Kota opened his eyes but closed it shut when the bright light coming from the side lamp blinded him. He then felt a wet rug being patted on his cheek and tried to open his eyes again.
He looked up and saw Naru sitting beside him. She was putting cold compress on his bruises.
“Who did this to you?” she asked when she noticed that he was already awake.
Kota smirked but was taken aback by the pain in his lips. “Your guy.” He answered.
Naru stared at him. “What does he want from you?”
Kota stared at the pillow beside him. “Usagi…” he said seeing the bunny in her pillow cases. “What’s with you girls and bunnies?”
“Shut up and answer my question.” She commanded.
“Nothing much. He just said that he knows that we are fake.”
“Then why did he do this to you?” Naru asked in a really desperate voice.
“I don’t really know.” He didn’t tell her about their talk.
“You don’t know? Sore wa guretsu desu! Bakka!”
He laughed at that. Bakamono… he was really the stupid one.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
Kota shook his head.
Naru hit him on the face.
“Aw!” he complained in pain.
Naru stomped her foot and proceeded on tending to his bruises.
“That hurts you know.” Kota complained.
“Where else do you hurt?” she asked.
He pointed her to the side of his back which received the worst impact.
She pulled his shirt up and examined his side. “Oh my goodness!” she exclaimed when she saw the huge violet and blue bruise. “Let me just get you to the hospital,” she suggested.
He smiled at her. “I know a really great way to cure that.” He said.
“Nani?” she asked eagerly.
“Come here.” He commanded urging her to lean on him.
When she didn’t know what to do, he pulled her to him. She lost her foot and fell on top of him.
“Aww!” he shrieked when she landed on his painful side.
She immediately pushed herself up, “gomenasai!” she said. Her face was full of fear.
He shifted her weight on his chest and pulled her head to him. He let his lips rest on hers. He closed his eyes and let it stay that way. He couldn’t really kiss her though he really wanted to. It won’t do good for his cut but he just wanted to feel her.
If she was shocked of his action, she didn’t say it when she stood up. She merely looked at him and tended to the damage in his side.
He closed his eyes for the second time and let sleep take over him.

Yuki, Kyoumi, Aoi and Miharu were seated on the bench in the garden of Shingaru Gakuen.
Kyoumi was flipping on her mathematics text book while muttering on the side. She really hated the subject. “Where is Sachiko when you need her?” Kyoumi complained.
Miharu looked at her in inquiry.
“She’s the math genius, dah.”
“She’s not studying in this school, dah.” Miharu retorted.
Kyoumi pouted and crossed her arms in her chest like a kid being robbed of her toy. “I’ll ask her to transfer school. Besides, Ryutaro was already here.”
“Kyou-chan, let the girl alone.” Miharu said in frustration.
Kyoumi moaned in desperation.
“Just ask Yuri to tutor you,” Aoi suggested.
Kyoumi looked at Aoi. “He is busy these past few days. I don’t want to disturb him.”
Aoi sighed and nodded.
Kyoumi just covered her book and put it in her bag before pulling out her text book in history.
“Have you heard about Yabu?” Aoi asked then.
“Uhn, my brother told me.” Kyoumi answered.
Yuki looked at her when she mentioned the word brother.
Kyoumi looked back at her but Yuki looked down immediately. Kyoumi pouted sarcastically at Yuki. Aoi and Miharu heaved a sigh and shook their head.
“I heard Naru was already on the case,” Miharu told them going back to the discussion.
“Is there a case? I heard that the guy was just jealous of Naru and Kota.” Kyoumi said. “By the way, Eunice came home and brought a really cute guy with her.”
The other three girls looked at her.
“Yeah, he was her classmate in the university. And he was really really hot.”
“What about Kei?” Aoi asked.
Kyoumi sighed. “He is really sad and super downtrodden that we can’t talk to him properly.”
“Ah, poor guy.” Aoi commented. “If he just dated me, he will not be sad today.”
“Oy! Don’t say bad words. You already have Yuto. You shouldn’t say something like that.” Miharu scolded Aoi.
Yuki and Kyoumi nodded.
“You are the only loyal one these days,” Aoi mocked Miharu who opened in shock.
Kyoumi raised her hand. “I am also loyal,” she said.
Aoi looked at her. “Ah, so two people are still loyal. That’s not too many.”
“I am also loyal,” Yuki commented.
Kyoumi beamed at her, “I knew it!”
“Noted, only you don’t have a boyfriend right now.” Aoi mocked her.
“Who told you?” Yuki asked.
“Hahaha,” Aoi made a fake laugh while Kyoumi and Miharu looked at her as if she’s some kind of a freak.
“Yuki-chan,” a voice called behind them.
The girls looked up at the source of the unfamiliar voice.
Yuki stood up. “What are you doing here?” she asked.
Kento shrugged. “Your school is really huge.” He commented looking at the surroundings.
Miharu slapped both Kyoumi and Aoi who had their mouth opened wide. Miharu pretended to wipe away drools from the side of their mouth.
“What do you want?” Yuki asked.
Kento stared at her. “Is that a proper way to greet a friend?” he asked back.
Yuki glared at him. He smiled at her.
“Are these girls your friends? Airashii!” he commented.
The girls including Miharu smiled at him.
“Suzuka Aoi desu.” Aoi introduced herself. “Yoroshiku.”
“Nakajima Kento,” he introduced himself.
“We know.” Aoi commented.
Kento just smiled at her.
“Akimoto Miharu desu.” Miharu extended her hand which Kento took and shook.
“Yamada Kyoumi desu.”
“Ah, you are the sister of Yamada Ryosuke.” Kento said.
“How did you know my brother?” Kyoumi asked curiously.
“Ah, we met once though it is a very unfortunate event.” He answered looking at Yuki who didn’t meet his eyes.
“Why did you come here?” Yuki asked Kento when he sat down beside her.
“Nothing much, I just wanted to see your school.” He answered.
Aoi, Miharu and Kyoumi looked at him then at Yuki. Kyoumi glared at the guy. What is he doing with her sister-in-law?
Yuki laughed. “Eh, you can’t come here without any business at all.” She commented in amazement.
Kento looked at her. “Nande?”
“Nani nande?!”
Kento just stared at her in inquiry.
“Yah, Nakajima Kento, grow up, you punk.”
“Yah, Chinen Yuki, are you a girl? You sound like a street boy.”
Yuki gritted her teeth at him and smacked him on the head with a book which he caught with one hand while the other messed up her hair.
Yuki pulled the book away. He smiled at her while she glared at him.
Kyoumi browsed the pages of her book noisily all throughout the exchange. Aoi and Miharu were giving each other knowing glances.
Kyoumi covered up her book, put it inside her bag and stood up.
“You’re going?” Yuki asked.
Kyoumi didn’t answer her and just scrammed away.
“What’s with her?” Yuki asked.
Aoi and Miharu just shrugged though they knew the answer. They even felt the same.
Aoi arranged her things and stood up. “Gotta go, I still have to meet Yuto.” She said and walked away.
“Bye,” Miharu and Yuki called back. Aoi didn’t look at them but she waved her hand.
“Your friends are really cute.” Kento commented.
Yuki looked at him from her book. “Of course, birds with the same feather flock together.” She smirked at him.
Kento looked at her as if she said something gross.
“Nani!?”
“You included yourself?” Kento asked sarcastically looking at her from head to foot.
Yuki playfully punched him on the arm. “Shut up!”
Kento laughed at her and nuzzled his nose in her hair. Yuki on the other hand bit him on the shoulder.
“Ouch!” he screamed. When he pretended to bite her, she shoved a book in his face.
Miharu stared at them. She haven’t seen Yuki this playful with Ryosuke before. They had a tough relationship back then. Miharu sighed, maybe it was really time to let go and move on. As long as her friend is happy, she’ll support her. She just hoped that her friend would not regret anything at all.
“Aren’t you girls going home?” Kento asked.
“Keito will pick me up.” Miharu answered.
Kento smiled and nodded.
“Let’s wait for him, then.” Yuki suggested.
“Uhn,” Kento smiled and pouted. Yuki pinched him in the cheeks.
Miharu looked away. “By the way, how did you meet?” Miharu asked while staring at her book.
The two didn’t answer so Miharu looked up at them and waited for their answer.
“We met on the pub after their performance.” It was Yuki who answered.
Kento laughed. “No, that was before our performance.” He corrected.
Yuki laughed with him, “Ah, uhn.”
Miharu stared at them.
“You bumped into me.” Kento pointed at Yuki.
“No! You bumped into me. You have very poor eyesight.”
“I didn’t,” he retorted. “It was you who have poor eyesight. How many accidents did you have because of your eyes?” he asked sarcastically.
Yuki moved her face near him, “How many accidents have you caused me already?” she asked back.
Kento moved his face nearer and stuck out his tongue to her. She hit him on the forehead.
Miharu sighed and went back to her book. “I won’t ask anymore question. It seems I won’t even understand your answers.” She commented.

Sachiko opened the rusty door of Ryutaro’s apartment. She was used to going there after school. Her mom, Ryutaro’s landlady usually asks her to bring him food and snack. She was really fond of the boy.
She peered in. She caught a glance of a man in a dark gray suit. He was tall and lean. He was also handsome. He was like an older version of Ryutaro.
“You already left, there is nothing to come back for.” It was Ryutaro’s voice. Sachiko couldn’t find any emotion from it.
“Ryutaro, just come with me and live a better life.” The man pleaded.
“When you abandoned mother and me, we were able to survive, when she died, I fought for survival. Those were the times that I was hoping that you show up. Now that I’ve coped up, I don’t need you anymore.” Ryutaro’s words were sharp.
“Ryutaro…”
“Please go now, I still have a lot of school works to do.” Ryutaro said.
“At least, let me buy you a better house.” The man asked.
“I’m happy here, thanks.”
The man sighed and walked towards the door. Ryutaro bowed at him. Sachiko closed the door gently and hid at the back of the stairs leading to the third floor.
She heard the door close and the man walking away. She sighed in relief and leaned on the railing of the stairs.
A frame shadowed her. It was Ryutaro.
“I know you heard everything.” Ryutaro commented.
Sachiko looked at the handsome face of her friend.
“Gomenasai.” She said.
Ryutaro stared at her. Pain was visible in his eyes. He pulled her to him and hugged her tight. He burrowed his face on her hair.
Sachiko put her arms at his back and caressed his hair. She patted his back. She knew that what she saw earlier was the pretentious Ryutaro. He was the Ryutaro that she first met. He was the Ryutaro who pretended that he could do anything, without anyone’s help. It was the Ryutaro that was long gone. He came back again and it hurt her just like how he was hurting.
She felt him sob in her arms.
“Ryu…” she tried to push him to look at him.
“Just stay, please.”
Sachiko hugged him tight.

Miharu had her headset on her ears while she browsed for some CD’s in a music shop. She just told Yuki and Kento that she’ll be meeting Keito because she wanted to get away from them.
Yuki would insist that they drop her home if she didn’t lie. She wanted her friend to be happy yet she was still a Ryoki (Ryosuke/Yuki) shipper. She just couldn’t accept the fact that Yuki and Ryo had really called it quits.
She was on this thought when she saw a CD. The cover was a picture of four guys. She grabbed it at the same time as another hand snatched it.
She groaned. “Hey! I saw it first!” she said angrily looking at the person and took off her headset.
The guy had a hood down which covered his sunglasses-clad eyes. He looked at her in his eyeglasses.
“I took it first,” he said in a smooth voice.
“You snatched it from me!” Miharu fumed.
The guy smirked. In full fairness, he had a really cute pinkish lips. “Do you know them?” he asked pointing at the guys on the cover.
“Hai! Ikemen koie,” she answered.
“Who do you like the most?” he asked.
“Why do you ask?” she asked back.
“Out of curiosity,” he answered.
Miharu sighed and looked at the picture. She saw them performed live and met one of them earlier. What is so new? Celebrities were swarming in front of her. Even her boyfriend is one.
She went over the picture of the group. The first one was Kento, so she thought of Yuki and shook her head. Yuma, so tall, Shintaro, so young then her eyes landed at the last one on the right… Fuma Kikuchi and pointed at the picture.
“Hontou ni?” the guy asked smiling.
“Hai!” she answered nonchalantly.
The guy nodded and went to the counter.
“Eh!” Miharu stomped her foot. The guy just walked away like that?
She took another CD and walked to the counter. She wanted to smack the guy at the head while she was following him on the lane.
When he finished paying for the CD he had snatched from her, he looked at her. He smiled and took the CD she was holding. She was about to react when he handed her the paid CD and walked away putting the other CD in one of the shelves.
“See yah, around.” He bade and waved though he had his back at her.
She stared at the packed CD in her hand and looked at the lady in the counter.
The lady smiled at her, “I guess, that is yours for free.” The lady commented.
She smiled awkwardly and nodded. She walked home looking at the CD in her hand.
“What at weird guy!” she commented loudly.

Aoi looked at her watch. Yuto was already late. She had been waiting for an hour for him. She stomped her foot and crossed her hand in her chest.
She was already boiling in anger because Yuki was being so sweet with that Kento guy. That Nakajima was pissing her off and this other Nakajima was letting her wait.
What’s with the nuisance she was getting with Nakajimas these days?
An ice cream appeared in front of her. When she looked up, she saw a guy in a bull cap handing her the ice cream in a cone.
She looked intently at him and realization hit her. “Nakayama Yuma?” she asked.
The guy put a finger in his mouth signaling her to keep quiet.
She smiled at him and made an expression of zipping her lips.
“Take this, it seemed that you are already boiling up. I could even see smoke coming from your ears.” Yuma joked and pretended to wipe something beside her ears.
She chuckled and took the ice cream from him. It was chocolate, her favorite.
Yuma sat in front of her. The café was already jammed pack. Usually, students from the nearby universities visit the café at this hour.
“You’re waiting for your boyfriend?” Yuma asked.
Aoi nodded.
He smiled. “and he is late?” he asked again.
And she nodded again while at the ice cream.
He nodded at her.
“I saw your performance once,” she said.
“Ah,” he answered. “Did you like it?” he asked at her.
“Hai.” She answered eagerly. “It was really nice. You four have really good voices,” she commented.
“Arigatou.”
“Ehem,” Yuto who just came cleared his throat.
The two looked up at him.
Yuma stood up. “Ah, Nakajima-san, ohayou.” He greeted him.
Yuto stared at the guy, “Ah, Nakayama-san, ohayou.”
They both looked at Aoi. Aoi looked at them.
“You know each other?” Yuto asked.
“We just met.” It was Yuma who answered. “She had been waiting for you, and she already looked really pissed.” Yuma said smiling. “I brought her an ice cream but now that you are here, I guess I got to go.” Yuma said and bowed to them. “Jaa ne.”
Yuto and Aoi bowed back.
Aoi smiled at Yuma’s retreating back.