"So... Let me get the rules straight..." Ryosuke started and tried his best to comprehend on what Rio was saying... "So, ROCK-PAPER-SCISSORS; if YOU win, I won't follow you around for the whole day... And if I win, you'll tell me your address and I can send you home tonight?" He continued and soon enough found the smaller girl nodding away in agreement. 

"Sounds like a fair deal, right?" Rio asserted and drew out her fist - determined to win. She slightly kissed her own hand for luck and wished for her effort not to be wasted. 

"Ready to lose, Princess?" Rio saw Yamada smirked as if sure of his victory. In turn, she rolled her eyes before positioning herself opposite his opponent.

"Saisho wa guu, jankenpon!!" They said in perfect sync before seeing one person sighing in defeat. 

---

"YATTA!! I won!!" Rio jumped excitedly whilst holding her right hand up. She twirled around Ryosuke as if mocking how the latter lost to a mere girl. On the other hand, Yamada found himself pouting on his place and cursing every moment of this scene. 

---

Ryosuke heard the school bell ring as a sign of the end of the day. The nearly empty campus grounds and the darkening winter skies depicted the late hour. 

It's been a few hours since Ryosuke lost to Rio and since then, he hasn't seen even a silhouette of his 'master'. He knows the condition of their bet: 'Not to follow her around for the whole day'; but for some strange reason, he feels empty... and somehow worried. 

"I wonder where Rio-chan is..." He asked Chinen and Keito as he peeked inside their classroom. 

"Didn't you guys have a bet? Maybe she's just running away from you again..." Chinen assumed and calmly walked side by side with by friends. Yet, he couldn't help but notice Ryosuke's worried facial expression. 

"I didn't see her come to any lessons after lunch time... That girl is a geek. There's no way she'll let herself miss even one lecture" 

"You're thinking too much. She probably went home already..." Keito tried to reassure the younger boy before hearing unfamiliar voices of 3 girls talking casually in a hallow corridor. The half empty campus building was helpful enough for the boys to eavesdrop to their conversation. 

--

"It's been 4 hours. Do you think we should let her out?" One of the girls said while casually fiddling with her newly painted French-tip nails... "Or should we leave her there until morning?" She continued, gaining chuckles from the rest of her group.

"She deserves to be there... She dares to flirt with Yama-chan, that b*tch" Another girl's voice echoed through the hallow hall which was enough to make Ryosuke's fist form into a ball... "She's not even that pretty... Did you see the look on her face when we locked her inside that old room?" 

"I know... She deser--" Before another girl could even finish her sentence, she felt a sudden grab on her right arm and just found herself being pinned onto the wall by a strong individual. 

She felt a slight pain coming from the back of her head and soon enough forced herself to look who just grabbed her. She looked up only to see Ryosuke glaring down on her with anger evident on his face. 

"Y-Yama-chan..." She uttered, her voice breaking a little. 

"Tell me where Rio-chan is..." 

"B-But....." The girl looked at her two companions for some support but they seem to have been cornered by Chinen and Keito too. 

"Tell me where she is right now or I swear I'll go against my rule of 'not hitting girls'" Ryosuke glared at her with rage which seems to be enough to make the poor girl petrified from his sudden strange actions. 

"I-In the old shed behind the school..." She confessed. Ryosuke saw her look down and fought the urge to hit the girl after knowing what they did Rio. 

"Touch my Princess again and I can't promise I'll be this kind next time..." He said with disgust before running towards the said place to save his precious 'master'. 

---

"Achooo!!" Rio curled herself up into a ball before feeling another big sneeze coming her way. She rubbed the surface of her skin and just wished she's in a different place right now - away from the cold, misty room she's locked in. 

"I wanna go home..." She whispered silently to herself and hugged her knees tighter. She tried her best to fight her tears from coming out but the thought of being alone inside a hallow dark place was enough to push her limit.

"Yama-chan..." Rio heard herself utter as if calling for her saviour. She suddenly felt drops of silver liquid coming continuously down her plump cheeks, making her sob like a baby...

Suddenly...

*BANG* 

Rio heard a loud noise coming from not so far away. She looked up and saw a man's silhouette standing by the door...

"RIO-CHAN!!" Ryosuke ran towards Rio who seems to be curled up in the darkest corner of the room - desperate for someone's comfort. He just couldn't help himself but to pull her into a tight embrace which made the poor girl cry even more. 

Yamada felt her trembling in fear, enough for him to cup her face and wipe her tears using his thumb... "Shhh... I'm here now. Stop crying, okay?" He mouthed the words of comfort and patted Rio's head in the process. He then unconsciously kissed Rio's forehead before pulling her into a deeper embrace. 

Ryosuke felt his own heart clutching tightly after seeing tears running down Rio's face. Somehow, her tears are his weakness - like it was his most hated thing in the whole world. 

He quickly placed his jacket over her shoulder and guided her outside the door.

-----

"I'm gonna be okay here..." Rio looked at her saviour and decided to bid her goodbye after being pestered to send her home. She stopped at the corner of the street where she can see her apartment just around the corner. 

"Eh? You still don't want me to see your house huh?" Ryosuke sounded betrayed. However, seeing Rio's calmer face is enough for him right now. 

Rio in turn, smiled weakly and handed him his jacket... "You lost to our bet after all..." She continued before waving her last goodbye to the latter. Slowly, she made a step away from the boy but felt the will to turn around to have a glimpse of her 'Butler' once again. She took a deep breath before mouthing the words of "Thank You". 

---

*Sunday* 

Ryosuke fixed his attire before smiling at his reflection on the mirror and just wished for this day to be perfect. Ever since that day when he rescued Rio, he found himself having just one goal in mind... To make her smile. 

After making sure he's all ready, he skipped outside and headed to their meeting place. 

--

"Rio-chan is late..." Ryosuke sighed for the nth time whilst looking at his wrist watch. He noticed that the girl is more than an hour late and the sight of his ticking clock wasn't helpful to wash away his worries. Did something happen to her again? 

Almost immediately, he dialled Chinen's number to ask for some help... "Moshi Moshi? Chii?" He mouthed onto his phone's mouthpiece... "You know the school secretary, right? I have a favour to ask you..." 

--

*Yamada Rio's POV*

A sudden pain coming from my head was felt right after I opened my eyes to see the bright sunshine. I forced myself up the bed but somehow, the pain keeps getting stronger every time I move. 

A sudden block on my nose was felt and by this, I realised something... I am indeed SICK. I felt a sudden cold breeze coming from my window which was enough for me to curl inside my duvet once again, determined to stay there for the rest of the day. 

I was about to pull another blanket over me when a sudden knock on the door ruined my thoughts. 

I heard a few more knocks on the opposite side and just wondered who it might be. The thin walls in my run down apartment wasn't helpful to stop the sound coming through my ear drums. 

I then forced myself up despite the pain I was feeling on my sinuses. As I slowly twisted the door open, I saw a familiar figure of a man panting in exhaustion as if he ran a full marathon. 

--

"Y-Yama-chan?" I heard myself say with the remaining voice I have... "Why are you here? It's Sunday today"

"EXACTLY! It's Sunday today! We have a date..." He struggled to speak - still trying to gain his usual composure... By what he said, I completely remembered one thing - our date... 

"HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE A CELLPHONE?!!" He continued and suddenly picked up both of my shoulders. I blinked twice while trying to process what he was doing... Is he mad at me?... "I WAS WORRIED SICK!!!"

"I-I'm sorry..." This was the only thing I managed to say. All this time, I've been alone and never had someone to worry about me. 

"You better be sorry! No one has ever stood me up on a date... You owe me one!" I saw his face frowning and suddenly felt his fingers pinching both of my cheeks. I struggled for awhile but to my dismay, he didn't let go of his grasp. 

Only a few seconds had passed and his tight hold of my cheeks loosened before suddenly portraying a doubtful face... "You're hot..."

"Huh?"

"You have a fever?!" His hand travelled on my neck to check and confirm my temperature. He then cupped my face in worry which was enough for me to feel an electric current run down my spine. What the heck is wrong with me?!

Quickly, I took a step back and hoped that he wouldn't notice my crimson face... "I'm not sick. I'll be fine" I said coldly but noticed it wasn't enough to drive him away. 

"I'll stay and take care of you..."

"No"

"Why?"

"Because..."

"See? You don't even have a reason..."

"How did you find my house in the first place?!"

"I asked Chii's help... And it's because I'm awesome..." 

I rolled my eyes at his statement before seeing him smirk in delight. I was in the verge of kicking him out the house but his persistence is just too much for me to handle right now. Within an instant, I saw him rampaging my small room and made himself comfortable on my bed...

"This is what you get for forgetting our date..." 

--

It's only been half an hour since my so-called 'butler' arrived and he already ruined half of my small apartment kitchen which is visible from the room I'm in. I can see him making a chaos on every drawer in sight and somehow managed to take out all my remaining food in the fridge (which is NOT a lot, by the way).

"That's gonna last me for the whole week, you know..." I said, pertaining to the food he just took out. He turned around and frowned upon seeing me standing up, away from the bed. 

"I know you're poor... But who lives this way? There's barely anything here!" Ryosuke walked towards my direction and made me sit on the bed...

"Thanks for the 'compliment'" I said sarcastically before giving off a cough.

 "And you're not allowed to get out of bed. My orders!" He said then continued what he was doing - murdering my kitchen.

After a few minutes, I saw him walking towards me with a plateful of "something". He sat down next to my bed and presented a beautifully prepared dish. 

"Eat!" I heard him say before passing me the spoon. However, I found myself blinking once or twice - amazed by what he made out of the scraps in my fridge. It was also the first time someone cooked for me. 

I have a little confession to make... I once had a crush on Ryosuke before. I mean, who wouldn't? Every girl in class likes him. That soon faded when I saw him rejecting multiple girls, not even minding if he makes one cry or not. I judged him... Yes! But now that I was given a chance to get to know him, he's not that bad... I guess. 

"Should I feed you instead?" Ryosuke ruined my train of thoughts. I then watched him grin and attempted to lift the spoon up. Yet, I was quick enough to give him a light smack on the arm with a frown. 

---

"Thanks for the meal..." I managed to say. He gave off a proud smile before tucking me on my bed. I watch him stood up from where he was sitting and somehow, my peripherals caught a glimpse of his necklace hanging loosely against his skin - the necklace he was willing to give anything for. 

"You should sleep... I'll stay here and look after you"

"You don't have to... You've done enough already" I replied weakly. Somehow, I want him to stay. I really want to. But the fact that he's only doing this because he 'owes' me is just not right. I don't want to make him do things he's not willing to.

"Is something wrong?" He asked with a worried tone of voice. I was taken aback by how quickly he picked up every mood I was feeling. 

"Nothing... I'm fine. I just realised how beautiful that necklace is..." I said out of the blue. He frowned by the sudden change of subject and I noticed how his mood saddened. 

"It was given to me by someone I've been wishing to come back..." He uttered silently. I saw him forcing a smile while eyeing the piece of metal on his neck. Then, he gave off an awkward chuckle and found a way to tease me... "Why? Is my 'master' jealous?"

"Jealous? Hah!" I tried my best to think of a good come back but to my dismay, my head went blank... "I think I need to sleep now" I quickly turned my back on him and covered my head with my blanket before hearing a  sudden chuckle.

"How cute..." I heard him say. He then took a deep breath and whispered silently, barely enough for me to hear... "Don't fall for me Rio-chan. I'll end up hurting you"

His voice ringed inside my head. I felt my chest clenching tightly along with a hot sensation coming from my cheeks. I don't know what's wrong with me but something hurts. 

I slowly closed my eyes and wished for everything to be just a dream...

--

*Few hours later*

I forced my lids open before taking a glance at the clock not so far away from me and noticed it was already late afternoon. I felt a wet towel sitting peacefully on my forehead and suddenly remembered Yama-chan. 

Quickly, I sat up and glanced the room only to see the man I was looking for silently sleeping on the edge of my bed with his bottom half sitting on the floor. He looked so peaceful.

I stared at his face for a few mere seconds and noticed how his perfect skin pattern perfectly complimented on his facial features. "This guy is prettier than me" I thought to myself before fighting the urge to touch his face.

Rapid heart rate was felt as I one of my fingers to remove some strands of hair covering his forehead. Seriously, what is wrong with me?! 

"Don't worry... I'll try not to fall in love with you..." I whispered and tried my best not to wake the latter up. I know this is for the best. He's in love with someone else... Even I, know that. It'll be better to distance myself to him while I still can. 

I then slightly slapped my cheeks to wake up to face reality... 

--

A/N: Such a baaaad chapter. >< I can feel it... Please forgive me, minna... I hope you liked it anyways. I couldn't sleep so I just finished one chapter. Now I'm sleepy again. 

Thanks for all the comments. I suddenly missed the fandom and my sisters. >////<