Yukiko's POV:

   "Yuki."
   I look up at the face of my best friend, Kawasaki Chiyo. She's smiling down at me, eyebrows raised.
   "Chiyo?" I ask. "Why are you here? Aren't you at your vacation to Okinawa?"
   She doesn't answer; all she does is smile at me.
   And then the scene shifts to one of my childhood memories, when Chiyo had come to my house for the millionth time and said "I'm home!"

   I'm shocked awake by my mother's voice, the sun from my window shining into my eye.
   "YUKI!!!!! YOU LAZYASS! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO WAKE UP EARLY TO GO BUY THE SEEDS -"
   She stops yelling to cough. The cough is then followed by a sneeze and then another series of coughs. Sitting up straight and throwing my blanket off me, I rush to my mother's room.
   She's lying down on the bed, and her face is red and tired-looking.
   "Yuki..." and then she stops and stares into midair. And she breaks into a grin. "Yuki! Ohayou!! My darling sweetheart, I remember the day you were born - you looked like some little angel from heaven that loved to poop all over the house and drive me crazy, but then I loved you even more when you peed all over your stupid father..." She drones on and on.

   "Ah...Mom?" I ask, gently shaking her shoulder. She makes a gurgling noise and continues ranting with that big goofy grin on her face.

   "What's going on?" I hear Nakamura-kun say. He's walking inside the bedroom, Yamato-san following behind, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He smiles when he sees me - at least I think he did.
   They stop when they see my mother and make similar faces of confusion.

   "Uh...what's up with your mom?" I hear Yamato-san ask.

   I touch her forehead. It's so hot that I recoil from it immediately. "Oh, not again..." I murmur. I face the direction the boys' voices came from. "My mom has a fever. She always gets like this when she's sick."

   "Oh," they say. "So...what are you going to do now?"

   I raise my eyebrows. "I have to go take care of her!" I say. "Isn't it obvious?"

   They shift their weight around nervously. "Oh, yeah..we knew that..."

   I narrow my eyes at them. "You've never taken care of a sick person before, have you?"

   They shrug their shoulders and murmur to themselves.

   I sigh. "I thought so." Standing up, I open my mother's cupboards and rummage around, looking for the fever medicine. Finding the box, I'm surprised to find that it's empty. I toss it aside and find another medicine. Empty. I take out the others. Empty, empty empty. "What the..."

   "I think you ran out of medicine," Nakamura-kun says.

   "Thank you, master of obvious," I say.

   I go to my mother and kiss her on the forehead. "Oka-san...I'm going to go out and get some medicine for you. The boys will take care of you while I'm gone."

   She looks up at me, sticks her tongue out and blows. Some spit flies onto my face. Yup, she just had no idea what I just said.

   "Whoa - I can't take care of an old lady," Nakamura-san protests.

   "Yeah, me neither!" Yamato-san pipes in.

   "Hm...well, then would you like to go shopping with me?" I ask them.

   "Yes!" They say together.

   "Well, only one of you can go," I say bluntly. "The other has to stay and make rice porridge for my mom, and put wet cloths on her forehead. Who can do that?"

   "Eh? Don't look at me, Ryosu - Ryouma's the one who loves to cook!" Nakamura-kun says.

   "Yeah, but not for delirious old ladies!" he shoots back.

   My mother starts to sing a song about dandelions and unicorns.

   "Okay!" I shout. "Ryouma-kun, my mother will be fine with whatever you cook; she won't be able to taste it anyway."

   "Why are you looking at me?" Nakamura-san asks.

   I groan. "Which brings me to my second point," I say. "Nakamura-san, since my glasses are gone, I'll need you to be my eyes. Which means that you have to get what I say and buy what I say, got that?"

   Nakamura-san seems to be elated over the fact that he doesn't get to stay here and feed an old lady. "Hai! I'll do whatever you ask me to."

Yuto's POV:

   I'm glad that I don't have to stay here and feed an old lady.
   Ryousuke looks a little depressed over the fact that he does, though.

   "Hey, Ryo-chan," I say to him while I change in our room.

   "What?" he answers. He sounds annoyed.

   "Hey~brighten up! I'll buy you something while we're out. How about a lollipop?"

   He rolls his eyes at me. "Yuto, I don't want a lollipop.'"

   I snort. "Fine then. That's the last time I'm ever going to be nice to you," I say, sticking my tongue out at him.

   I pull on the clothes that I'd worn the day before - Yukiko had put them in the dryer last night - and pull my hat down over my face.

   "I'll see you later," I say to Ryousuke, and leave out the door.

   "Nakamura-san!" Yukiko calls from the flower shop downstairs.

   "Coming!" I yell back, and hurry down the steps.

   Yukiko's wearing flats, a pair of dark jeans and a bright yellow shirt.....that's facing the wrong way. I supress a laugh, holding my hand to my mouth and biting on it.
   "What? What's so funny?" she asks, putting her hands on her hips.
   "Ah...nothing."

   She nods her head. "Okay then. First stop, we have to go pick up the seeds that we've ordered. Second stop, we -"

   "Eat," I interrupt.

   "...What ?"

   "Well, we skipped breakfast, so it's only fair that we eat," I reason.

   She scowls, but agrees. "Okay, third stop, we go pick up some medicine for my mother, and then we head home. I don't want to be much of a burden on Ryouma-san."

   I wave her comment away. "Oh, he won't mind," I say. "He loves old ladies."

   And we leave.

--------------

   "Nakamura-sssaaaaaaaannn!!!"

   "I'm coming, I'm coming!" I yell to Yukiko. 

   Who knew that they had ordered this much seeds? They'd bought white, yellow, and red rose seeds, daffodil seeds, daisy seeds, red tulip seeds, and about a hundred more. I have to carry them all, too; they're weighing down on me like an anvil. And yes, Yukiko wasn't carrying any of them because she can't see and she's afraid they'll fall and they'll spill and get ruined.
   The sad thing is, I'm pretty sure she's right.

   "Are we almost done?" I ask her, panting.

  To my relief, she nods her head. "Hai. We just need one more to pick up and we'll go eat."

   "Finally!!" I say. "Which one is the last one?"

   She points at a tiny bag of seeds. On the front, it reads in large bolded letters: ORCHID. There's a picture of a beautiful purple flower on the front.

Ryousuke's POV:

   I never thought that taking care of an old woman was so hard.
   The easiest thing to do was make her rice porridge. But feeding it to her? Not so easy.
   Every time I slid the spoon into , she would spit the food back out onto her shirt and I'd have to clean it back up. Then she threw up on the bed and I had to change the sheets while she was still on them, which was twice as hard.
   And then her fever got worse so I had to lay cool cloths on her forehead and listen to her rattle on and on about how stupid Yukiko's father was - which I now knew had been divorced from the family. That must have been hard on Yukiko...
   "Yuki..."

   My gaze moves to her. She must think that she's talking to Yukiko, I think. Her eyes are closed, but she grabs for my hand.

   "Yuki...I'm so glad that you're my daughter. You know why I named you Yukiko? Did you know that it means 'Rare Child?' You are such a rare thing to have, Yuki. So beautiful and kind and caring. You remind me of an orchid."

   An orchid? I think. Where is she taking this?

   "You know, in order for an orchid to bloom to its fullest, you must care for it very much as it grows. If you show one sign of ignorance to it...it doesn't bloom." She sighs and rubs the back of my hand. "I hope that you will find someone who will treat you like that, as I did. For what a magnificent orchid you have bloomed into, my dear...rainbows and gumdrops and unicorns frollicking in the pretty forest..."

   Okay, she's back to being sick again.
   But I think of what Yukiko's mom had just told me.

   "...I hope that you will find someone who will treat you like that..."
    I clench my fists.
   "Don't worry, oba-san," I say to the delirious old lady on the bed. "I will make sure that your orchid blooms to its fullest."

Yukiko's POV:

   Nakamura-san is really slow.
   I'm trying to be patient with him, but how patient should a girl be? I mean, we didn't buy that  much seeds this time.
   As he loads the last of the things into the car (I just got my driver's license!) I go to the passenger seat of our rusty old station wagon and start the engine.
   Nakamura-san climbs into the driver seat and slumps down, looking exhausted.
   I roll my eyes.
   "So, where are we going to eat?" he asks.

   I stop and think. Then I look at him. "Do you feel like eating...sashimi?"

   His whole face lights up. "Hai! I would really like to eat sashimi!!!"

   I smile and give him instructions to the nearest japanese restaurant. It's called Mermaid Tail. The place looks run-down and abandoned, with broken down shingles and chipped bricks. The roof looks about to cave in, and some of the windows are cracked. The sign on the front reads the specials, which include curry, udon, and sashimi.

   "I've never been here before," Nakamura-san says.

   I laugh. "Of course you haven't. Doesn't it look like a place that no one would want to eat at?"

   "Uh...then why are you bringing me here?" he inquires.

   I smile. "To teach you that you should never judge something just by its appearance."

   And I open the door to the restaurant.

Yuto's POV:

   Despite how unattractive the front of the restaurant looks, I'm shocked at how nice it is on the inside.
   There are regal looking tables and chairs covered in red velvet tablecloths, decorative wallpaper and fresh flowers on every table top, and the front desk is set up amazingly; with glossy mahogany counters and a big shiny cash register.
   A delicious smell is drifting around the room, and my mouth waters.

   "Ah! Welcome!" a deep voice says.

   Turning around, I see a big man carrying a spatula and wearing an apron stained with condiments coming right at us. He's grinning like he's just won the lottery. As he waves for us to come over, I watch the flab under his arm wave around.

   "Ohayou, Hiroyoshi," Yukiko says to him, smiling.

   "Ohayou, Yuki," he says back, wiggling his eyebrows at us.

   Does everybody call Yukiko-san by Yuki except me?!

"We came by to grab a bite to eat," Yukiko explains. "My friend Nakamura-san here wants to eat sashimi. Could we get the Sashimi Boat?"

   "Ah! Good choice!" he says to me, slapping my back so hard that I leap forward and almost fall.
   "Um...thank you?" I say.

   And then he disappears into the kitchen.

   Yukiko takes a seat at one of the tables and motions for me to take a seat as well. After about five minutes, Hiroyoshi-san brings out a pile of sashimi sitting atop a little wooden plate shaped like a boat. He sets two plates infront of each of us, along with two pairs of chopsticks.

   "Eat well," he says, winking. And then he turns to leave.
   "Arigatou!" Yukiko-san shouts before he closes the door to the kitchen.

   I take a bite and my eyes widen. It's the best food that i've ever tasted!
   "Oishi!" I say, and dig in some more.
   Yukiko laughs, but I don't care if I look ridiculous. This is absolutely delicious.
   When I'm done eating, I settle back in my chair, feeling content. And then I hear Yukiko giggle. I look up at her, raising my eyebrows. "What?"

   She points at my face and squints really hard. "There are pieces of rice all over your face," she says. "There must be alot, because I can see them."

   Embarrassed, I grab a napkin and I'm about to scrub furiously at my face when Yukiko stops my hand.
   "No, let me do it," she says. And then she leans forward in her chair, napkin in hand.
   And all of a sudden, my heart starts to go on overdrive as she puts her face really close to mine to be able to see the rice and starts wiping gently at it.
   Her familiar scent flows toward me - the smell of the flower shop can never leave her - and I have to restrain myself from breathing it all in. I find myself studying every single feature on her face: her long eyelashes, her small, delicate nose, the slight curve of her lips...

   And then she pulls away and smiles at me.

   "All gone," she says.
   And then Hiroyoshi comes and gives us the bill.
   Before Yukiko can take out her wallet, I pay the man and he gives me another strong slap on the back.

   Standing up, I open the door for Yukiko and am about to go out myself when I feel a strong hand clasp my shoulder and then Hiroyoshi's voice whispers to my ear:

   "Take care of her, will you? She needs a good man in her life."

   And then he releases me.

Chiyo's POV:

   "Sorry our vacation's been cut short, honey," my mother says to me. "But I promise, next time, we'll spend as much time in Okinawa as you like." She gives me one last fake smile and shuts the front foor in my face after she's dumped me in the house.
   It's always been like this, so I'm not surprised or disappointed. My parents had never cared about me as much as a real family would. They think that I'm a big burden to them.
   I shrug my shoulders and unlock the door.
   At least now I can go to the place where I feel most at home. I can already smell the nostalgic scent of Yukiko's flower shop and hear the familiar tinkle of the chimes at the door.

   I can't wait to greet my best friend.

Thank you for reading the fifth chapter of Love Bet! PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND COMMENT!!