Chapter 1

Aichi couldn't help but pace around his bedroom while waiting for Kai to show up. They hadn't seen each other in a little over six months and even the mere thought of seeing Kai again made him feel like a nervous wreck. It took everything he had to keep himself from shaking.

Sure, they had managed to keep in touch through phone calls and text messages, but it was nothing compared to the actual interaction he had craved.

Aichi didn't want to admit it, but lately the distance seemed to be too much for him. He was so anxious to see Kai again. All this time he had to hold in his feelings, unable to express them. Even though his words had gotten through to kai many times, he felt that his true feelings had not yet reached him.

What if he doesn't feel the same way anymore? Aichi sighed. He closed his eyes for a moment, thinking about the last time they had spent together over his winter break. He frowned at how selfish he had been when he had found out Kai was moving away again. And how he had confessed his feelings to him, hoping they would be enough to make him stay.

In the end, Kai left. But he had promised to come back during the summer after Aichi had graduated so that they could attend college together.

Aichi stopped in the middle of the room for a moment, clutching his shirt. He took in a slow, deep breath, hoping to ease the pounding in his chest.

Once he calmed down a bit, he looked outside his window at the clear, blue sky above, approaching it slowly to get a better view.

Had his feelings changed about all this? He wondered as a light, summer breeze blew in. Was he having doubts? Did he not feel the same way about Kai anymore?

He shook his head as the wind softly caressed his face, feeling ashamed for even asking himself that. Of course his feelings were the same. He had loved Kai ever since they first met. If anything, his feelings for the other young man had only grown stronger. It just hurt so much being apart from him for so long.

When he finally looked down and saw that no cars were parked in front of the house, he sighed again, this time another thought crossed his mind.

What am I going to do if he finds out about...?

His train of thought was interrupted as his mother, Shizuka, called from downstairs.

"Aichi! Kai's here!"

"Eh?" Aichi jumped, not expecting him to be there so soon. He grabbed his light jacket, throwing it on as he made his way down to the front door.

Their long-awaited reunion was anything but spectacular as Aichi opened the door.

"Kai! I'm so glad you're-"

"Sorry," Kai interrupted, flatly. "But we aren't going anywhere today until you explain this."

"Huh?" Aichi felt confused until he saw the unfolded note Kai held out in front of him.

It read, Time's up. We'll be waiting.

Aichi's heart fell to the pit of his stomach. All of his happiness faded away as he frowned, immediately recognizing the small piece of paper. He mentally scolded himself for not checking for notes before returning home the day before. Whether or not Kai's or his own feelings had changed was now the least of his worries.

"What's going on?" Kai asked, seriously. "This sounds like a threat."

He gulped, unsure of how he should even begin to explain his predicament.

"Kai, I...umm..."

Seeing now that the message he had found taped outside the door evidently meant something after all, Kai lowered his hand, crinkling the note within his grasp. Before either or them could say another word, he grabbed Aichi's hand and took off up the stairs to the younger boy's room.

"Oh, you aren't leaving right away?" Shizuka called from inside the kitchen.

"I'll prepare some tea for you!"

"No, it's alright, mom! I've already got some snacks in my room!" Aichi lied. He had gotten into some pretty bad habits since Kai left.

Shizuka shrugged off the obvious lie and smiled, wondering what in the world those two had gotten into this time.

"Let me know if you two need anything!" She called cheerfully before returning to the kitchen.

Aichi's heart was racing and his face felt flushed as Kai released his hand and closed the door behind them with a noticeable thud.

He struggled to look his boyfriend in the eyes as Kai brought up the note again.

"Tell me what's going on," Kai said, sounding much calmer than Aichi anticipated.

Aichi took a moment to catch his breath. He'd been caught. There was no sense in making up further lies.

"Don't freak out, okay?" He started.

Kai didn't nod in agreement.

"I umm," Aichi continued. "There was this bakery Emi wanted to check out after school a couple months ago. It was across town, but I agreed to drive her and Kamui there.." He paused. "We had a really great time, but on our way out, I didn't notice a group of bikes parked behind me and I accidently hit one of them with my car when I was backing out of the parking lot."

Kai's eyes narrowed, as if to say he could tell where this story was headed.

"The damage wasn't that bad!" Aichi tried to make light of the situation, but it failed, as Kai's expression only grew colder. "But the owners of the bikes came out pretty upset. They wanted me to pay for chipping the paint."

"Did you?" Kai asked.

Aichi swallowed, once again avoiding eye contact.

"That's where things get complicated..."

Kai walked past Aichi, taking a seat on his bed with a heavy sigh.

"So what happened next?"

"Look, I..." Aichi paused, feeling truly sorry that all of this was happening when they were supposed to be outside spending their precious time together.

"I didn't mean to-"

Kai cut him off again.

"It's too late for that." He folded his arms. "Keep going. I want to know what happened and why someone's leaving these notes in front of your house."

Aichi exhaled, feeling slightly relieved. He was so sure Kai would have been fuming by now.

"Ah, okay..." Aichi took a deep breath.

"Well, after I paid back the bikers, they followed us back home. We thought it was strange, since we had driven kind of far to get to the bakery, we didn't think the bikers would have lived anywhere near us. It turns out they must be local after all, since they continued following me. Eventually they also found out about Emi going to a wealthy, private school and knew that our family had money, so..."

"They wanted more..." Kai concluded.

"Yeah," Aichi sank, taking a seat on the floor.

"They started leaving me notes, demanding money from me every two weeks," he continued. "And they threatened to hurt Emi if I didn't pay them. Kamui's been helping me out by giving me his allowance. So far, we've been able to keep them at bay, but these last few weeks..."

"They've been getting more aggressive?" Kai guessed.

"Yeah," Aichi looked down, the worst of it having yet to leave his mouth.

"A couple days ago, I met up with them as planned and was short 800 yen. Kamui offered to walk Emi home that day, so I had Morikawa and Izaki with me. In the end, they let us go, but..." Aichi stopped, afraid to say any more.

Kai's eyes narrowed furiously as he got to his feet.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?" He asked, clearly upset.

"Kai, I-" Aichi jumped at the sudden attack.

"It never would have gotten to this point if you'd contacted the police!"

The police? Aichi stood as well, defending himself.

"You think the police could have done anything? Kai, these guys are criminals! They aren't just some bullies that were picking on me for some quick change! They carry bats and knives with them everywhere they go! They don't care about the authority! And they know where I live!"

"Tch," Kai backed off, sensing the fear in Aichi's voice.

"I didn't tell you because I didn't want you getting involved in something I had caused. And I was going to be leaving this place soon anyway. I thought that by the time you came back they would have backed off." Aichi looked down, feeling guilty. "I'm sorry."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Kai apologized in a low tone. "I guess I just thought you trusted me."

Aichi's mouth fell open as Kai began walking to the door. He felt tears welling up in his eyes as it opened and then closed as Kai walked out.

Aichi hesitated for a moment, feeling frozen in fear before turning around and opening the door and bolting downstairs after his boyfriend.

"Wait! Kai! Where are you going?" He called after him from the top of the stairs.

He caught Kai at the front door, holding his phone to his ear as he attempted to call someone.

"I'm putting a stop to this. Right now."

Aichi fell to his knees as the front door closed.

Kai was gone.

Shizuka came out shortly afterward, drying a dish in her hands with a towel. Upon seeing how upset her son was, she gently set her things down on the counter and went over to sit beside him on the steps.

"I don't know what's going on, but is it something we need to discuss?" She asked kindly. She was never the type of mother to pry. Aichi was usually pretty easy for her to read, especially regarding Kai.

As she set a hand on his shoulder, Aichi wanted more than anything to confide in his mother, but he couldn't let her get involved in his mess either. He and Emi had promised to keep it from her until things had settled down, but things were only getting worse. He would never be able to forgive himself if Kai didn't return. This was his fault. He needed to do something.

"I don't know what to do, mom." He admitted, tears clouding his vision. "I couldn't trust him."

"Ah, so it's a trust thing then?" Shizuka nodded, knowingly. "All true relationships have them tested."

"Mom?" Aichi looked at her, hoping she had some sort of uplifting advice she could give him.

"You know, I've always been able to tell." She said, pulling her son into a light embrace. "Kai-kun really cares about you."

I know. Aichi thought, a light pain resonating in his chest. That's why he ran out there. To make sure we'll be okay.

"Don't worry, it'll be alright." Shizuka placed a loving kiss on her son's forehead.

"You trust him, don't you?"

Aichi hesitated.

"I..."

As his mother got up and quietly returned to the kitchen, he didn't bother answering her question. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind.

Kai said he was going to stop this. He thought. But how could he possibly do that? Had he gone to the police?

"I have to go after him," Aichi said, finally. He stood slowly, stopping for a moment to slip his shoes on before opening the door. He had no idea where Kai had gone, but he couldn't stand around doing nothing. This was his problem. He had to help put a stop to it as well.

"I'll be back later!" He called toward the kitchen.

"Okay!" His mother replied. "Be careful and don't stay out too late!"