"oi!" Yuto was startled by my sudden tackling from his back. I cupped his mouth to prevent any any noise from escaping so that I won't alert any one else.

  "nande! Mirai!" he whispered in a irritable tone. I bent down beside him so that no one sees me at the reception table of the hospice.   "shhh... I need you to help me check something." I pointed at the centralised computer system which Nanase has kindly entrusted to him.   "what? I'm not going to do anything illegal you know," he shrugged away my arms which clinged around his neck.   "if you don't say it, no one is gonna know. anyway, it's for a good cause. you'll help for sure" I was certain since Yuto never rejects if it's about doing good.   "what the hell is it about?"   "I wanna help Ryosuke reconcile with his family~ you could see he's lonely too right. and you were saying how he looked like he's yearning for his family. all I need is his house number," it was only recently, by chance, I realised that all our personal particulars of staff, volunteers and patients are collated in the system. fate is on my side when Nanase assigned Yuto to the computer just yesterday.   "I don't think it's correct to intervene in his personal life. what if this was not what he wanted, we barely know What happened anyway," Yuto reasoned.   "family is family. regardless of what the feud was about, I'm sure all they need is to talk over it. isn't that what you believed too" I rebutted as I recalled the many times Yuto said the exact same lines when I run away from home. Yuto was clearly at a cross road, he needed just a bit more persuasion.   "he's our friend, we've got to help him... Yuto, please..."   "okay fine. just his house number, nothing more" he quickly do a search on the database and within seconds, his full particulars were presented in front of them. while Yuto was scribbling his number down, I was curious to learn more about him. my fingers ran on the mouse and moved the cursor to the "more" tab.   slap!   "ouch!" Yuto slapped my hand when I was almost about to click onto the button.   "no peeping into others' privacy! go quickly before someone sees you here, and we both get into trouble!" he stuffed the slip of paper with his number on my hand and pushed me away. I winked at him and gave him a thumbs up while I was backing away. yuto was obviously caught between laughters and irritation, and he finally gave himself a face palm for giving in to my request again. I giggled at my silly friend and dashed to the outdoors. not looking at where I'm going, I bumped straight into the chin of the guy in front.   "ouch" we both exclaimed, and when I heard the voice in the midst of the chaos, I realised who I carelessly knocked into.   "Mirai?" he called when he rubbed his chin desperately to ease the pain. I peeked up with apologetic eyes and said sorry profusely, "gomene, Ryo-chan!"   "it's okay. it must be painful" he bent down to take a good look at me, only to make me blush uncontrollably once again as I recalled the night in the Ferris wheel. I avoided his eyes, and shook my head in response.   "that's good to hear. what's that?" he noticed the slip of paper that has fallen out of my hand and was about to pick it up. our palms and eyes met, and again i felt static running through our veins. immediately we withdrew our hands, and in that split second, i could feel his nervousness as well. shelving all other thoughts that could potentially jeopardise the success of my ingenious plan, i quickly picked up the paper so he wouldn't notice the content.   "ah it's nothing," I tried to laugh off the suspicion and the growing awkwardness transpiring between us, and it seemed to successfully fool him.   "oh Ryosuke, will you be here tomorrow evening, about 5pm?"    "I guess~ why?" he asked in anticipation.   "great. I thought about my second wish, I'll let you know tomorrow!" I told him excitedly, but I appear like I got him excited as well.   "what's it about? why so secretive? can't you tell me now?" he asked while chuckling at my mysteriousness.   "it's a surprise. just meet me in the volunteers' lounge tomorrow. see you, Ryo-chan!" I pat his shoulder and dashed off, leaving him in a state of confusion.   "now, for the most important part" I let out a mischievous laugh and then dialed the number from the slip of paper.   "Moshi Moshi. yamada residence" a very soothing voice came from the other side, and I knew at once I got the right number. I didn't want to reveal too much in case she rejects. I thought to keep an element of uncertainty would invite their attendance.   "Konnichiwa. I'm Shida Mirai,  a volunteer at Tokyo Hospice. yamada-san, I would like to invite you and your family to an event at Tokyo Hospice tomorrow as part of our donation drive?"   "heh?! but why us?"   "oh, it's because your family was a donor in our record"   "we did?! hmm maybe my husband or my kids. anyway, thanks for inviting, we'll try to be there. it's for a good cause so we'll try" I must say she does give off the same vibe as Ryosuke, always kind and giving.    "arigatou, yamada-san. so I'll see you at 5pm at the volunteer lounge tomorrow,"   "hai. bye" she hung up the phone after finishing her piece. I gave a sigh of relief and felt especially elated about bringing my plan to fruition.    "tomorrow this time, Ryosuke, you'll be thanking me like a goddess!" I imagined the moment he embraces me tightly, swinging 360 degree in the meadow and sealing our lips with a kiss of gratitude. his juicy, y and provocative lips replayed in my mind repeatedly like a tape recorder, and it inevitably caused heat to rush to my face.   "is she okay?" a voice asked and a warm hand was placed on my forehead. when I regained my sanity I realised it was Ryosuke's voice and Yuto's hand.   "guys?" I stammered at the face of Ryosuke as I tried desperately to conceal my dirty thoughts. but his lips kept surfacing as my center of focus. I wondered if this is why girls always decide to publicly throw themselves over the guys, because they absolutely cannot resist the temptations of the seductive organ that continuously haunt their senses. well, I've never tried tasting guys' lips (what's more Ryosuke's) so I wouldn't know how it felt or how irresistible it could be. but I did hear those heavenly stories from Umika and Suzuka, making the process even more imaginable.   "hmm she's probably imagining something, as usual" Yuto replied in place of me.   "imagining what?" Ryosuke looked in confusion and curiosity.   "well, would you like me to say, Mirai?"   "heh?! nothing, Ryosuke. Yuto, shut up!" I stepped on his foot, causing him to yell in pain.   "anyway, Mirai, are you going off soon? Yuto and I are heading to town to run some errands, wondering if you wanna come along" Ryosuke extended the invitation. I would have immediately agreed, but thinking about sweating in this horrendous heat, there's no way I could join this "you guys can go ahead. I need to be home early to help my mum prepare for dinner"   "okay then, bye Mirai" the 2 guys say in harmony, and I bidded farewell in return. seeing them finally disappearing from my eyes, I felt a relief. luckily he didnt find out about what's going on in my head. so I was closed book after all. I giggled.    ***** it was the first time Yuto and Ryosuke were spending an alone time doing an errand together, without the mood maker Mirai. they both thought the interaction would be pretty awkward and silent, but it turned out that they clicked almost instantly.   "you need help?" Yuto saw the smaller boy struggling with the box of decorative ornaments and gave him a hand.   "yeah, thanks Yuto!" Ryosuke exclaimed while taking the remaining stuff. They loaded the items onto the delivery truck, and were done for the day.    "wanna stroll back home? it's not too far" Ryosuke asked. this suggestion resonated well with Yuto as he always loved to spend quiet time walking back with friends instead of the public transport. this proves they were both people who prefer slowing down their paces. Yuto nodded almost immediately.   "Ryosuke~" Yuto called out while they walked down the one-way street.   "nani?" Ryosuke looked at Yuto in anticipation.   "what do you think of Mirai?"   "heh?" Ryosuke was clearly stunned by the question, but Yuto was careful not to send any implicit hints though he was aware that Mirai was undoubtedly attracted to Ryosuke. it was disturbing for Yuto, especially having to bear a crush for her for sometime, but he knew he only got himself to blame as he hasn't yet found the courage to break it to her. he was afraid to ruin the friendship, also because he has yet got any sensing about Mirai's love interest. she seemed to fall for many guys, but what confuses Yuto is her casual interaction with both him and Chinen. he thought she's close with him, but she's equally close with Chinen.    "don't get me wrong. I'm just curious about your impression of her" Yuto cleared the air.   "she's bubbly and kind. really a very carefree person who's both innocent and fun-loving. she's the first of her kind I've met. most girls are too conscious about their image that it makes it difficult to understand them. but Mirai, she's genuine as she is, and sometimes quite an open book"   "that's quite accurate for someone who knew her for only a few weeks, ne Ryosuke~" Yuto was appalled by the spot on description, and that was exactly the reason why he was attracted to her in the first place. she's different in a good way.   "you like her, right Yuto?" this question really took Yuto by surprise. no one has so directly confronted him this question except his closest friend. it seemed to him that Ryosuke saw through the most inner part of everyone.    "emm, was it obvious?"   "yeah. but she's quite dense to see it though. you've got to just say it for her to know"   "but if it fails then I'll lose her even as a friend"   "don't worry Yuto. if you don't say it, she won't know. and by the look of your friendship, I don't think it'll affect that much if your confession fails. I could tell she treasures her friends as much as you do" Ryosuke gave Yuto a motivational pat his shoulder and it did give Yuto a surge of confidence.   "thanks Ryosuke," Yuto returned a sincere smile but added a last question before they separated ways.   "emm, Ryosuke, do you have any feelings for Mirai?" it was bothering Yuto for sometime as he felt that the 2 shared a mutual feeling that he couldn't quite explain.    Ryosuke turned to Yuto while he made his way towards the opposite direction, and responded with a brief smile "don't think too much Yuto. there's no way I can compete with you for her even if I do bear feelings for her." Yuto felt relieved by his replies and headed back to his house in a light-hearted mood. whereas for Ryosuke, his heart felt unexplainably heavy. Mirai surfaced in his mind so abruptly that he started to rethink his responses. "Mirai~ who are you to me?" he questioned himself.   ****** the whole night this day was spent tossing and turning on my bed, as I reviewed the possible scenarios that could potentially occur during the family gathering between Ryosuke and his family members.   my eyebag was so visible that I almost scared the living daylights out of Daiki when I exited my room. what really shocked him is that despite my panda eyes, I was up early and energetic.   "are you possess?! why are you up so early?" my brother asked as he stopped me in the corridor along our rooms.   "i have something to prepare for later...it's the best thing i've ever done, so i was too excited that i had insomnia"    "Baka~ I'll get some energy pills for you. go grab your breakfast first, I'll pass it to you later" Daiki ruffled my hair and then brushed past me to his room.   "arigatou nichan!" I said while I desperately tried to open my eyes, while i drag my feet towards the dining table.   ******* the time at the hospice past particularly slow today. the clock was ticking by the milliseconds, making it difficult to endure the wait. while I was dreaming of the happy faces of the yamada family, I was interrupted by some giggling. i turned around to