Plans & Apologies

Cassie did her best to maintain her smile while she nodded, gazing into Shinobu's artificially purple eyes. She so loved his eyes, but not when they were purple. It seemed... Like a barrier between them. They were a sign of the things that kept them apart.

Just like with Akashi, Cassie kept her focus.

"Of course I miss them. I call home every week. I never meant to be away this long..."

Shinobu frowned at Cassie's words. He reached out and took her hand. "Then it's settled." He said with a bit of renewed vigor. "We'll leave as soon as we can. While I finish up my work, you can make the preparations. I wouldn't want to impose, though. If it's too inconvenient, I can find a place to stay in while we're visiting. Plus..." He said, turning his head and blushing. "I suppose that would be quite rude anyway, yes?"

"Um..."

Before Cassie could respond, their food arrived, giving her a much needed moment to compose her thoughts again.

"Shinobu..." She said. She already felt bad for what she was about to say. She figured it was the sort of question that guys had nightmares about. "Where do you see... us... going? What do you want?"

Shinobu ate when the food arrived, but as he was neatly eating his food, he could start to see what Cassie was going on about. The words, her tone. Shinobu's head fell a bit.

"Cassie-chan..." He said. "I've never met another girl like you in my whole life. I doubt I will again if I spent the rest of it searching. I know we haven't had the most... intimate relationship, but I truly do..." Shinobu bit his lip. This was a bit dangerous, especially with Cassie's cryptic questions. "love you..."

Shinobu instantly searched Cassie's eyes for her response.

Cassie's jaw dropped, and her eyebrows quivered. She was speechless.

"Shit..." She whispered. She put her hands over her reddening face for a moment.

"I came here to break up with you!" She exclaimed finally, and shook her hands in the air. "I... Sorry."

She got up and hurried off to the bathroom, leaving Shinobu at the table alone. She shut herself inside and locked the door and pulled out her phone, and quickly typed out a text message to Akashi.

Help me

I'm trying to break up with Shinobu and he's making it really really really hard

He said he loves me what do I do?

Shinobu's jaw dropped at Cassie's words and he held out his hand to speak but Cassie was already leaving. Shinobu stood up. "Cassie-chan, wait!" He called out but she was already darting into the bathroom.

Akashi blinked when she saw the texts. She couldn't believe what Cassie was telling her but she quickly tried to thumb a response back.

"And you don't love him back!?!?!"

Cassie grabbed a fistful of her short hair and grimaced. She was in agony.

I DON'T KNOW

And that's not the point! We can't be together it just doesn't WORK!

Why does my life have to suck so much? Why did Taylor get Johnny so quick and I'm just stuck like this?

"Why doesn't it work?"

Akashi was quite confused by Cassie's response. IF she didn't know, then she definitely didn't NOT love him... she just might not have for sure...

"Stuck? With Shinobu?"

"Your life doesn't suck!"

"Arrrgh!"

Cassie raised her phone up in the air, ready to spike it on the floor in frustration. The gentle, petite Canadian girl had her moments, and this would be the second phone she had destroyed as a result of boy troubles.

But she stopped herself. Her phone got to live to fight another day. She steeled her resolve, and marched back to the table, and sat down across from Shinobu.

"Sorry," she said again. "Shinobu, I do love you, but you're not the one that I can spend the rest of my life with. I don't just want a boyfriend, I want a husband. I don't want to be a wrestler. I want to start a family and I want to do it at home. My home. I've had more than enough of wrestling, and I'm tired of being away, and I love you and my friends very much but I can't stay here, and I would never ask you to give up your family and your career to come with me. We just can't be who we are and still be together."

Shinobu looked eager when Cassie came and sat back down again. He listened to her words and when she was finished, Shinobu shook his head. "That's... not how relationships work, Cassie-chan." Shinobu said and steeled himself. He waved his hand.

"I know I haven't been as close to you physically speaking as I could be, but you're on my mind every day. The highlight of my day is talking to you and the precious moments we have gotten to spend with each other. "

He continued after a short pause to keep Cassie's eyes focused. "It's true, you don't have to ask me to come with you, but what if I chose to? I have been thinking about what a future with you might be like, Cassie-chan. I wasn't going to speak of it, though, because I wasn't sure if you were ready or not. It doesn't matter to me where I live. My only concern is Shi-chan, but I want her to be independent. I want her to be her own woman and to stop thinking she needs me in her life at all times. Some distance might do her some good."

Shinobu paused. "And I wouldn't have to give up my career. As I was saying before, a move could actually improve it. But... even if it didn't, I don't care. I've got enough money to live comfortably for as long as I want to. It's not an issue!"

Shinobu turned his head. "You're not considering that I, too, may have wants and desires, Cassie-chan. That's more surprising than anything else." He said and looked back at her with a deep frown on his face. "I've never, ever thought of you as some passing fancy. If that were the case, I would have broken up with you myself long ago."