So, once there lived an old blind man, who longed for a person who loved him. But who could love an old man who was blind and could barely fend for himself? No one, right?
That is when she was brought to him, an angel with golden wings. Carried by the wind, she sang: Your body may be gone, I'm going to carry you in my head, in my heart, in my soul. Maybe we will both get lucky and live again. I don't know though, I don't know. Think awhile, just think awhile. I love you. I'll love you forever, no matter what you say or do. Look, when ocean touches the sky. I'll be there.
He was never lonely again.

What a lovely story. Was there any meaning to it that Nanako could take for meaning to her own life? She wasn't quite sure on that.

Blinking a few times she set down the Storybook lightly yawning. Getting up and stretching Nanako looked at the familiar Bookstore around her around her.The store wasn't huge but it wasn't small, either. It was a sizable place for an island shop but most of all it was her home. Novels and Stories stretched across the walls neatly sorted and categorized and comfortable chairs were strewn across one of which she, herself was seated in at the moment. It was a slow day and considering it was just about Noon she was thinking of breaking for lunch. She needed to see Ryu soon for some energy too. Placing the book back in it's rightful place Nanako looked out the window. It seemed like a nice day out today.

"Ryu," a voice drifted into a small, cozy room, "Ryu, wake up." A hand shook Ryu's small frame gently, waking him slightly from his sleep. "Gods, boy, what am I going to do with you?" Ryu blinked several times, then looked up, but only saw the tail end of an apron, escaping around the door. "Get up, Ryu, theres work to be done," the voice drifted back into his room. "Aye," he called back, "I'm up, I'm up." He sat up from his bed, shaking the sleep from his eyes, and the covers from his body.

Wearing only a pair of black pants, Ryu walked towards his closet, and pulled out a white T-shirt. Putting that on, he walked to his drawer,pulled open the top open, and pulled out a pair of socks. "'Another day, another loaf'," he quoted softly, smiling slightly at his father's motto for the mornings. He sat back down on his bed, and pulled on his socks, "Should be fun today," he sighed, "Gonna need to make some cakes. We've run out of chocolate cakes recently. I think the last one was sold a couple days ago," he whispered softly, tapping a finger against his chin.

Shrugging his shoulders, Ryu layed back and lifted three books from the shelf next to his bed. "Death By Chocolate seems to be a favorite," he whispered to himself, "So are Baverian, and Dutch Chocolate Cakes. Looks like I have my work cut out for me today." He paused slightly, his hand, hovering over the third book, "I may need to visit Nanako later. I still need that book I ordered a few days back. I wonder if it came in yet?" Shrugging once more, he calmly exited his room. Pulling on his shoes quickly, and snatching up his apron, he entered the massive kitchen and went to work on the cakes.

Nanako frowned as she rooted around underneath the counter and pulled out a box of new shipments. New books didn't come in often so a lot of the customers ordered specifically what they wanted, she remembered Ryu in particular had ordered a book on the history of cooking a few weeks ago. Finding it in the box she pulled it out and smiled, it was just like him to order something like that. She might as well drop it off if she was stopping by anyways.

Taking the Book and carefully placing it in a messenger Bag Nanako dug out a sign which read 'Out. Back soon,' in neat handwriting and hung it in the shops Bay Window in front of the curtains. Stepping out onto the busy streets Nanako smiled, the Bookshop was situated in the center of town and she could feel it bustling even if it was only just about Noon.

Somehow the Islands streets were modern and old fashioned in all the same breath. The streets were still traditionally brick although a few people owned cars which were used for transportation to the farther parts of the Island. There had been talk of Train tracks being built but she had yet to see that happening.

Making her way up a small hill which had a row of shops Nanako found Ryu's adoptive families bakery and made her way around the back and into the kitchen. Catching sight of him in the kitchen she smiled and pulled out the book "Afternoon," She said with a grin and waving the book in front of his face, "look what I have~."

"Cake flour, eggs, butter, chocolate, cream, milk, extracts... What else?" Ryu's mind wandered as he pulled open and closed many refridgerator doors, removing items, and placing what he didn't need back into the refridgerators. Taking out several kitchen aid mixers, he set to work on making the batter for the cakes. "Pans, pans, pans," he mumbled, taking out cake pans and smearing butter all over the inside of each.

"Thank you Father," he called out, feeling the heat of the ovens when he journeyed farther back into the kitchen. His Father's massive hand and arm waved from around the corner, then disappeared. Smiling slightly, Ryu returned to his task of waiting for the cakes to bake. He traveled to the stoves, and started to make a chocolate ganache. "Cream and chocolate," he chuckled softly, "With a little butter at the end. Easiest topping ever."

Soon as he finished the ganache, the cakes had finished baking. Smiling to himself, Ryu danced over to the oven, pulled open the doors, and pulled out the cakes. "Hot, hot, hothothothohthot," he yelped, placing them on a cooling wrack. He grimaced slightly as he began to apply the ganache to each of the cakes. Looking up, he noticed Nanako, and waved at her, then returned to the cakes. He was slightly annoyed when a book appeared in front of his face, but his eyes grew wide as he read the title.

"History of Food?" Ryu crowed happily, snatching up the book and skimming through the pages. He reached out, and lifted Nanako high off the ground, twirling her around shouting, "Thank you, thank you thank you." He hugged her tightly, then let her go, but not before he kissed her cheek softly. "Thank you Nanako," he smiled softly, "How much do I owe you?" He pulled out his wallet, and looked up at her.

Ryahi stared bored out at the sea, sitting on the edge of a cliff as she usually would on days like this. Sunny and yet there was nothing she could find to do. Holding a book open on her lap her shirt blowing in the wind that swept to the side as well as with her hair that brushed her cheeks in its vibrant array of colors. Music gently playing in her ears as she zoned out dreaming about places that could only be possible in her books.

Keeping her page as she began to sing, sweetly and softly no one would be able to hear her this was a secrect place. One that only her and Zach knew about. She was waiting for him but she had been caught by him enough so that she wasn't really distributed by him popping up in the middle of her course.

Ryahi waited patiently, finally closing her book as she closed her eyes falling from the side of the cliff and resting there. She really needed something for herself. Badly. She wanted him. "Thats sounds so wrong."

{What kind of currency do we use, i just put money ill change it if you want}

Zach was headed to the cliff side for an afternoon with Ryahi. He had a notebook in one hand and writting instruments in the other. Zach was stopped by the beautiful aroma of the local bakery." What a nice treat that would be for her." He whispered to himself. So he decided to go inside to buy a treat for Ryahi. When he walked inside he could see directly in the kitchen where 2 people were having a conversation. He ignored and went to the register were a man was standing ready to take his order. " Well, Ill have a slice of Red Velvet cake." He said while he reached into his pocket to pull out his wallet.

"That will be Two-Fifty." The man said with a pleasent grin on his face

Zach removed the money from the wallet and handed it to he man with a pleasent grin in return. The man bagged the cake and handed it to Zach. He grabbed the bag and put his writting things in the bag to make it easier for him to carry. He walked out the wonderful smeling shop and made his way to the cliff. He was runing a few minutes late, and he knew Ryahi got bored easily so he began to jog. Only a few minutes away he stopped for a breather, the cliff was pretty far from the town. He always wondered how Ryahi made it there so quicky. He walked the rest of the way.

When he made it there he could see her laying there with her eyes shut. He sat down next to her and touched her gently on her shoulder. "Get up, I got you some cake. I know you like cake." He said calmly.

Slowly opened her eyes as she looked up at Zach. At the mention of cake her face lit up sitting up quickly as she glanced around for the cake. Spotting it as she gave him her best pouting face, putting her hands under her chin as she smiled playfully behind her hands. "May I have some cake?"

The wind still swept her hair around her face, her eyes dancing at the idea of sweet nearly jumping on the spot as she tried to somehow get the cake to her faster. To no avail she knew. "Pretty please?" She scotched closer to Zach grinning at him from behind her clasped hands. Pressing her shoulder against him as she smelt the cake and almost melted. Oh gosh he got my favorite.

Rubbing against him like a large cat as she smiled, one hand going to try to grab the cake. The other still clapped in front of her face trying to distract him from her prize.

Zach was admirring her beauty but then noticed her hand creeping towards the cake. He quickly moved the bag out of her grasp.He was gonna give the cake to her anyway, but he wanted to mess with her. He messed with her untill he got bored. He pulled it out and put it in front of her. He didnt really like cake, He was more of a pie person.

He thenb pulle out his notebook and began to write. He looked a Ryahi and wrote something down and then he looked over the cliff and began to write more. He closed his eyes and leaned back after he closed his notebook and put it away. He thought about later on when he had to transfer energy to her."I hope she needs energy soon." He thought and a smile came across his face. He chuckled a little bit. Then out of the blue he remembered he left his glaces at home."Crap, Im going to need those later." He thought.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of gum and threw it into his mouth.

Ryahi almost immidately pouted as he pulled the cake away from her grasp. So close. Huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest trying not to frown to much. "Party pooper."Ryahi almost immediately pouted as he pulled the cake away from her grasp. So close. Huffing as she crossed her arms over her chest trying not to frown too much. "Party pooper." Her face easing again as she let out a small squeal as he put it on front of her, quickly going to open the box as she used her finger to take some of it and pop it into her mouth. Glancing over at Zach as she pushed the box of cake at him. “Want some?”

Tilting her head as she brushed some hair from her face, scanning his face as she watched him write for a few moments almost reading his thoughts as she giggled softly. “You forget too many things.” She wasn’t about to ask him for energy, no the cake would do for now. Ryahi was way too stubborn even if she had asked him to meet her here.

Crossing her legs as she let her legs dangle over the cliff feet swinging slowly as she wondered if she had something other than her finger to eat the cake with. “Did you bring me a fork… Or something …?” Staring at the cake longingly. She didn’t mind all that much eating with her fingers, it just made it easier if she didn’t. Not to mention faster also.

Nanako just laughed as he twirled her around her vision spinning slightly with the imagery of the kitchen. "Dizzy..." She said with a small laugh as she rubbed her head, the images still spinning slightly. She found it funny how Ryu got excited over things like cookbooks. Cooking did seem to be his life though.

"Ah, can't...Breathe..." She muttered as he pulled her into a tight hug, it didn't seem like he noticed he was squishing her at the moment but more in a post book-delivery bliss. Sucking in a lung full of air as he let her she blushed slightly at the kiss on the cheek, that didn't happen often. Smiling she waved away his wallet, "You don't need to pay anything," She said with a grin, "I think I still owe you one after you helped me with the stores Spring cleaning." What a job that had been, she was thankful that he was there, her parents having given her the store had retired happily and then thrown a broom at her saying the cleaning would be good for her. What a lie that was.

Taking her thoughts away from that Nanako looked at Ryu for a moment then up at the cieling then down at the floor, she yawned for a moment before looking back to him, "Um, I think I need a bit of energy," She said to him quietly. She had read a few articles lately in the bookstore about how the energy exchange wasn't normal in other parts of the world, she thought it was weird but what was even weirder was how people thought a kiss on the lips was romantic. It made her blush a bit to think about it. Maybe the rest of the world were the weird ones though? She didn't know.

"Sorry about squishing you, Nanako," Ryu grinned slightly, "I'll treasure the free book," he began to chuckle softly, happily skimming through the pages. He looked up when she stated that she needed energy, and set the book down on the counter. "As you desire, my lady," he bowed slightly to her. He took her hands into his and pulled her body closer to his. Cupping her head in his hands, he gently caressed her cheeks and lips slowly. "Such a romantic, huh?" He grinned once more as he leaned down and kissed her, pressing his lips firmly against her own.

Ryu felt his energy build up fast within his core, then shoot through his veins, and into his lips. He had closed his eyes for the kiss, but could still see the soft glow of energy that his was giving off. 'Warm,' he thought softly, 'So warm. I wish I could kiss her forever.' His energy, warm as it was, left him and entered Nanako, leaving him feeling cold, despite the heat of the kitchen. He shivered when he released her, and retrieved his jacket from under the counter. "C-cold," he shivered looking up at Nanako.

"Crap i dont have a fork." He said while rubbing the back if his head. Zach was slightly embarrased that he left the fork, the most important thing to eat. He looked away from Ryahi so she wouldnt see him blushing. As He was looking in the opposite direction of He saw A ship in the ocean nearing the docks." Hopefully its not tourist, There ok but there have been so many lately." He thought." Maybe its a cargo ship, or a food supply ship." He whispered to himself. It really didnt matter to him not unless it benefited the island, the only reason he was thinking about it was because he was trying ot forget about th fork sitiuation. He turned back to her and lifted the cake to her mouth trying to be romantic. He knew it was cheesy.

Ryahi shrugged her shoulders, it didn't really matter that much if he didn't have a fork she wasn't sad. Just slightly disappointed. She glanced over his shoulder at the ship that was going into the harbor. Tilting her head slightly as she shrugged, blinking as Zach pushed the cake to her face, staring at it for a moment. Finally getting her bearings again.

She glanced up at him, small smirk playing on her face as she smiled at Zach. Silently questioning what he was thinking but taking a small bite of the cake anyways. Not speaking as she chewed slowly, the fact of her energy lingering over her head. Ryahi sighed shaking her head as she pushed the cake to him, silently offering him some again. Felt odd to eat alone.

Zach realised she pushed the cake towards him in an offering manner. He didnt really like, but he took a small bite anyway. Zach found it to be surprisingly good. He sat the cake down on the plate and cracked his knuckles. He liked the noise it made and the way it felt. He looked back towards Ryahi and gave a friendly grin. "What would you like to do next." Zach said while keeping the friendly grin upon his face. As he waited for an answer from Ryahi, He was hit by the sun in the eyes and it made him squint. People always told him he had a funny face when he squinted, so he looked away from the sun immediatly. Zach was more of a night time person, he didnt really like the sun, not because it made him squint but because it felt calmer to him.

Nanako laughed a bit as he bowed, she would never get where he got his random medieval sense of speech from, maybe it was from reading too many books? She tended to pick up habits herself when she read too much. Some where good and some were terrible. Heavens forbid if she had been reading action novels.

Blushing at his comment she tried to push the thoughts of what the rest of the world thought of the energy transfer and just remember what they had drilled into the heads of every Islander from a young age. If you didn't get or give energy you'd die. Simple as that. It wasn't a romantic exchange it was simply a fact of life. So ha! Take that world! Nanako really did tend to over think things. She needed to stop reading so much.

Feeling a rush of warmth and energy flood into her put her thoughts at ease as she relaxed into the kiss. Did she really have to question these sorts of things? Of course the answer was yes, she was a self conscious person after all, sometimes she thought that she really just had to not care about those sorts of things. Frowning as Ryu pulled away and shivered she looked at him worriedly, she knew it was just because of the energy leaving him but she couldn't help but be concerned, "You okay?" She asked.

Ryahi once again fidgeted slowly eating the cake as she sighed. "I dunno. What do you want to do?" Awfully stubborn as always Ryahi swung her feet back and froth over the cliff, watching small rocks fall to the ocean below. Glancing over at Zach just as he squinted, making her laugh gently and shake her head amused at it. If anything she understood, Ryahi also was a night person even if she appreciated whatever sun she might be able to get. "Do you uh...Want to..." Bitting her lip as she turned her eyes to the crashing waves again, hoping he would be able to decode her not finished message.

"I-I'll b-be f-f-f-fine, N-nanako," Ryu shivered, pulling on his black leather coat, "J-just a s-s-side ef-f-f-ect of the t-transfer. N-no biggy." He huttled over the stove, turning it on, and basking in the heat. A few moments passed by, and he shed his coat, feeling more refreshed. He turned off the stove and turned to Nanako. "Thank you for worrying, Nanako. I'm fine, really I am." He draped his coat over his left arm, then began to fold it up and placed it back under the counter.

Ryu pondered a moment, tapping his finger against his chin, and asked, "Would you like a piece of cake?" He pointed to the chocolate cakes, "We have Death By Chocolate, Bavarian Chocolate, and Dutch Chocolate cakes." He looked over at Nanako, and grinned slightly, "Father wont mind, so long as he knows its you, and not someone else that I'm giving it to," he chuckled softly.

{I put that we are a new couple Twisted_Is_Me}

"What." He said while looking at her while she bit her lip. He had A Question mark above his head, he couldnt tell what she as thinking about. He tried to think of things she possibly wanted to do." I got it, Lets go home." He said."Yes that has to be it, Thats what she wanted to do." He thought. He stood up, strecthed, and yawned while covering his mouth. Sence they were new together, {about a month} he knew some things she liked and somehtings he didnt know. Zach was never good with woman anyway. "So ya Ready?" He said while he picked up his and her stuff.

Ryahi tilted her head at him, blinking slowly as she shrugged getting up and wobbling just a bit. Catching herself quickly and smiling at Zach. "Alright." Biting her lip again as she continued to eat her cake, keeping her mouth busy and giving her mind something to focus on. "Should we go get your glasses?"

Glancing over at him, book under her arm Ipod in her pocket still playing softly in her ears. They were going back the long way, the way Zach knew. Ryahi herself knew a much shorter way one that never was to be known by anyone but her. The cliff was her and Zach's spott, the path was Ryahi's only.

Ryahi yawned, covering her mouth as she swayed again. Shaking her head and cursing herself. Damed she hated this energy thing. It was always getting in her way of doing things.

Zach headed down the only path he knew. " Well to day was nice wasnt it Ryahi?" He said while they neared the bottom of there Secret place. He grabbed her hand with his free hand and ran towards there house. When they reached the house, he dropped the stuff he was carrying and began ot unlock the door. He let her walk in first as he followed.

He went into theyre kitchen and made Ryahi a cold glass of water. He walked back into the living room where Ryahi was and handed it to her. " Drink up you look tired." As soon as Zach mentioned that he thought about kissing her. He liked the way she looked and everything about her but for some reason he felt uncomfortable with kissing her.

Laughed lightly as he grabbed her hand, trying not to shake her head at how jumpy he was all of a sudden. "The days not over yet Zach..." Smiling gently as they entered the house, glancing around like she had many times before. Rubbing her shoulders and quietly thanking him for the drink, glancing up at him and blushing slightly. He was staring.

Walking over to a couch and slumping into it, still holding the water. "So uh...Should we??" Hiding behind her hair and muttering something under her breath. Must have been a curse. She really did hate saying things like that, made her feel desperate and awkward.

"Yea i think its about time we do it." He said knd of embarassed at using the phrase do it. Zach Walked to the couch and sat next to her. He grabbed her hands softly. " Ohhh crap, i cant do this im to.... Chicken." He thought as he released her hands. Now Zach just sat there next ot Ryahi. "Soooo." He said trying to break the ice for the 15th time. Thats how many times they transferred energy,15, And hes still scared of the sitiuation.

" Be a man." He thought. Zach then grabbed her hands again. He lunged foward and kissed her passionatly. He could feel the energy being poured into her and drained out of himself. His eyes were closed so he had no idea what this was like for Ryahi. It was obviously great for him.

Smiled at him trying her best to be reassuring, or something along those lines. Putting her glass to the side and starring at him past her bangs biting her lip gently. Saying nothing only fidgeting slightly as he took her hands, blinking in surprise as he let go again. Not helping a sigh figuring that she once again was going to have to do this. Ugh. As usual.

Yelping quietly as he suddenly grabbed her, and kissed her. Causing her to blush a bright red at the sudden action. Closing her eyes and sighing as she felt energy flow into her, odd but good. Pulling back slowly keeping her gaze low so her blush wouldn't show. Speaking quietly and almost to low to actually hear. "T-thanks... Sorry." What she was sorry for she wasn't sure herself, perhaps having to put both of them in that awkward position. Who knew?