Cataclysm

Chapter Sixteen

-Phase One: Stay Out of the 'Friend Zone'-

Natsumi sat at one of the few tables in the physician's lounge of the hospital. She had her head propped up and her chin resting on her hand. She was still wearing her scrubs, having been too tired to bother to change after the surgery. It had been just a couple days since Akito's proposal of friendship and ever since then Akito had managed to get her phone number and insisted on calling her every morning and every evening.

It was so irritating. But she had to give him credit. He was very persistent. She leaned forward, resting her forehead on the table and trying to fall asleep. Just then a nurse walked in and set something on the table before her, causing her to sit up slightly in order to see it. Her eyes widened when she saw a large bouquet of various kinds of lilies in a beautiful vase, with a card amongst the petals.

"These were delivered for you Dr. Sabaku." The girl said, smiling slightly.

"Really?" she blinked, absolutely mind-blown. "They're gorgeous." She smiled, taking out the card and pulling the hard paper from its envelop.

Natsumi,

I figured you could use something to cheer you up and put that radiant smile on your face. Hope it worked.

Sincerely,

Your Personal Stalker/Pending BFF

She actually let out a small laugh and looked back up to the magnificent flowers. "Uchiha Akito…you are some kind of freak." She smiled, touching the tips of the petals and then getting up. "Alright." She glanced to the nurse and stretched. "I'll finish off my rounds and then I'm heading home. Tell my brother I said hi when he comes in and that dinner is on for tomorrow."

The nurse nodded. "Of course Dr. Natsumi."

Natsumi walked out from the lounge then and headed into the hospital to check on her patients and treat the more severe needs. About an hour later, she changed into her clothes which consisted of some black yoga pants and a tank top, with a light jacket to match. She grabbed her purse and then the flowers and headed out, saying her final goodbyes to the staff.

Since she had flowers, she decided to hail a cab, instead of her usual walk home. It didn't take long to reach her home since it was pretty close to the hospital so that she could always be on call should they need her. Once she pulled up to her building, she paid the driver and got out and headed up the steps. She leaned against the wall of the elevator on her way up to her floor. The doors opened and she walked out, stopping in front of her door. She glanced down and let out an audible sigh. "You've got to be kidding me." She grumbled.

There sitting in front of her door was a massive arrangement of fruit, dipped in chocolate. The fruit was even shaped like leaves and flowers. Natsumi set her flowers down and unlocked the door to her suite and carried the flowers in, having to make a second trip for the Edible Arrangement. She closed the door with her foot and set the gift down on her kitchen table. "He is such a weirdo." She shook her head, pulling one of the chocolate covered strawberries off and biting into it. "Oh god," she gasped, savoring the delicious flavor. She tossed away the green and headed into her room, changing into something more comfortable and that didn't smell like the hospital.

She came back out in some short black shorts and a tight black, long sleeved shirt. The sleeves stopped just past her fingertips and she already felt at ease. Turning on the flat screen she made herself some hot chocolate and piled her favorites of the chocolate covered fruits to a plate and sat down on the couch to relax. It was then that her phone rang, and without looking away from the TV, she reached over and picked up the cordless land line and held it to her ear. "Hello. Natsumi here."

"You should come up with a more interesting way to answer your phone." A deep, now familiar voice said.

She just sighed, "If you don't like it, you can stop calling you know."

"But then I wouldn't get to hear your angelic voice." He said, sounding amused. "So, how was your day?"

"Well," she began, leaning back and pulling her legs up onto the couch. She couldn't help but laugh. He was so amusing sometimes. "It was pretty decent. Some surgeries, some stalker sent me flowers and then I found fruit on my door step. But nothing too unusual."

"Ah." He said. "So you get fruits and flowers often? Does this mean I have to come up with other ways to make you think of me?" he asked.

"Please." She rolled her eyes. "What did you think, giving me chocolate covered fruit would make me think of you? I bet you hoped it would make me want to cover you in chocolate." She nickered.

"Is that what you thought of as your sexy mouth bit into one of the chocolate covered bananas?" he joked. "If so, you are way more perverted than I originally thought."

Her face turned a dark red as she tried not to picture the image in her head. Man was she glad they were only talking over the phone. "Didn't you know? Secretly, girls are always more perverted than boys are." She replied as sultry as she could. She would not allow him to catch her embarrassed.

"Are they now?" he asked, sounding sly. "So I guess that means you're picturing me naked right now, huh? I think I'm starting to get turned on." He said, teasing her.

"What do you mean starting to, you're always turned on you horn dog." She huffed, refusing to admit to his correct accusation.

"Touché. So, what are you doing right now? The usual?"

"Oh," she arched a delicate brow, biting into another of her strawberries. "And what's that?"

"Well, by now you've usually changed into something more comfortable and have turned on the TV to watch while you snuggle on the couch with your cat." He told her. "Though I guess she's too busy watching the bugs on your porch to come lay with you."

Natsumi went slightly wide eyed and looked over to her window to see her orange cat lowering into a pounce, but not moving since the bugs were in fact outside. "God you're creepy." She shivered.

He chuckled. "Well, if you're lonely, I can always come over, since Pitter ditched you."

She rolled her eyes. "Oh would you, Pending BFF?" she pouted, sounding adorably innocent in her act. "I'm so lonely and distraught, who knows what I'd do all by myself."

"Aw, Little Flower, do you miss me that badly?" he asked, sounding sympathetic.

"Oh yes," she purred, having a bit too much fun with this. "It's almost been a whole twenty four hours since you've shown up somewhere in my daily routine."

"I know, a whole new record. But fear not, I do not mind changing that. For what kind of friend would I be if I left you by yourself?"

She tapped her chin in speculation. "A bad friend?"

He chuckled. "Exactly. Which is why you should come outside onto your balcony. I'm tired of looking at you flowers. Not that they aren't pretty or anything, but they don't compare to your smiling face."

Natsumi sat forward, looking towards her window where she had placed her flowers. "…You're not…" she whispered, getting up and heading over to her massive balcony. She slid the door open and walked out onto the landing and peered over the edge. And there he was, down on the sidewalk, waving up at her. "You really are a psycho aren't you?" she sighed, resting her elbows on the railing and watching him curiously. "You're not going to like cut up my cat and cook it into something and then feed it to me are you?" she could visibly see him frown as he lowered his arm.

"No, that's disgusting. I am offended that you think so little of me."

"Hey! I've seen Fatal Attraction, ok? You never know." She stuck her tongue out at him. It was kind of funny, seeing him down there and talking to him on the phone. Though, the thought only made her think they were something more than just acquaintances.

"Uh huh." He nodded, seeming skeptical. "You know, the way the light from your porch is hitting you, it almost seems like there's this angelic glow around your entire body." He smiled, gesturing with his free hand. "It's really pretty, especially when it hits your hair."

She couldn't help but smile. She was glad her mother's blood ran so brightly through her veins and knew that it wasn't just the porch light. All her life she's had a soft glow, just like all angel's had. But she couldn't help but noticed he had some weird attraction to her innocence. Not that he knew yet that she was untouched, but he always said odd things like 'pure' or 'flower' or anything similar to the like. "Do you…um, want to come up? It's kind of cold out here." She asked shyly.

He actually looked mildly surprised. "Is it okay if I do? I don't want to force my company on you or anything."

"Why would I invite you up if I didn't mean it?" she sighed, leaning against the edge. "What? No fun if you're actually invited?" she smirked, walking away from the edge and going back into her house. "If you want, the door is open." She said before hanging up.

In a lot less time than it should have taken, Akito walked through the door of her apartment, as if it was no big deal. What was even stranger was what he did next. "Hey." He said, taking off his leather jacket, revealing a well-fitted black long sleeved shirt that went well with his dark, casual jeans and converse, before walking over to her front closet and hanging it up. Then he slipped off his shoes and left them by the front door before walking over and plopping down onto the couch next to her. "Long time no see." He smirked, looking over at her. Natsumi just looked kind of stunned, since it was almost like he had been inside her home before based on his actions.

"You alarm me."

His eyes widened and he blinked. "Why?"

"You just do is all." She shrugged.

He shrugged as well, before a devious look came to his face. Before she could react, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into his lap, holding her close to him so that she could feel his toned chest. "What are you doing?" Natsumi shrieked in slight alarm.

He just held her closer. "I am snuggling with you like I said I would." He explained, nuzzling her slightly. Her face turned a dark red and at first she did nothing to stop his advance. But finally she snapped from her daze and pushed away from him.

"You need to stop Akito, this is inappropriate."

He pulled back even more, searching her face before setting her back in her original spot. "Right, sorry." He placed his hands in his lap and clasped them together, looking very much like the kid caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"It's fine. You're just lucky I already know you're insane." She sighed and got up, grabbing the phone as well. "I'm going to order a pizza." She told him, walking over to the bar that opened the kitchen to the living room. She leaned over the top, grabbing the number and resting her elbows on the counter.

Akito glanced back at her, his eyes lowering instantly to her perfect behind. He really wanted to just get up and grab it, but he knew that wouldn't be permitted, and he would just lose ground that way. Man, being good was difficult. He might just have to go find some woman to screw later to release his sexual frustration. He looked down then as her orange tabby came up to him, giving him a curious look. On impulse, he reached down and began to pet the feline, quickly starting a game with it.

Natsumi hung up the phone when she was finished and looked back, seeing him playing with her sweet little cat. She smiled and walked back over to him, kneeling on the ground and scratching the cat's head. "Aw Pitter, do you like Akito?" she laughed, snuggling with her sweet kitty who meowed adorably and began purring.

"She's cute." He sat up then and leaned against the couch.

"I know." Natsumi laughed, kissing her head. "She's kinda crazy but I love her."

"So you like having crazy people in your life?" he asked, raising a brow.

She glanced up at him, meeting his gaze and huffed, picking up her cat. "I wouldn't read too much into that if I were you."

"Of course not." He smirked.

Surprising to Akito, the pizza got there unusually fast. Though he assumed it was because she was a doctor and she always seemed to use the prefix when she was ordering food. But then again who wouldn't with the perks. Natsumi paid for it and waved to the boy delivering it. She shut the door and brought it over to the table, setting it down and then sitting on the couch. "You want some?"

"Sure. What kind is it?" he asked, moving to sit on the edge of the couch.

"Pepperoni, black olives, and sausage." She smiled, picking up a piece with the most topping and taking a satisfying bite. "Mmm!" He took one with the least amount of toppings on it and ate it silently, not paying attention to the food, since it was all directed at Natsumi.

She sighed, holding up the remote and changing the channel. "Stop staring at me."

"Why, is it making you uncomfortable?"

"Possibly."

"Okay." He said simply, looking at the television as he continued to eat. The rest of the evening flew by. They ordered a couple of movies and enjoyed the edible bouquet together until it was late into the night. Akito glanced down from the screen when he felt Natsumi's head slump onto his shoulder. He leaned forward just enough to see her face without disturbing her to see that she had fallen asleep.

Sighing, he grabbed the remote from her limp hand and turned off the TV, setting it down on the coffee table. Then he turned and scooped her into his arms, carrying her back to her bedroom. He knew where it was because he actually had broken into her apartment numerous times before when he'd been stalking her, and the reason her cat like him so much was because he used to bring it catnip so that when he eventually did come over it would already be warm towards him.

He pulled back her sheets, gently laying her on her large bed before covering her and tucking her in. Straightening, he looked down at her and noticed how she still seemed to glow in the moonlight, giving her an ethereal look. Brushing some of her hair from her face he walked out of her bedroom and cleaned up the pizza mess before putting his shoes and jacket on. Grabbing a sticky note, he placed it on her fridge so that she would see it in the morning before going back over to the door. It read:

Natsumi,

You looked too peaceful in sleep so I decided not to wake you before I left.

-The Psycho

P.S.-Don't worry, I locked the door behind me.

He pulled out his key to the apartment, which nobody knew he had, and locked the door after him before shoving his hands into his pockets and heading home.