Dry and stagnant air licked at my exposed skin as my legs dangled lazily over the edge of the balcony ledge. Star twinkled above me like glittering diamonds, captivating me as I stare, lost in their beauty along with my own thoughts. Sleep has not come easy as of late, and my old habits of sitting outside staring up at the stares have returned. To be frank, my insomnia began when Hikaru and I reached an agreement that we were far too old to be sharing a bed. People would get the wrong idea. A tired sigh escapes through my lips, a heavy feeling weighing down in my chest. The Pearl Chase would be upon us in little over two weeks, and the feeling of uneasiness was becoming all the worse the more I thought about it. It wasn't the thought of participating in the chase, it was that fact that Hikaru and I would be the ones partnered together. I care for Hikaru, I really do-but what is this chase ruins out friendship?

What if he's unable to catch me?

What if he doesn't even want to participate?

The ultimate humiliation was being refused by your female partner right before the chase.

Yet being refused by the male could often times be just as bad.

Not only that, but Silver informed me that Rin and Mamoru were both selected for the chase, although he refused to go into detail as to who was his partner.

Poor Takeshi was forced to watch as the one he cared for be picked for the chase by a different male. Takeshi was all alone this time.

Leaning my head forward, i rest my chin on my knee, while the other leg dangled over the edge. My hair whipped around due to the wind, but I couldn't have cared less. My eyes trained towards the ground below me, my eye's moving in a sort of lazy motion as I looked around at what lay down below. How I wished to hear the laughter of Rin and to have him safely in my arms.

His positivity is what I need right now.

I snort unattractively at the thought of Rin yelling out "Mother!" When he sees me. The age gap seemed large enough for right now, but I'm far too young to have a child by the age of seven, I'm only fifteen.

Just wait till he turns twenty years of age, and I'm only twenty-eight. People will truly be horrified then.

"Shizukana? What are you doing awake?"

His voice alone was enough to distinguish him. I don't bother turning around as I feel him draw closer.

"Was just thinking. What are you doing up, Hikaru."

I heard him sigh in exhaustion. "Couldn't sleep, was going to head to the kitchen for a snack when I heard a noise come from your room."

A particularly strong gust of wind sends my hair flying to the left of me, particles of sand forcing me to squeeze my eyes shut as to not get anything into my eyes.

"As I said, I was just thinking, Hikaru. No need to worry about me." I say dismissively.

"I'm always going to worry about you." His voice was the definition of sincere, sending disbelief through me. Turning my head around, I could practically feel my heart beating in my chest as I made eye contact with him.

Hikaru's eyes stared down at me with intensity, his long red hair swaying around his shoulders wildly as the wind continued to pick up.

I couldn't help out notice the attire that adorned him, or rather the lack of.

He was shirtless, every ounce of muscle gained over the years of training rippling as he moved towards me. Baggy sweatpants hung lowly at his hips, and I could feel my mouth run dry.

I'm only fifteen. What the Kami am I doing?!

Tearing my gaze away from his body, I look back up towards his face, only to see him smirking down at me. Swinging my head around, I feel my face turn a bright shade of red, the burning feeling in my face only intensifying as warm breath breathed down my neck.

"You done checking me out, Dollface?"

The hairs on my neck stand on end as goosebumps spread themselves across my exposed arms. Having nothing on except a t-shirt (Hikaru's by the way) and a pair of shorts, I strangely felt rather exposed.

My silence was the answer that seemed to please Hikaru the most, as he chuckled and wrapped his arms around me, pressing his bare chest up against my back.

Although the chuckle was mere moments ago, Hikaru's demeanour changed instantly, his tone taking on a rather serious note.

"You were thinking about the Pearl Chase, weren't you." His voice sounded oddly cold, coming from him, and it instantly put me on the defensive side, nerves crawling through my veins viciously.

Feeling my body tense, Hikaru draws circles on the exposed skin of my arms, trying to calm me down like he usually does.

"I'm scared for it.."

"Why is that."

"What if something goes wrong-"

My body was suddenly lifted off the railing of the balcony. Turning me around, Hikaru sets my back down on the railing before trapping me in place with his arms.

Eye's narrow, his pupils almost seemed to narrow into slits.

"Do you trust me?"

My brows furrowed in confusion

"Why does that-"

"Do. you. Trust. Me." Hikaru's voice was stern and serious, his eyes seeming to look right into my soul.

I had to force my voice to not crack or waver, the intensity of Hikaru's stare not being one that I'm accustomed too.

"Of course I do."

His look softened dramatically, and a small smile played across his lips.

"Then trust in the fact that everything will be fine. Trust in me to get us through this. Trust me, Shizukana. I WILL catch you."

The heavy feeling that I felt in my chest quickly lifted, the worry that was being held in my being slowly drifting away. Reaching up with my hand, I out my rather small hands(In comparison to Hikaru's) On to his face. Bringing his face down towards me, I place my head against his, my eyes closing as my body slowly relaxed.

"Thank you, Hikaru."

"Anything for my Lorelei."

My heart soared, the strong feeling to just lean up and kiss him running through my veins like hellfire. Pushing down the feeling, I lean away from him, my eyes trailing towards his glowing tattoo.

The one that portrayed a female warrior will glowing eyes the colour of blood.

It was a tattoo of me.

Looking down, I push up the sleeve to my tattoo just a bit, the shining purple eyes of Hikaru's tattoo becoming visible.

Hikaru's eyes still burned into me, as I turned to look back at him.

Hikaru's arms were back around me once again, encompassing me in his embrace as he lifted me off the ground.

"I do believe that it's time to get this little Siren back to bed."

A whine escaped my lips so incredibly fast, I even surprised myself.

"I don't wanna. Not like I'm going to get any sleep anyways."

A chuckle escapes Hikaru, filled with warmth.

"Trust me, you'll be getting sleep."

"....Hikaru."

"Yes?"

"That sounds wrong."

I giggle as his face turns a shade that could even rival his hair.

"That is so NOT what I meant." Stuttered Hikaru, at a loss for words from the comment that I made. Laughing still, I reach up and play with a strand of his hair as he lays me down on my bed. Turning away, he goes to the door and closes it, the door itself being open from when Hikaru walked in to check on me.

I look at him with confusion, the situation only registering in my brain once Hikaru lifts the covers and crawls in beside me.

"W-What are you doing?! We aren't twelve anymore!" I stutter, feeling flustered and out of place now that he was laying beside me.

"Oh get over it, it's not that bad."

"But what will people think-" HIs arms wrapped around my shoulders, pulling me down from my sitting position while also flipping me over so my back was to his chest again.

We were spooning.

"I don't give a damn what people say. It's none of their business anyways. Besides-"

He leans his head down, his face nuzzling into my neck, his breath fanning over my skin.

"We both know that since we first moved to the mist, neither of us have been getting any amounts of sleep like we used to. Just relax and get some sleep, we could both use it."

Sighing, I slightly shake my head at him before trying my best to sink even farther into the pillows, a cascade of warmth enveloping me as Hikaru pulled the sheets over us.

"Goodnight, Hikaru."

"Goodnight, love."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Laughter surrounded us like a symphony, the sound beautiful and breathless. All was well as we prepared to depart for the leaf, but one certain situation forced to keep my stern face on. The situation you may ask?

Gaara not using his pendant when he was supposed to.

Walking towards the now Kazekage, I ignore the looks of the others and give the red-headed boy a small push on the shoulder.

HIs head whipped around, his eyes slightly narrowed before he realized that is was me.

"What can I do for you?"

I scoff and look at him with an unamused look.

"Don't be so formal with me for crying out loud, I just came to give you a heads up."

If he could raise an eyebrow, I'm sure he would have. Alas, they were nonexistent. He instead sufficed with just looking at me with a stoic expression. Sighing, I reach out towards him and grab a piece of string that was visible near his neck. Pulling out the pendant, I take the jewel and shove it in his face.

"USE THIS DAMN THING! I GAVE IT TO YOU FOR A REASON!"

HIs eyes were wide in shock, as my face twists into one of distaste. SIlence elapses over the area, several pairs of eyes turning to look at us.

Gaara looks at me with what I could only deem to be both caution and warmth.

"I didn't want to put your life in danger-"

"Gaara. If I was fighting off an enemy and had the chance to call for help before they captured me, would you have wanted me to have done it?"

"Of course-"

"Than the same applies for you okay? Don't worry me so bad! I don't want to have a heart attack, I'm too young!"

Laughing slightly, I lean forwards and bring Gaara in for a hug. "Just be safe for now on okay?"

Gaara just stands there for a few seconds before awkwardly bringing his arms around me and returning the hug.

"I can't promise anything...but I'll try."

"That's all I can ask for."

Leaning away from him, I offer him a small smile.

"Write to me sometimes. I hate not hearing from you for so long."

Gaara just nods, the corners of his lips turning up ever so slightly, but hardly noticeable to the untrained eye.

"See you soon, Gaara!"

"You as well."

Laughing, I turn and make my way to where Hikaru was waiting, his purple eyes shining in glee through the holes of his mask.

"Always so temperamental, Lorelei."

"Shut up!"

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Sorry for the late update! Im currently grounded (and have been for awhile) until the 22nd of November. I also lose all electronics when im UNGROUNDED at 5:00PM every night, so updates will be so much more slower now.

HOWEVER! This chapter may have been a filler, but it was more of a romance chap for all those people out there that ship Hikaru and Shizukana together.

Speaking of which, do any of you have ship names for them yet?

-Mizuko.