Yuto's POV:

   Since today Yukiko's mom got sick, we didn't open store today and dedicated it to working. Since Ryosuke had just got here, Yukiko was obligated to show him what to do. We planted the seeds we got this morning, filled flower pots, and I was about to add fertilizer when my phone had ringed.

   "Moshimoshi," I say into my cell phone.

   "Yuto?" I hear Yuri's voice on the other end.

   "Yuri?" I say back. "Hey! How's your break?"

   His sigh is heard through the phone. "Ah...I have nothing to do. So~I was wondering if I could come and hang out with you, Yuto-chan!"

   I smile.
   Yuri was always so cute. I thought that he would have no trouble finding something to occupy himself with through the break that Johnny had given us. But, like always, I felt bound to help him out.

   "Hai~You can come with me. Ryosuke is with me too."

   "Eh? Really? I was just about to call him, too!"

   I laugh, and then tell him where in Tokyo we are and what the flower shop is called. "But remember to wear a disguise, and change your name," I tell him. "I'll explain to you why later."

   "Hai~I'll be there soon."

   I hang up the phone, and turn around to tell Ryosuke the news when I see Kawasaki-san look up at me and wink. I smile back at her - she is the SecretKeeper, after all - and then point at Ryosuke, then back at me.

    She gets the message.

   "Ryouma-saan~" she says. "Yuji-san wishes to speak with you."

   He whirls around, looks at me, and then walks over.

   "What is it?" he asks.

   And then the door chime tinkles and we all turn around to see Yuri in an elaborate disguise walk through the door.

Yuri's POV:

   I was surprised to figure out that the shop Yuto described was closer than I thought it was. Remembering Yuto's warning, I wrapped a scarf around my neck and let it cover half of my face, and topped it off with a hat. I decided on the name Chikafuji Yukio - making it up in my head at the last minute.
   But even though my focus was on Yuto and Ryosuke, my thoughts immediately veered to the girl I'd first set my eyes on. She had short black hair, big cute eyes and a small petite figure She was looking down at a flower pot while she planted a few seeds in the soil. When I came in, she looked up and gave me a smile and my heart stopped.

   And then I was snapped out of my reverie when I felt someone touch my shoulder.
   "Hey, Yuri!" Yuto had said as he bent over and whispered in my ear. "Did you miss us?"

   I looked up at my friend. He wasn't in a disguise at all, and neither was Ryosuke, but I grinned at them anyway.
   "Hey!" I say. "Where have you guys been?"

   Ryosuke motions around the shop. "Well, we've been here," he says to me. "Working. Which is what you're going to have to do if you want to stick around, because the manager's daughter gives no mercy whatsoever."

   I laugh at that, but then I see that they are dead serious.

   "Who's at the door?" I hear a female voice call out. "Is it a customer?"

   I turn around to see that a cute girl around Yuto and Ryosuke's height has begun walking towards us, wearing a blank, sort of confused stare. She keeps whipping her head around, as if she were trying to sense everything in the room all at once.

   And then she walks right into me.
   Since I'm shorter than her, I gues that it would be natural that my face would land right at her chest but I was still not prepared for the shock of it all.

   "EHHH?" the girl says and then she rears backwards, knocking into a couple pots.

   "I'm blushing like crazy, and for some reason I'm hoping that the other girl I had seen didn't just witness that. But or course, she did.

   Yuto and Ryosuke looka bout ready to laugh, but  certainly don't feel like it. The girl starts to glare at them and then crosses her arms and turns around to dramatically leave the room.
   Yosh.
   My face red, I bend over and start to pick up the broken shards of the flower pot when I see that someone is already there, sweeping up the fallen pieces with a broom. It's the other girl.

   She smiles at me, and my heart flutters.
   "Ah, hi," I say. "I'm...Chikafuji Yukio."

   "Ah, no you're not," she says. "You're Chinen Yuri. And I'm Kawasaki Chiyo. Hajimemae."

Yukiko's POV:

   How revolting!!!
   How dare some stranger try to take advantage of me when I can't see what's happening!!
   I'm still raving about it when I feel someone put their hand on my shoulder.
   "Yukiko-chan~" I hear Ryouma-san say.
   I turn around. Even though I'd lost my lens the other night, I can still picture his face clearly. Some of my bad mood fades away as he smiles at me.

   "Why were you teasing our friend?" he asks me.

   "Ehhhh??? He harrassed me!!" I shoot back defensively. "And what do you mean, your friend? You know this ert?"

   He laughs. "He's anything but a ert," Ryouma-chan says. "He's innocent and cute. He's just kind of short and since you're taller than him and then you bumped into him, he didn't really get a chance to move aside."

   I consider what he'd said and then blush.
   "Ne...Can you tell him that I was sorry for behaving so rudely then?"

   He chuckles. "Of course."

   And then I feel his warm, friendly hand wrap around mine and lead me away.
   I feel so relaxed when I'm with Ryouma-chan, I think. He's such a good friend...

Yuto's POV:

   Yuri's getting all red while Kawasaki-san shows him around and allows him to help around the shop. I guess our SecretKeeper already figured out who he was and that's why he's so comfortable around her.
   I'll explain our situation about why we hide our identities from Yukiko when the we're alone. It seems like he doesn't really want to leave Kawasaki's side anyway.
   I smile and go back to my work.
   And I thought Yuri wanted to come here and hang out with us, I think. I guess he feels more like meeting new friends.  I laugh softly to myself. Oh, well. A girl would be good for him anyway.

Ryosuke's POV:

   I'm sitting next to Yukiko as she nurses her mom.
   She's gotten better, though I don't see how that's something to be celebrated. Now she's able to sit up and talk with sense. Or in other words: Boss the hell out of the two of us in the room.

   "Give me some more soup! Did you pick up the seeds? Good. Did you plant them all? You're not done yet?! Unacceptable! Hurry up! Don't think that I'm going to let you slack off just because I'm a little sick! Hey, give me some..."

   And it goes on and on and on.

   When she's finally tired out and starts to sleep like the dead - snoring like she's trying to win a contest - Yukiko motions for me to follow her out of the room and I do. Looking out of the window, I'm alarmed to find that it's already dark out.

   Yukiko looks exhausted.

   "Ah...I wish okaachan doesn't work me so hard tomorrow," she says. 

    "Why don't you just ask for a break?" I ask her, thinking of how HSJ had asked for a vacation from our duties as idols for a week. "She'll give you at least a day."

   Yukiko scoffs. "Yeah right. If I try, she'll go crazy."

   "Maybe not. Have you ever asked her?"

   "No."

   "Then I guess I will."

   "Eh?? No!!"

   But I'm already inside her mother's bedroom, shaking her awake, though I know that I'll regret it afterwards.
   She snorts and then blinks her eyes open, scowling when she sees me.

   "What gives you the right to wake me up while I'm sleeping?!" she demands. "Why you -"

   "I want to know if Yukiko can have a day off tomorrow."

   "What?"

   I repeat myself and she brings her eyebrows down in annoyance. "You wake me up for that? Of course she can! She's worked hard enough for it. Now go away!!!"

   I smile, bow my head and go out the door.
   Yukiko has open, and she looks surprised that I'd actually got her a day off.
   "You...."

   "I think the words you're trying to say is 'Thank you,'" I say to her.

   She grins and hugs me.
   "Arigatou, Ryouma-chan!" she says, and then breaks away to go to her room, smiling.
   Until she knocks her head on the door before entering. 

    I laugh to myself. I'll take her out somewhere, just me and her, I think. Then I'll make sure she definitely falls in love with me.

   And then Yuto comes up behind me and slaps me on the back.
   "Hey! You got us a day off!! Sugoi~I'll go tell the others. We can all go to the amusement park!"

   And then he heads off with a bounce in his step.
   What was I thinking?! I can't make Yukiko fall in love with me - not when Yuto likes her.
   But ...he doesn't really like her that much, does he? Isn't he just interested in her because he wants to get over Ayane...?
   He'll definitely forgive me if I confess to Yukiko, I decide. He wouldn't mind...right?

Yuto's POV:

   I can't seem to thank Ryosuke enough for getting us a day off. I bet he was just doing that so I would get more time alone with Yukiko. I'm so lucky to have a friend like him - one that knows how I feel about her.
   After this morning, I know that my feelings for Yukiko aren't fake at all. The way I had felt around Ayane...it always felt like there was something missing, or that I was the only one that had truly cared about her. But I had never cared about her as much as I care about Yukiko.
   When she's not around me, I want her near me. When I hear her laugh, it feels like I could listen to it forever. When she touches me - even if it's the slightest brush of her finger across my skin - my insides tingle with a profound happiness that just won't go away.
   I want to show her that I mean those things. I want her to know that my feelings are real and true.
   But most of all....

                             I just want her.

How will the next day turn out for all of them??? Find out in the next chapter of Love Bet!!!
                    PLEASE COMMENT AND SUBSCRIBE!!!!! ^_^