Badump.

The sound of their beating hearts was so in sync, so calming, they erased all of his worries away.

Badump.

The smell of her hair made him want to bury his face there and inhale deeply to fill his lung, his soul.

Badump.

And when he unconsciously gave her a kiss on her forehead, it felt like… home.

"Hi." 

Azusa smiled as she tilted her head to see Toru's eyes, and she could see the confusion there – the realization that he had done something far too intimate to someone whom he just met.

"Ah, I am sorry." He quickly let go of Azusa and immediately felt empty. "I don't know what came into me. I've never done anything like this before." He observed Azusa with such longing and curiosity. "Have we met before?" He suddenly asked her. "I know it sounds cliche, but I feel like I've known you forever."

Azusa looked at him with the undecipherable look in her eyes, when she suddenly broke into a smile so forlorn, Toru felt something was hurting inside him. Like he was in pain. Like he could feel her pain.

"Well, maybe we did know each other… in another life." She looked away and walked to the kitchen. "Wow, looking good, I love meat."

Toru understood and he followed her lead – by changing the subject.

"I found out that this place was stocked to the brim and I thought, instead of doing something complicated to impress you, I would rather grill some meat and beer and we can talk."

"That's a very good idea, Toru." She walked to the fridge and opened it, then whistled. "Wow, I see that Hideo has done a good job. I asked him to fill my fridge, you know, for you." She suddenly looked shy. "Well, apparently he went a bit overboard." She took two cans of beer and gave one to Toru.

"And here I thought you're secretly a good cook and able to make extraordinary dishes out of the stuff in there." Toru chuckled as he continued to baste the chicken with the dark liquid.

"Har har funny." She threw a bit of the lettuce at him and giggled. "I remember Hideo's face when I tried to make an omelet by myself. He thought that I was going to burn the bar from the smoke alone. And here I am, still not knowing why I'm suck at cooking."

"It's good then, I'm good at cooking. That way I can cook for you anytime you like." Then he suddenly realized what he was talking about and stopped what he was doing. "I mean, you can always ask me to cook for you if you're bored with Hideo-san's cooking."

God…

Toru was wondering why he became such a klutz in front of Azusa by speaking stuff like lovers did. Not only lovers, long-term lovers.

They had this easy way to communicate and to anticipate each other before they even asked, and if he put it like that, they were even like the old married couple, and it baffled him so.

Azusa observed how Toru's cheeks were slightly blushing, and she understood his trains of thoughts, so she touched his hand and squeezed it.

"I will definitely take you up for the offer, Toru Hasegawa. Be prepared to cook for me in the coming days then." She grinned naughtily and Toru would love to kiss her, but he restrained himself.

Until Azusa moved closer and pecked his cheek.

"Thank you."

"What for? Being kissed by a beautiful girl is a rare occasion, especially one as beautiful as you." He wanted to pull her close and kiss her senseless just like he did this morning, but manners prevented him from doing such a neanderthal thing to someone he just met.

"Really?" She grinned naughtily and pulled Toru closer. She then rested her head on the nape of his wide shoulder

"So, you like kissing me?" Her face was so close to Toru's neck and her lips were grazing his skin that he suddenly had a heart palpitation. He could smell her from this close and her scent was so intoxicating, he started to lose reasoning and grabbed her waist to pull her closer.

"I would love to spend more time kissing you, that's for sure." 

There was a bit of a silence and Toru could hear Azusa take a deep breath, as if she also inhaled his scent deeply before she kissed his neck lightly.

"I would love it if you did that."

She whispered very low, but he could hear every word she said. Then she moved her position to face him, causing their lips to be only a breath away this time. 

It would take only one slight move for them to kiss each other when the doorbell rang and Toru almost jumped out of his skin.

"I'll get that." He was very flustered by the things that were about to happen with Azusa that were bound to end with them tangled on the bed the whole night if the doorbell did not ring.

Thank god to whoever rang the doorbell that he still could keep his wits with him and not turn into a neanderthal.

When he opened the door, he was surprised to see Chiori alone, and she looked like she was about to keel over from exhaustion and despair.

"Chiori-san! Are you okay?" Toru quickly took her in and supported her until they reached the couch and he put her there.

"Toru, I am very sorry to barge in like this, I know you have a plan with Azusa, but I can't think of anyone else who could help me with this."

"Chiori-san, don't worry about it. Please, tell me what happened." Toru noticed that Chiori was crying and he knew right away that the problem must be dire, since Chiori was a very strong woman who never shed a tear even when her son and daughter-in-law were dead and her granddaughter left.

"Yes, Chiori-san, please tell us what happened." Azusa approached them with a glass of hot tea and she gave it to Chiori – who took it and drank it at once.

"Chikara is missing." She spoke without preamble after she finished the tea. "I was looking for him at the gas station and he wasn't there – or anywhere else he was supposed to hang out." Her voice was trembling and Azusa held her hands tight.

"Calm down, Chiori-san. We will help you find him." She looked at Toru – who nodded in agreement. "Please tell us more about this."

Chiori then told them the chronology from the time she went to the gas station and could not find Chikara, to the place they went to search for him – the old temple – and everywhere else.

The only thing left for them to search was the mountain behind the house, and they would need more manpower to do it. That was the reason why Chiori went to see Toru in the first place, since Toru specialized in minor kidnappings.

"I really hope it doesn't come to that." He assured Chiori, but Azusa could read him, and that he was worried. This island was small, and Chikara was not someone who would do this without provocation – or outside force.

"Toru, bring Chiori-san with you, use my car. I will call Azuma to help with the search." She took the key car and gave it to Toru who nodded wordlessly and left with Chiori. He knew that Azuma was a bounty hunter and he would be helpful in searching for someone.

"I will do that. Let's keep in contact and inform me if you find anything?"

"I will." She suddenly pulled Toru close and kissed him lightly. "Be careful."

Toru was surprised with the gesture, but he nodded and squeezed her hand to reassure her, and then he left.

After she heard the car pull away, she spoke to the thin air.

"Azuma, I know you're here."

Azuma appeared before her in a flash. 

"What do you think?" 

"I think things are moving faster than we thought they would and we need to move now if we want to save the boy."