It felt like a thrill just beneath the surface, an itch that couldn't really be scratched alone, and yet he wasn't sure how she'd managed to take so much control over his heart with a gentle smile, her general awkwardness at times, and her passion that came in waves.

Kuranosuke had never expected this as he reached out to her and tried to hold his heart half back from stuttering in his chest even though he knew better. She'd stolen his whole heart, lock and key, and somehow made it all worth it all the time.

He just wanted to be with her whether it was working on saving Amakuza or just hanging out with her whether she was dressed up or not. It felt like the whole world was out to get them and keep them apart or keep them from being so close to each other.

Kuranosuke just wanted to be with her, and the whole world seemed to work out of their favor and in someone else's completely. It felt like a pool of poison in his veins whenever he saw that his older brother had bought her a ring or when he realized that may be, just may be, Kuranosuke could actually propose better or even considering how much that CEO seemed content to have her.

Just, nothing seemed right at all among the mix. Kuranosuke should have been her first kiss; he should have bent down, pulled her close, gently, and really kissed her like the world, so that she'd never have to doubt that it really was a kiss and not an accident.

If he could be even one firework that shifts her life and makes it a lot brighter, if he only burned for a second, he'd still try it. Tsukimi had become so much more than just a best friend to him and yet he wasn't sure how to get through to her that that's how he saw her, now that he really did want to try.

Tsukimi was his world, and he'd be stupid to just let that slip through his fingers.