The end of the iron poker was so close to my skin that it began to singe away the small hairs on my stomach. I looked up, frantically trying to meet Moku's eyes, but he just wore a shadowy expression and studied the ground.

"Hurry up, son," his father growled," Don't leave her waiting." Moku drew back his arm to jam the poker into me, and I clenched my teeth to keep a scream. As the poker flew towards me, I was surprised when it it missed, but something in Moku's eyes told me that it was intentional. The poker continued to travel in a wide arch, and eventually slammed into his father's face.

"How do you like to be at the other end of the poker, Tobuko," Moku spat out the word venomously, and swung the poker at his head again," How does it feel?" His father, Tobuko, lie on the ground unmoving except for the gently rise and fall of his chest. Blood trickled from his nose and mouth, and a deep bruise stretched across his forehead.

"Sorry, Hikari," Moku whispered," I had to lie in order to get you out of here." I was to shocked to respond as he took a set of keys from his back pocket and began to unlock the metal cuffs around my wrists and ankles. "My father was working with this secret group known as the FinalBringers, and when he told me that a young girl had been kidnapped, I offered to come along, knowing it was you."

As soon as my body was free, I lunged at Moku and tackled him to the ground. Even though I was weak and sore, I still had some strength left in me. An expression of fear crossed his gentle features, and he closed his eyes. His body was trembling, as was his bottom lip, but he bit it to keep it still.

"I except your judgment on me, so go ahead and kill me if you will...huh?" Moku was surprised when I pulled him into a hug and buried my face into his warm chest. He smelled faintly of sakura, and I found it comforting.

   "I'm sorry," I mumbled," I left you and never thought twice about your feelings. It makes me feel terrible that I went off with somebody else without trying to smooth it over." There was an exited twinge in my stomach, and I wondered why it was there. The feeling intensified when Moku ran his hand over my soft brown hair to soothe me. I don't have feeling for him, do I? No, I couldn't. That is impossible.

   "Don't worry about me," he shook his head," I don't deserve you. You deserve somebody stronger, somebody who can protect you. Somebody who doesn't have a maniac father who wants to kill you." A small, but sad smile stretched across his face when I looked up at him. I could feel the pain radiating from him, and I knew that his heart was broken. His green eyes gleamed with tears, and they began to spill over," I'm a coward. I'm no good for you. You need to be with Hichigo because I have seen how happy he makes you. I could never give you that."

   His tears trailed down his face, and my heart broke for him. He must be very lonely now that I dropped out of school. I withdrew my arms and sat up, and he suddenly noticed that I was sitting in his lap. His face reddened, and he looked away, ashamed that he was crying in front of me.

   "You're not weak, Moku," I said gently as I wiped the tears from his face," Don't say all of those things. They aren't true. If my life wasn't so jacked up, I would've chosen you. Maybe in another life..." I placed my hands on either side of his face, my fingers stretching behind his ears and pushing into his hair. He sighed and closed his eyes, and it seemed as if he was drinking in the moment.

   "This is wrong. You shouldn't be doing this," Moku whispered," What would Hichigo say about this?" I removed my left hand from his face and pressed my finger to his lips to quiet him, and he stared up at me with his beautiful green eyes. He's right. I shouldn't be doing this, but it is for his sake. His heart needs to be whole or I will never be able to live with myself.

   "I don't care what he is going to say," I said sternly, but my voice began to soften," This is between me and you, do you understand?" Moku nodded, and I took my finger away from his lips and placed my hand on his shoulder. "But, I appreciate you being concerned."

   "How can I not?" Moku asked so softly that I could barely hear him," I don't want him to kill me." He nearly jumped out of his skin when I pulled his forehead to mine. His breath was warm and sweet against my face, and I knew that I was blushing like crazy.

   I held his face tighter and pulled him into me, our lips brushing teasingly. Moku blushed and tensed up, but he didn't recoil. I drew apart a few inches before I smashed my lips to his and kissing him passionately. We were kissing. I was kissing him, he was kissing me back, but it didn't feel intimate like Hichigo and I.

   The kiss stayed soft and heartfelt, and it never deepened, so I knew that Moku understood. It was more to comfort him than anything, but I found myself enjoying it. And I don't think I was the only one who felt like that. After a few minutes, we broke away, gasping for breath.

   "You are going to make a woman very happy someday," I panted as Moku propped himself up with his hands. He had a dazed look in his eyes, so he almost looked as though he were drunk. His hair was messy, and sweat beaded on his forehead. When he turned to look at me, his cheeks were a bright shade of scarlet. "Now, let's not tell Hichigo about this because I did it as a friend."

   "I know you did," Moku smiled and placed his fingers to his lips as if he were still remembering the feeling of my lips against his," But it was still my first kiss." I blushed and got out of his lap, standing to my feet shakily and holding my hand out to help him up. "And most likely my last," he muttered as I helped him to his feet.

   "You know the way out, right?" I said, ignoring his last comment. I didn't really understand what he meant, but it gave me the chills. A wave of pain washed over me and I leaned against him heavily, slipping my arm around his waist.

   "Yeah, I do," he said cheerfully as he slipped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer," Let's go!"