't be easy. Fuck, I knew it'd be so freaking hard. But I could try. For myself and for Chifuyu. Because he deserved to have a better girlfriend than Death.

We watched the concert together, but, in the middle of it, I felt Chifuyu's blond head fall into my shoulder and settle there. His breathing was soft and he was barely moving. He fell asleep. I giggled at his cuteness. I could smell the fragrant scent of his flowery shampoo and feel his body leaning to mine. To his sleeping form, I whispered, "Ayane. My real name is Ayane."

***

I woke up from a bed I was unfamiliar with. Then, I remembered, I was in Chifuyu's apartment, laying in his bed. But where was he? I looked around. The DVD player and the television were turned off. Peke J, his cat, wasn't in the room. I stood up from the fluffy bed and heard my stomach grumble. I wasn't able to eat last night because I fell asleep beside my boyfriend. Did he carry me and place me on his bed? That was sweet. I wondered where he slept though.

Walking out of the bedroom, I could hear Chifuyu humming a Sweetie Cuties song. He was in the kitchen, looking like he was cooking something. Gosh, I was starving. During my missions, I often felt hungry if it took long hours, so I've learned to ignore my empty stomach. But, being relaxed here in Chifuyu's castle, I felt free to feel my weaknesses. 

"What's that?" I asked him as I took a seat at the dining table.

He looked at me with a smile. "Omurice. We weren't able to cook and eat it yesterday. Here!" He placed the plate in front of me. It looked delicious. I took a spoonful. "How is it?"

"It's salty" was my honest reply.

"S-salty?!" He was about to take the plate away from me but I gripped it with my free hand and continued eating it with the other. "You'll get kidney stones from too much salt!"

"It won't suddenly pop out!"

"Give it back to me, Sakura! It's not delicious!"

"No way!"

"Sakura!"

"I want it!" He finally stopped taking away the food from me. "I'm glad you made it for me."  Since my parents died, no one had prepared a homecooked meal for me. This salty omurice was enough to fill my heart with joy. And, Chifuyu made it, making it even more special.

"Suit yourself," he said while blushing. He took a spoonful of his and almost gagged. "This is salty!" We both laughed.

After eating, since the rain had stopped, Chifuyu and I got into his bike. Before taking me home, we rode around town, sometimes pausing and enjoying a view or eating a snack. It was after lunchtime when we reached my apartment. A balloon vendor passed by us and Chifuyu must've noticed the desire in my eyes because he chased after the old man and bought a red balloon. He ran toward me and handed me the balloon with a big smile.

I took it but it easily slipped away from my hand, floating up and up until it reached the heavens. Right then, I felt a premonition: that the thing I wanted the most could easily fly away from my hands.

"Oh no! Do you want me to go after the old man again?" Chifuyu asked.

But I shook my head. "No," I said, "it's alright. That red balloon was what I wanted." We watched the balloon in the sky, then I told Chifuyu another "thank you." I've been receiving so much from him. Maybe I could do something for him for a change.

***

The next day, I woke up early. With a cookbook, I prepared a bento for Chifuyu. I rolled rice into onigiri balls, fried a bunch of tamagoyaki, and deep-fried shrimp to turn them into ebi tempura. After I finished, I almost patted my own back. I did a pretty nice job. All I had to do was to go to school and hand the piece of work to my boyfriend.

Excited, I ran toward school, dodging other walking students. Then, I ran into someone. The lunchbox I made fell from my hand as I caught myself and managed not to fall. "Hey!" I shouted at the student who bumped into me.

I saw him.

His hair was short and brown. His smile was wicked. And his eyes... Oh, I knew those eyes. They stared briefly at me before winking.

Karasu. 

Yes. That had to be him.

I felt my phone vibrate.