Tadaima.

Yes, I am back. It has been much, much longer than I thought it would be, but finally I have returned. f^_^; I apologise for the ridiculous wait, but here is the long-demanded sequel to "Never Mine". Currently the entire story is not complete, but the greater part of it is, so to restart my "Monochrome Factor Revival" I thought I would begin to publish.

I hope you all enjoy it and forgive me for my ridiculous absence. xD

Prologue

Akira let out a long sigh as he leaned back in his chair, running a hand through his ruffled auburn hair. Lazily he turned his sharp grey eyes to glance at the clock – still a couple of hours before he got to go home. With another sigh, he leaned back over his desk, poising his pen over the papers in front of him. A bit of a pause, and then he said, "What, have you learned English now?"

"It's a bit difficult for me to have not picked something up, Akira-kun," came the light sentence.

Akira wrinkled his nose as silken strands of silver hair cascaded in front of his view, brushing against his face. "You're in my way, I can't see."

He heard the low laugh above him as Shirogane settled his chin on the crown of Akira's head.
"Just blow it out of the way."

Another sigh. "Sometimes I wonder how I get any work done with you around."

"Because you're used to it now."

Akira fell silent as he began writing, making bold red marks across the page. He was twenty-one now, working for a small translation company. Though he was into adulthood now, his body was still lean and strong as it had been as a teenager. His face had matured, his deep eyes darkened, and now his auburn hair was kept clipped close to his neck… perhaps those were the only things to show he had changed since his senior year of high school.

That, and his shadow had been replaced with the tall Shin King.

Three years. Akira's pen stopped over the paper as he realized it. It was almost exactly three years to the day. Slowly, he moved his opposite hand down to his stomach, flinching at the slight stab of pain he felt as he pressed his palm into his abdomen. In a flash, the memory of the fear and pain and cold came back to him, racing through his mind… memories of the day he had almost died. Within a few seconds, he felt Shirogane's hand over his own, felt the Shin's lips pressed into his hair.

"Akira-kun," was the soft, loving whisper that stirred the auburn strands in the back of his head.

Akira closed his eyes. He hated that time, so long ago… hated it, loathed it, but at the same time, could never let it go. He could never let it go, because at the end of that time, he had finally been able to become Shirogane's.

The insecurities, the pain, the heartache he could never let go either, although doing so would definitely be best. He couldn't tell Shirogane that part… he couldn't tell the Shin King that some part of him would always be afraid of Ryuuko, of the fact that he was Ryuuko, that he was afraid that 'Akira' couldn't be loved. It would only hurt the Shin, and saying it would hurt Akira more than just keeping it inside. As the years had worn on, the fears and pain had faded mostly away, and they only rose at times few and far between. But still… the fact that they were there made Akira ashamed of himself.

"Akira."

He felt Shirogane move, and the king did so right in time to avoid the folder that now impacted Akira's hair. With a small grumble, he turned his head to see his group manager tapping him.

"What is it, Kawamura-san?"

"You look tired, maybe even a bit sick. You've been working very hard the past few weeks, so why don't you take the rest of the day off and go home to rest?"

"No –"

"Don't worry, you're far ahead of schedule. You'll drop behind if you overwork yourself though. Go rest."

"Thank you, Kawamura-san," he said tiredly, standing and bowing to her. "I apologize."

"Not at all, not at all. Hurry home and rest your cute little head."

And she left the cubicle. Akira pulled his jacket on, slipped his current documents into his bag, and left, calling his goodbyes to the rest of his colleagues as he went out the door. He shivered as the initial cold breeze of early March hit him, but continued on. Shirogane walked close beside him, and Akira glanced out of the corner of his eye to watch the sunset play across the strands of Shirogane's pure hair.

"Should we stop by Master's?" Akira asked after they were a few blocks away.

"Not tonight. Kawamura-san is right, you look tired. I think it's best we just relax at home."

He nodded once, then turned his gaze forward again. His parents, soon after he had gotten this job, had been called back to England for an indefinite amount of time. They were renting the family home to him, saying that once they returned he would have to move out on his own. Akira somewhat doubted they would be returning to Japan, though… they had liked London far too much, and he was sure that the nearly three years of living in Liverpool would not discourage them from setting up permanent residence in Europe. He didn't mind too much; he liked having the house to himself, and he would be reluctant to leave behind all the memories in favour of a flat somewhere downtown.

His thoughts turned to the others, just for a moment. After graduation, he had remained in touch with Kengo and Aya, and they were still in town as well. Both were attending the university in the next town over, and were working part-time – Aya as a kendou instructor, and Kengo as a waiter at one of the higher-class restaurants in the area. The three of them met up every now and then for a little get-together, but they had all been somewhat distant since the incident.

Akira supposed it was mostly his fault. He had separated himself for a long time, and though after everything was over he was more willing to let them back into his life, he had never felt as if things could go back to being the way they were. Sometimes he liked it better this way… sometimes he wished he had tried harder to accept their offers.

Kou, too. Akira knew that Kou and Shirogane had been trying their best to get along for his sake, but although Kou smiled and was bubbly and happy as ever, the young Rei heir could never quite shake the feeling that internally, his "son" was shaking his head and wishing he had never helped…that he had never even pretended to be friends with Shirogane.

"Akira-kun?"

"You look glazed. Are you okay?"

"Fine. Just thinking."

Shirogane raised a pale eyebrow, but as they pushed through the gate to the house, the Shin opened the door to let Akira straggle inside. Akira shrugged off his jacket, letting out a long sigh of relief. He was glad to be home. Before he could walk further in, a hand caught his chin, turning his head around and up to meet Shirogane's lips. It was sudden, but Akira melted in the gesture, welcoming the sudden kiss. As they parted, Shirogane whispered in a low voice, blue eyes serious.

"I love you, Akira-kun."

Akira let his eyes slide closed as he leaned his head forward, searching for another kiss. Shirogane gave it to him, warm and comforting. Akira needed it… he wanted it. Shirogane's taste was so powerful that he wanted to drown in it, and it blocked his senses as the king pressed him against the wall, pushing deeper and deeper. When he came up for air, he whispered hoarsely, "I'm supposed to be resting."

Shirogane had started trailing down his neck, pulling away Akira's shirt, but paused at the boy's words. He said, "Is that going to be your excuse tonight?"

"I'm sorry…"

"No, no." Shirogane straightened up, raising a hand to cup Akira's face. Those icy eyes pierced deep into him, painfully. "I told you I can wait."

"I'm sorry."

Shirogane merely smiled and brushed another light kiss across his mouth before straightening up. "I'll make dinner tonight."

"All right."

Akira went upstairs as Shirogane split from him – he crossed over into his Shin form, hair darkening to black and eyes glowing brilliant red. He took a quick shower, dove into the tub for a few minutes to relax, then hurriedly dried off and dressed in some casual clothes. He ruffled the towel through his hair as he descended the stairs back down to the main level, hair blazing back into auburn and eyes fading to silver as he came within the space limit for Shirogane to act as his doppelganger.

Dinner was quiet, as per usual, but it wasn't a quiet that was uncomfortable. Akira had grown quite used to this understanding silence. His relationship with Shirogane had progressed to the point they didn't need to speak. They could sit quietly like this, in mutual silence, and still enjoy each other.

Shirogane ushered him to bed almost immediately after dinner, and given how much more drowsy he had become, Akira wasn't in the mood to argue. He straggled back up the stairs, sliding into his bed and snuggling under the covers. He was shivering for a few minutes, even as the sheets warmed up, but then he felt the bed sag, and he slipped a few inches back into Shirogane, who wrapped his arms tightly around Akira.

"Sleep well, Akira-kun."

"Good night, Shirogane."

As he drifted off into the sweet relief of sleep, Akira couldn't help but smile, just a bit, to himself. If life could continue like this… just like this… then he could be the happiest person in the world.