Chapter 6 : Soulmate

The next few days was like hell for Kobungo. Well, not for his restaurant's income though. Everyday the seats would always be fully booked, sometimes there was a small queue waiting to be seated. Not that he could complain about. The hellish part was not the crowded customer. It was that he could not get a hold of Keno.

At all.

It was as if the long haired beauty was gone with the wind. No answered calls, no replied text messages. Kobungo even asked his whereabouts to Kokonoe-san and the manager of Red Rose whom excitedly greeted him and blabbering about how happy he was to meet him in real flesh -even involved some gropings- but still, no clue about Keno.

Kobungo sighed again. After dinner he dropped Keno off at La Lune then headed back to his apartment. The drive was silent because both had something preoccupied their mind. The revelation from his father almost shocked him to death but he could face it. He decided to talk about it with Keno later, but now a new problem arised again. Just for how long did he have to endure this kind of situation? He was more or less feeling desperate, maybe even in the brink of depression. He just needed some fresh air right now so he sneaked out from the kitchen and went to the park instead.

'Is Keno okay? He ain't got sick, ain't he? Did I do something wrong the last time we met? Did I misread his signals? I thought he was reciprocating my advances? Am I wrong this whole time?' With that thought circulating repeatedly inside his mind, Kobungo didn't realize that he already wandered to a secluded area in the park. Kobungo did not notice this before he saw a stage with chairs surrounding it. He decided to take a break in one of those seats when a sight, a person to be exact, was standing in the middle of the stage.

"Keno..." he whispered to himself. He was about to call the long haired beauty when suddenly Keno moved his body in a rhythm. He raised his arms while doing intricate pattern, and flexed his fingers. He even took several steps around the stage.

Keno was dancing.

Keno was savoring this moment on the stage. He came from a pretty much well known family for their lineage in traditional art performance and traditional confectionary business. But since both of his parents were murdered during a robbery when he was graduated from junior highschool and thus made the store went into chaos and bankruptcy, Keno had to tend his own needs. He still remembered the days when his father taught him numerous Japanese traditional art or when his mother brought the afternoon snacks. And now the meeting with his deemed 'long lost bestfriend' from highschool was taking it's toll on Keno, especially where it was connected to his emotion.

His feeling.

His heart.

He remembered the day when he had dinner with Kobungo's family.

(Flashback)

Kobungo went to the balcony with his father. After he finished the main course, Keno wiped his mouth with a napkin then took a sip of the wine. Bordeaux 2003 sure complimented the main course.

"You know, dear, I never met Ko-chan's date before." Kobungo's mother said after she finished her meal. "When I heard he got a new date I'm glad because that son of mine is pretty much unlucky at romance. He believed in soulmate, how sappy was that? But I guess it runs in the family though because," she made a whispering gesture, "so does his father."

Keno chuckled. "Well, I guess it can't be helped then. But I think the concept of soulmate is kind of...vague."

"Yes, you can say that. But, nevermind. I'm happy with his father whom believe in that concept. When you sincerely love a person you won't betray that person so both of you can live happily. I just want him to feel the same happiness with his choice of partner because every person deserves to be happy." She said with a motherly look.

He just smiled back.

(End of flashback)

Keno could feel those nasty feelings were bubbling inside him. Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. From his supposedly best friends nonetheless. He still felt bitter about it, but inside, he knew he was longing for something else.

To love. And to be loved.

He found that he could do that when he was with Kobungo. Even with their express meeting he knew that Kobungo was the one for him. That thought was scary because he was afraid to lose someone else important in his life, or worse, betrayed by them. He knew from his own experiences that that kind of bond never lasted, at least within his case. That's why he went into a safety measure. He doesn't want to be involved with Kobungo again, cut all the ties between them, and left before that feeling went deeper.

He needed to think it thoroughly, and dancing always made his mind clearer.

Kobungo was stunned. Keno was moving so gracefully that it rendered him speechless. The slight tilt of his head. The way he bended his arms and legs. The swift movement of his hair. And the most intriguing part was his face. So serene yet full of concentration. Unlike Sousuke, Kobungo was not that into the art, well, except for food anyway. But just from the sight of it, Kobungo knew that Keno was baring his feelings to the world right now. He was in the verge of tears because the most prominent part of it was heartache.

With his eyes still fixed to Keno, unconsciously Kobungo took another step to the side stage then climbed the stairs. Keno was still on his own world when suddenly a pair of strong arms enveloped his waist from behind. Keno was shocked. At first he wanted to elbow this person but the familiar feeling was creeping in his spine. He knew this person. He relaxed his stance, his arms left hanging on his side.

They stayed in that position for another moment when Keno broke the silence. "What are you doing here?"

"Am I not allowed being here?" Kobungo asked forlornly. Keno let out a long sigh.

"What do you want?"

"Where've you been?" Kobungo asked back.

"Are we playing twenty questions right now? Cause I don't have time for that." Keno spat back, raising his volume a bit. Kobungo seemed unfazed. He just stood there and tightened his hold on Keno's waist. Keno closed his eyes, basking in the warmth that being provided by Kobungo.

"I'm not playing anything, Keno. I'm seriously worrying about you cause I can't get a hold of you these days. Where've you been?"

"Obviously avoiding you." Keno released Kobungo's hold on his waist then turned around. He was met with a hurtful look from Kobungo and it was hurting him too but he had made this decision. "Look, I'm giving you an easy way out. You are the sole heir of Inuta family, you should get a pretty well-bred princess for a girlfriend and marry her to continue you lineage. Not being with a mere host like me."

"I don't need a pretty well-bred princess. I just need you."

"For god's sake, don't you get it? All this time I was just fooling around with you." Keno almost choked on his own words because he knew how it felt to be stringed around but he had to do it. "Just, just leave me alone and continue with your life."

Kobungo was a little bit shocked to hear that statement coming from Keno. But he already decided that Keno was the last person he would fell for. All or none.

"I ain't continuing my life without you, cause you're the half of my life itself. If you don't want to be with me then I'll wait 'til you do, even it takes forever." Kobungo said with determination. He took a step toward Keno.

"What? Are you a fool? You can't just do that!" Keno said while took another step backward.

"I can. And I will. Why do you even care if you're just fooling with me?" Kobungo asked in a firmer voice and kept advancing forward. For each step Kobungo took, Keno took another backward.

"You don't make any sense. This thing between us won't last lo-"

Keno didn't realize that he had reached the edge of the stage when he took the last step. He was about to fall when suddenly a hand grabbed his left wrist then an arm steadied his body on the waist. Keno put his hands on Kobungo's upper arms. Their close proximity allowed Keno to feel Kobungo's heartbeat and vice versa.

"I'm sure that we will last longer than you ever thought because you're my other half, my soulmate. Even our heart beating at the same rhythm, don'cha think?" Keno listened for a while. Indeed their heartbeat was synchronized that it was heard as one. Keno closed his eyes.

"You don't understand. Your family. My past. It's not-"

Kobungo put his forefinger on Keno's lips, halted the words that coming out from him. Keno opened his eyes then looked up to see Kobungo's face.

"My family is cool, you don't have to worry about it 'cause Pops and Ma already knew about you since the beginning when your parents were still alive." Keno was surprised. His mind tried to collect some memories from his childhood. Indeed, he remembered that he met his father's collegue once or twice, but he didn't expect to meet them nowadays. Especially not when he was falling in love with their son.

"About your past, hell I will make you forget about it 'kay? But let me tell you one thing. If not for your past maybe I won't be with you right now. And I will regret it for the rest of my life." Kobungo said with a smile.

Keno kept his eyes on Kobungo's face, contemplated his words and the situation they were in. He lowered his face again, mumbling something inaudible.

"What did you say?" Kobungo asked while lifting Keno's head on the chin.

"I said how could you be so sappy like this? I'm not a girl." Keno muttered with a blush on his face.

Kobungo chuckled a little. "I know that 'cause I'm a hopeless romantic, ain't I?" He caressed Keno's cheek then lowered his face and kissed Keno's lips. At first Keno was shocked, but after a while he kissed back with a smile.

'Well, I guess I can live with this hopeless romantic.'

.

.

the end.

Thank you for all of your reviews! We will keep this story K-T rated, but maybe in the future we will escalate the rating ^-^ v

What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next story! :)