Prisoner

Disclaimer: Nothing is mine except Kai, \'kay?!?!?! Please don\'t use flames to overcook my dinner...T_T And I don\'t make any money off of writing this. *goes in a corner to hug money*

Zagato and Umi: *chase after Ficcy in the Mashin*

Eep! Don\'t kill me! *gets stomped on*

Fuck. Maybe they\'re not AK fans...? See lyrics below to find out why Ficcy said such a strange thing! =O

~*~

You\'re part of me
But you don\'t even know it
I\'m what you need
But I\'m too afraid to show it

Alicia Keys, If I Was Your Woman (The Diary of Alicia Keys, 2003)

~*~

\"Umi-chaaan!\"

Umi was jolted from her deep sleep as she heard Kai calling her name. \"Wha...Kai! Don\'t you know it\'s rude to just barge into a girl\'s room while she\'s sleeping! What if I was naked or something?!\"

\"I dunno. It\'s just that I have something to tell you, and it\'s kind of important,\" Kai said.

\"So important that it can\'t wait for half an hour?\" Umi said angrily, \"You need to learn to be patient, Kai-kun. What you are right now is a rude imbecile who deserves to have his nuts fried in a pan of grease.\"

\"Whoa...!\" Kai exclaimed, \"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed! I have some news on Zag-sama.\"

\"Oh, jeez, Kai,\" Umi sighed, \"Lay off it, will you? This is the way high school girls act, and you\'re...you\'re...you\'re a ninety-year-old imp. Though that is a nice nickname for Zagato-san...\"

\"Anyway,\" Kai said, \"Have you noticed the tension buzzing around in the air whenever you two are in the same room? Forget age difference, this could get serious. I\'m not kidding! C\'mon, how many people have you been able to officially declare yourself in love with? Probably nada. None. Zero. And so it looks like you might get to have a new first!\"

\"Look, Kai. I really like him, but certainly not in a way like that. I mean...\" But her thoughts from the previous night still haunted her, and she suddenly wondered whether she was lying to herself. Perhaps she was still keeping the real Umi Ryuuzaki locked up inside and didn\'t want to let her out.

---

Umi walked briskly into Zagato\'s study, still sporting a bedhead. \"It\'s been a month and a half since I came here,\" she said, \"I think it\'s time we discuss something important. My own mind has been nagging me even more than Kai has, and that\'s a record by any standards.\"

\"Of course,\" Zagato said, trying to sound calm, but Umi couldn\'t help but think he sounded a bit freaked out, \"Have a seat...what\'s bothering you?\"

\"Okay,\" Umi sighed, \"This is going to sound really, really weird. But...I can\'t stop thinking of of you, Zagato-san. Somehow you keep invading my thoughts...agh! I\'m sorry, I -\"

\"Calm down,\" Zagato said quietly, \"Please, continue.\"

\"And I...I\'ve never felt this way about anyone. Kai and I keep arguing over age difference, but that can\'t block out how I feel. I can\'t help it. I just...I...\"

And it was then that she broke down crying. Out of all of the memories in her mortal mind, she could barely remember crying. As far as she could remember, there had never even been a time when she wanted to cry. Crying was for weak little children, and Umi was all but a weak little child.

And so there she was, truly bawling for the first time in her life. She was not aware of how long they sat there...she had her face buried in her hands, and Zagato was holding her in his arms, failing miserably at calming her down. Finally, Umi wiped her tears away and said, \"It\'s just that I think I love you. There I said it.\"

\"Don\'t cry over it...\" Zagato said quietly, \"I really don\'t mind. I\'m glad.\"

\"Really?\" Umi said, perking up quite a bit, \"Thank you, Zag-kun.\"

Zagato laughed. \"Where did you come up with that?\" he asked.

\"Meh...it was Kai\'s idea,\" Umi said, feeling as light as air.

\"Oh, really,\" Zagato said, \"I never realized he had a functional mind.\" And they both laughed, and for the first time in her life, Umi felt free.


To be continued