The first thing they did was to call Aiba's aunt to inform and explain the situation. Aiba doesn't know whether he should be amazed or not when his aunt wasn't even fazed by the situation. Apparently, this was a common occurence in the males of their family. Even his father once turned into a girl during his senior year in high school so he should be glad that he's still a boy. She told them that she'd notify the school that Aiba wouldn’t be attending for a while due to family reasons. She also told them that he could return to the apartment if he wanted to and that she'd make an excuse for the landlord for him. She also told them to send her his picture because she's pretty sure he looks very handsome like his father.

"Well, at least you won't have to stress about school until we find a way to return you to normal." Nino patted his back before digging into his plate of milk buns. "Why didn't you just turn into a girl like your father?"

"I'll lend you my notes from class so that you can catch up with the lessons once you're young again." Jun smiled as he sipped his orange juice before frowning at Nino. "And stop that Kazu. You're just going to take advantage of it if that was what had happened. I'm pretty sure Masa-chan wouldn't object either but it's still wrong."

"But what am I supposed to do when the both of you are at school?"

"Why not work at our coffee shop?" Nino's mom suggested. "You can wait on tables or you can bake in the kitchen. The cookies you made for us last spring were a big hit with the students."

"Would it really be okay Kazuko Oba-san?"

"It should be alright." Nino piped up from where he was eating with one hand and playing his DS with the other. "We get free help and you don't get bored."

"Before everything else, we should get Masa-chan new clothes that fit." Jun said as he pulled Aiba to stand up and circled his friend. "Dad's clothes make him look like an oji-chan and his clothes barely fit him."

"Ah! The fashion diva has awakened!" Nino snickered as he ran to his game room, barely avoiding the whack Jun was about to deliver on his head.

"We'll go to the mall later in the afternoon." Jun's dad shrugged off his son's comment and smiled at them. "We'll stop at the bank to withdraw and then we'll go shopping for Masaki-kun's clothes."

"EH?! It's alright Shun Oji-san. Risako ba-chan left me a credit card for emergencies." Aiba said as he turned to Jun. "It's just a few clothes right Jun-tan?"

"We'll be getting you lots of clothes Masa-chan but no need to worry. I'm a very thrifty shopper! We'll head to Brook's Brothers later. I heard there's a sale today." Jun smiled widely as he walked to the study.

"I'll pay for some of the clothes Masaki-kun. Jun will eventually max out your card if you're not careful." Jun's dad assured the suddenly pale Aiba.

Aiba returned to his apartment that night. He was carrying his things that had multiplied from 2 bags to 5 because of all the clothes Jun bought for him and bags of groceries since he was pretty sure there was no more food left in the apartment. He managed to enter the building since his aunt told the management that he was her younger brother and would look after the apartment while she was gone. He hummed the new song he heard at the mall earlier as he walked down the hallway. He was feeling rather giddy that he would be alone in the apartment for the first time. He stopped by his door and was about to unlock it when someone tapped his shoulder by surprise, causing the groceries he was holding to topple down onto the floor.

"Gomenasai!" The shoulder tapping person said as he helped Aiba pick up all the fallen items.

"It's alright. I'm just very easy to surprise." Aiba laughed softly before looking up and coming face to face with Sho.

"I'm really sorry! Its just that, I haven't seen you before and I know the people who live in this apartment." Sho smiled sheepishly as he helped Aiba carry the bags.

"Ah! You must be Sakurai-san. I'm Aiba Masamune, Risako nee-chan asked me to look after the apartment while she and Masaki are away on a trip." Aiba smiled brightly and offered his hand to Sho as he tried to calm his nerves and hoped that the other wouldn't see through the lie he just told. "Masaki has told me about you."

"Nice to meet you Aiba-san." Sho smiled and shook Aiba's hand. "You and Aiba-chan, I mean Masaki-kun, look a lot alike."

"You make me sound like an Oji-san." Aiba laughed as he unlocked the apartment door. "Just call me Masamune. I guess that's because I share a lot of facial features with Makoto Nii-chan. People often ask us why we weren't twins instead. Well I, for one, am actually glad that we weren't twins, I love being 24 right now!"

"So that's why! Alright. As long as you stop calling me Sakurai-san. It makes me feel like you're talking to my dad." Sho smiled and followed Aiba inside. "Masaki-kun didn't tell me he was going on a trip."

"Well, Nee-chan said that she originally planned for Masaki to stay at his friends' house but Masaki said he wanted to go on vacation for a bit." Aiba said as he headed to the kitchen to fix the groceries and to hide his reddening face. "When I last saw them a week ago, it seemed to me like the boy is a bit confused about something regarding the person he likes."

"I see." Sho frowned and sat down thinking. He had a problem and he didn't come to me for advice? Maybe I should ask Matsumoto and Ninomiya whether they knew who the girl is.

"Would you like some tea or coffee Sho-ch-kun?" Aiba asked from the kitchen and snapped Sho away from his thoughts.

"It's alright Masamune-kun. I've intruded enough already."

"Don't be silly Sho-kun. You've been in and out of this apartment more than I have. I'm the one that's intruding. Besides, Masaki has told me a lot of things about you and it is only fair that you should know some things about me, ne?" Aiba smiled brightly and bit his lip as Sho's sudden laugh makes him blush to the tips of his ears.

"Now I know where Aiba-chan got his hyper friendliness from. I guess you're right Masamune-kun, I would like to get to know you better."

"Sho-kun, is something wrong?" Yoko asked once he noticed that Sho wasn't having fun even though he was the one who asked to hang out tonight. "You've been spaced out since we started."

"Sorry Yoko. I was just thinking." Sho sighed and leaned back into the couch.

"Is this about Aiba-kun again?"

"Yes and no." Sho said as he took a sip of his beer and closed his eyes. "Apparently, Aiba-chan went with his aunt on a business trip during the time I was busy with preparing my students for exam season."

"O-kay and that bothers you because?"

"He didn't even tell me about it! Just like he didn't tell me that he was having love problems. It's not like I would be mad at him for liking someone. He used to tell me everything. He would mail me or call me regarding every little detail of his day and any decisions he makes. Now he just up and left without even telling me where he was going."

"Sho-kun, are you even hearing yourself right now?" Yoko said as he tried to calm down his friend. "Because in case you're not, you sound like a ditched boyfriend."

"I do not!"

"Yes you do! Aiba-kun is your friend and that gives you the right to worry about him but that doesn't mean that he has this responsibility to tell you everything. Besides, it seems like you're forgetting that he's a teenager now, a teenager who grew up without parents at that. Maybe he wants to be independent for once."

"I know. You're right. But I just can't help but wonder why I was the only one who didn't know since it seems that the whole school, apartment building, and his other friends know that he'll be gone for a while. Not to mention that he was kind of avoiding me for days before he left."

"Maybe he wants to try to solve some things on his own. How did you even know that you're the only one who doesn't know? For all you know, some of his school friends might be the same as you. How did you even know he left in the first place?"

"I was about to check on him last night when I saw someone unlocking his apartment door. It turned out to be his uncle Aiba Masamune-san. He was asked to look after the apartment while they were gone. He was carrying so many things so I helped him with his bags and we talked over some tea."

"Are? Am I dreaming or is that a blush I see on your face Sakurai Sho-san?" Yoko teased with a wide grin.

"He's a nice guy." Sho shrugged and drank his beer.

"That's it? C'mon Sho-kun! I want details!"

"There's not much to tell. He's very much like Aiba-chan only older. He's very friendly, always smiling, addicted to animals, likes doing experiments, and he works at Matsumoto-san's coffee shop."

"Well, isn't that just convenient for you Sho kun?" Yoko said with a smile. "It's basically like the younger brother you love so much only in an adult and legal size!"

"Why do you keep insisting that I like Aiba-chan more than just a brother?" Sho asked with a frown. "You said almost the same thing to me when I first told you that he was avoiding me."

"Because it's so obvious that you are Sho-kun. You're always smiling and happy whenever you talk about him and you always sulk when he can't meet you after school. You've never done that with all your past girlfriends from high school until college. Not even with your ex-fiancee Maki-chan." Yoko shrugged. "Everyone is convinced that you're just waiting for him to turn 20 before you did something about it."

"You're all crazy! Aiba-chan is like a real brother to me. I don't treat him much differently from how I treat Shu or Mai."

"You want to bet that Shu-chan thinks otherwise?" Yoko raised his eyebrows at the pouting Sho before shaking his head. "Besides, the point is that you're attracted to his uncle who could almost be his perfect twin in both their personalities and physical appearance. If they're really as alike as you say they are, then that just proves that you're unconsciously in love with Aiba-kun. The only difference is that now, there's no problem anymore."

"Okay, let's imagine that I accept your theory and I am in love with Aiba-chan. Why is there no problem anymore?"

"Because you've already found the adult form of Aiba-kun's friendly and carefree self. Age is not a factor to consider anymore."

"I still say you're crazy."

"Just give it a try Sho-kun. It doesn't hurt to try."

Aiba just got out of the shower when the doorbell rang. Thinking that it was either Jun or Nino, he quickly wrapped the towel around his waist and ran to open the door without bothering to dry up first. He was surprised to see Sho, who seemed to be busy looking at the floor, on the other side of the door.

"Sho-kun?"

"Hi Masa..." Sho's eyes widened once he looked up and gulped as he fought the urge to follow that one drop of water heading down Aiba's chest.