Title: Kaleidoscope

Warnings: Spoilers ALERT

Pairings: Shin and Heroine (named Karen)

Shin rang the bell of Toma's apartment impatiently as he gritted his teeth in desperation. It had been a week since the last time Karen showed up for part time job at Meido no Shitsuji. He called her cell phone several times but she never answered it so, he was sure enough that something has gone wrong. He turned the door knob and was surprised that it was unlocked.

"Toma! Are you there?" He called as he examined his surroundings. The room was dark and the only source of light there was a shady blue light from a portfolio sized laptop. It seemed that Toma had gone out in such a hurry that he didn't even care to lock the door. Shin banged at the electric switch on the wall and gasped in horror when his eyes caught the unexpected scenery. There was a huge cage and inside it a girl with blonde hair was trapped. He hastily pulled the cage door and managed to open it.

"Are you alright?" He asked anxiously as he shook her body.

"Shin?" She called his name weakly after she opened her eyes.

"Let's get out of here before he comes back." She nodded at his request and was about to stand up but, her feet failed her.

"Hold onto me." He instructed as he circled one arm on her waist and helped her to stand up.

"Where are you taking me?" She asked confusedly when she noticed that the direction they went was not the one that led to her apartment.

"To the guest house we went with other staffs last time." He replied briefly.

"But, it takes more than five hours to get there by bus." She protested.

"We have no choice. That's the only place that Toma won't notice and the place may also give you a hint to gain back your memory." He squished her hand as they continued walking to the bus terminal.

"Here you go." Shin passed a small bottle of hot green tea to the girl beside him.

"Thanks."

"Do you need anything else?" He asked kindly.

"No, I'm fine." She replied before she took a sip of her tea and put it in a bottle holder in front of her.

"Take some rest. I'll wake you up when we reach the destination." He whispered after he drew her body near him. She blushed when she felt the warmth of his body through the thin fabric and she must admit that she enjoyed the relaxing smell of his aftershave cologne.

"Shin."

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" He questioned back.

"For not staying away from Toma. I thought I could gain my memory back since he's also my childhood friend but, I guess I was wrong." She explained wearily as she clutched his right sleeve.

"It's not your fault. I would do the same thing if I were you. Go get some sleep now because, I know you really need it." She nodded at his words and closed her eyes.

He caressed her silky hair and glanced at the scenery outside the window. It was cloudy and it reminded him about the way when he criticized her after the live performance during the school festival.

Flasback

"Sorry to keep you waiting, there were some troubles with the equipment." Karen apologized as she swept the dirt on her green mini skirt.

"What was that?" Shin pouted sarcastically.

"Pardon me?"

"Do you really have the guts to sing properly? I wasn't standing at the back but, I couldn't hear your voice. If you think that it was a live performance, you are making a big mistake."

"I did my best!" She fought back.

"Oh, really? That was the worst live performance I've ever seen in my seventeen years of live!"

"You know what, Shin? If you can't say something nice then you shouldn't say anything at all." She told him with shaky voice as she shed her endlessly falling tears.

End of flashback

Shin held his breath as he glanced at her who slept soundly. He didn't mean to hurt her at that time. He cared for her even more than his own family. She had always been his first priority and it really hurt him to see her crying face. He may not be good at picking words but, he would never ever do anything that could harm her. For him violence was not a way of love expression and he swore that he wouldn't forgive anyone who dared to harm her. He closed his eyes and tried to get some sleep but, his mind just refused to cooperate with him.

"I and Toma were playing games against Ikki-san and Kento-san here. Do you remember anything?" Shin enquired when they entered the entertainment room. Karen shook her head sadly. She felt sorry when she caught the look of desperation in his eyes.

If only she could gain back her memory of the accident, she wouldn't have to see him suffer like that. He may not good at picking words but, she knew that he wasn't a person who would harm her for his personal needs. She didn't even remember how she felt toward Shin. Whether she had really fallen in love with him or he was no more than a childhood friend for her. All kind of emotions mixed up in her heart like a kaleidoscope and she really had no idea how to deal with it.

Kaleidoscope, she thought. Suddenly an old memory of her childhood crossed her mind.

Flashback

"Are you sure that you left the kaleidoscope here?" A four years old boy asked the elder girl in front of him.

"Of course I am." The girl answered between her sobs.

"We've been searching for it through this park for almost half a day now. Let's go home, it's getting dark." He took her hand but, she pulled away.

"I'm not going home until I find it!" She screamed stubbornly.

End of flashback

Karen massaged her temple when she felt a strumming pain of headache.

"Are you alright?" Shin voiced worriedly as he hugged her shoulders.

"I'm alright. It's just a slight pain. The good thing is I recalled a childhood memory of mine." Her lips curved a happy smile.

"Which one?"

"The one when I lost my kaleidoscope at that park near my house." She told him as she combed her hair by fingers.

"You were crying as if the end of world is near at that time. I ended up calling your dad and asked him to pick us up." He chuckled.

"I was daddy's spoiled little girl, wasn't I?" She sulked.

"Yes, you really were." She elbowed his ribs for giving her such an answer that was lack of delicacy.

"Ouch! That really hurts!" Shin complained as he rubbed his ribs.

"I hope that teaches you a lesson to pick up the appropriate words." She smirked and was about to walk further when he caught her left arm.

"You're bleeding." He pointed at her right leg.

"Oh, it must be from the accident."

"From what?!" He doubted his ears.

"Well…a car hit me when I ran from Tom's apartment yesterday and I kinda...fell to the ground." She laughed chirpily. He shot her a look of anxiety before he told her to sit at the nearest chair. He took a small first aid kit from his bag and started to take care of her wound. She winced in pain when he put the disinfectant dipped cotton on her wound.

"Why didn't you call me?" He said sharply.

"I was desperate to read my diary so, I didn't have time." She fought back.

"You might die, you know that!" He scolded her.

"I'm sorry." She replied sadly as she averted his gaze from him.

He let out a heavy sigh then said, "Let's go back to our room."

She hung the bath towel she used at the nearest clothes hangers and sat beside him. He was wearing the same yukata provided by the inn and his eyes stuck on the TV screen.

"Shin, would you tell me the detail about how I fell from the cliff?" She asked gingerly.

He turned off the TV and pushed her gently to the floor then chained both of her hands above her head with his hands. She gasped in panic at his sudden action and tried to free herself from him but, his grip was too strong.

"I was cornering you like this in the forest. I kept blaming you from staying at the same room with Sawa and told you to come to my room but, you refused." She gulped the lump in her throat when their eyes met.

"I told you I was sick of being treated as an ordinary childhood friend and that I would do anything to make you notice that I'm no more the little boy of your past." He leaned forward as he explained.

"S-Shin…" She called his name anxiously.

"I didn't do anything that harms you or scares you." She was about to answer him when she felt her lips sealed by his. Her eyes widened in shock when the pieces of her memory combined in her mind.

Flashback

"Stop making fun of me, Shin. This really isn't funny at all." She gave him a look of anger.

"What makes you think that I'm joking, huh? I'm sick of being treated as your childhood friend and I'm just demanding my right as your boyfriend." He stared back at her.

"I hate you, Shin!" She screamed out.

"I don't mind that you hate me. It's much better than to be treated like a little boy!"

"Leave me alone!"

"Hey! That's not the direction where we came from." The sound of tea branches cracking followed by a loud scream of horror echoed through the woods.

"Karen! Are you alright?! Where are you?!" His desperate screamed faded out. She blinked when her vision began to blur and tried her best to stand up slowly. An iron-like smell filled the air and she finally noticed that she was bleeding hard. Her head and neck were aching so bad that it was so hard for her to breathe properly. She felt relieved when she saw a familiar hand stretched out for her.

"Shin, you've come." She grabbed his hand and smiled but soon the smile wore off when the moonlight revealed a different face. She realized that it wasn't the person she expected to come when she saw his blonde hair.

"I can't believe that you mistook me for someone else!" Her hand was released fiercely and the next thing she saw was a complete darkness.

End of Flashback

"Do you remember everything?" Shin asked when he saw her expression. She nodded and before she gave her reply, she felt warm liquid fell to her right cheek. She looked up and found him bit his lips hopelessly to stop sobbing but, he failed as painful sobs escaped his mouth.

"It was all because of me. I shouldn't have cornered you that day. You can blame me for the accident but, I will never let you go." He muttered.

"It wasn't your fault. I should've noticed earlier that you were no longer the little boy of my past." She responded bitterly as she cupped his cheeks with both hands and sobbed hard.

"I love you. I really do." He whispered affectionately.

"Me too, Shin. I've been in love with you from God knows when and I was just running away from the fact." He smiled happily at her love confession before he crushed his lips on hers passionately.

"Look what I've found." He stretched his hand and grabbed something from his bag. She tilted her head as she gave him a look of curiosity but, soon her lips curved into a big smile of fondness.

"You found it!" She beamed in joy when he handed her the kaleidoscope.

"Last week I tried to dig at the space behind the slide and found it." He smiled at her.

"Thank you, Shin. This will be my most precious treasure." She said as she hugged his waist joyfully.

"Well, you should give me a reward then." He smirked wickedly.

"I'm going to buy you ten cans of melon….hmmphh!" She hadn't even finished her words when her lips were sealed by his.

"How many times should I tell you that to open your eyes during kissing is against the good manner?" He complained.

"I wouldn't have done that if you didn't conduct it all of sudden. You should've asked me first." She justified.

"Well, princess. Would you be kind to let this sinful prince of yours to steal a kiss from your luscious lips?" He asked exaggeratedly. She chuckled at his childish request then nodded shyly. He tilted her chin up and planted his lips on hers gently while his free arm circled her waist possessively.

He had lost her once and nearly failed to retrieve her. He crossed his heart and swore that he would never going to lose her ever again.

The End