A/n 3/10/05: I'd like to make a couple things clear, since I've recieved a couple reviews on this addressing certain things. And on the subject of reviews, NO, I'm NOT expecting rave reviews, but that doesn't mean I want every reader picking on every SINGLE LITTLE TEENY TINY PROBLEM they can find! If you don't like it so much that you're going to write three paragraphs picking it apart, then don't read it!

On a nicer subject, I have noted some of the larger concerns, i.e., introducing Ayaka (originally, this was written to go on my personal site, where readers aren't so led by the hand in meeting OCs, I apologize; I should have paid more attention to that difference when I uploaded this), etc., and I'm trying to add a couple scenes to this, but good fics don't just come out of thin air. You can't force inspiration, and when you do, it ends up being really bad. The next paragraphs are my original comments addressing those reviews I got. And no, not all fics are meant to be taken seriously. Also, flames are not the same as constructive criticism. And I never said I got flames (I don't want them, by the way), but that doesn't mean people weren't harsh reviewing and, yes, picking on every little thing they could find.

One, the Japanese in this fic is correct. I've been taking Japanese lessons with a private teacher, native-speaking, for three years. I've double checked my Japanese. The phrases I've used are nothing horrible, and my mother, who speaks no Japanese whatsoever, except "kunnichiwuh" (misspelling intended), could get most of it from context. I'm not going to take the Japanese out of my writing. It's how I write anime fanfic, and I'm not going to change my writing style to cater to people who are too lazy to take thirty seconds to find a Japanese to English dictionary on Google and look it up. And the reason I mostly use "fangirl" Japanese, by the way, is because most anime fanfic readers get the majority of it, and, let's face it, Ayaka's a fangirl.

Second, quit taking fanfic so seriously. No one's forcing to read it, and if you don't like it, no one's forcing you to review it, either. It's fanfic. If you can't handle what people might and probably will do to your favorite canon characters in their own head, then don't read it! It's as simple as that! As for the characters, if you don't want to see them bastardized (and by the way, I've seen people do much worse than I do), then DON'T READ FANFICS.

Another note on the Japanese thing, I'm aware first name use implies a close relationship, that's why I used it. Duh.

This is not meant to be taken so seriously. Honestly, it took me about an hour and a half in class to write and half an hour tweaking, proofreading (there's probably still a couple errors, I don't catch everything), and double-checking everything with my best friend who fanficts for me (btw, she thought it was fine!). It's not meant to be some awe-inspiring revelation on the characters' parts, it's supposed to be mindless fluff to waste ten minutes on. So quit treating it like it's some novel I'm submitting for publishing. This is an amateur venue. And yes, I suppose you could consider this an AU. But isn't any fanfic an AU, since no fanfic is straight canon, unless it was written by the original creator (in which case, it wouldn't be FANfic, now would it?)

"Aya-chan!"

"Hai!" Aya giggled as she jumped down from her perch, glomping Tsuzuki as she did.

"Gah! Watch it!"

"Where are we going today, Asato-kun?" she questioned, latching back onto his arm when he pried her off so he could walk.

"To get tea?" He shrugged. "Ano…I just wanted to ask you something, really, Aya-chan."

She cocked her head and smiled. "Nani?"

"You're too cute!" Tsuzuki protested, turning his head away. He sighed, took a deep breath, and turned back. "Aya-chan-"

"Look! Isn't it cute?"

"Uwah!" Tsuzuki hurriedly backed away before realizing she was just holding a cat.

Aya's eyes grew teary. "Hidoi! Asato-kun, you hurt his feelings!"

"Gomen, I didn't see what he was at first!" He face-faulted and patted the kitten's head. "Hai, he's very kawaii, Aya-chan. Now, about what I wanted to ask you…"

"Hai?" Aya shifted the kitten to cradle him and smiled at Tsuzuki.

"Do you…ano, what do you think of me, Aya-chan?"

She giggled. "Silly Asato-kun. You're sweet, and fun to be around…even if you eat a lot."

"Iie, I mean…do you like me?"

Aya blinked and blushed. "Ano…" She looked down, unwilling to answer.

"Gomen, Aya-chan…That probably wasn't the right way." He paused before trying again. "Aya-chan, I like you."

Aya gasped. "Hontou?"

He nodded.

"Asato-kun!" She giggled and glomped him again. This time, he managed to catch her.

"Does that mean yes?" he asked, face-faulting again.

"Hai! I always imagined Asato-kun as my kareshi!" Aya snuggled in, and Tsuzuki grinned, wrapping his arms around her. The cat mewed and Aya reached down to pick him up. "Kawaii…Hayashi-chan approves." As if getting the idea just them, Aya held the cat up to Tsuzuki again. "Will Asato-kun help take care of Hayashi-chan?"

"Ano…I guess."

"Wai!" She dumped the cat on him. "Say hello to Otousama, Hayashi-chan!"

"Nyao!"

"Asato-kun…" Aya trailed off, and decided to wait for Tsuzuki to finish demolishing the dinner she had made for them.

"Oishii…you're such a good cook, Aya-chan."

Aya smiled faintly. "Arrigatou."

Tsuzuki looked up. "What's wrong?"

"Asato-kun, I'm going to study over seas."

"Nani!" He was up and across the table in an instant, gripping Aya by the shoulders. "Aya-chan, you can't! How would I cope without you here!"

Aya sighed. "I'm sorry, Asato-kun…but it's not forever." She smiled. "I'll be back. I promise."

"AYA!" Tsuzuki yelled again as he barreled down the airport terminal. Gate 24, gate 26, gate 28… "AYA!" He sprinted to the window, just in time to see the plane taxi out of the gate and towards the runway. He banged on the window with his fist, sinking down onto the floor as tears began to flow. "Aya…I didn't get to tell you…"

"Tell me what?"

He looked over his shoulder and froze in shock when he saw the woman standing there. "A-Aya-chan…"

"I couldn't go." She smiled, and bit back a laugh as her own tears began. "I'm sorry. I tried to call you, but…" She stopped, and yelped when Tsuzuki scooped her up, whooping with laughter, and still sobbing like a baby.

"I'm sorry, Aya! It was so cruel and selfish of me…and now you've missed out on such a good chance-"

"Shh." Aya giggled and put her finger to his lips. "I want to stay. I want to be with you, Asato-kun." She rubbed noses with him. "I'll finish school here. Don't worry."

Tsuzuki wrapped his arms tighter around here. "Aya, marry me."

Her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with one hand. "Asato-kun…"

"I want you to be my wife, Aya-chan. I want to wake up next to you every day, I want to eat your cooking for the rest of my life and-" He stopped, blushing faintly before trying again. "I want you to be the mother of my children." He looked at her, fear in his eyes-fear that she would refuse. "Please, please say yes."

"Oh, Asato-kun…" Aya suddenly burst into peals of laughter. "Hai!" She leaned in. "I want to wake up next to you, too, and cook for you, and be the mother of ultra kawaii chibi-Asato-kuns."

He blushed, but grinned, and pulled her in, leaning down to kiss her. "I love you."

"I love you, too, Asato," she whispered in reply.

Aya smiled and chuckled to herself as she sipped her tea. In the next room, the door opened.

"Tadaima!" her husband called, slipping his shoes off as he stepped in.

Aya went to the kitchen door to meet him. "Okaeri," she answered. "Dinner's ready. I kept it warm for you."

"Sankyuu. I'm sure it's as good as usual."

"What's wrong, Asato-kun?"

"Betsuni." He flopped onto the couch and leaned back. "Just a tiring day at work." Aya sat next to him, and leaned onto him. Tsuzuki smiled and draped his arm over her. "How were classes?"

"I didn't go."

"Nani? Doushite?"

"I had an appointment."

"Is something wrong?"

"Just the opposite." Aya smiled over her shoulder at him.

"Eh?"

"Don't you miss Hayashi-chan?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

Aya made a face. "I always wanted to name my first son Hayashi."

"Ano…it's a nice name, but I always thought our first would be Asamaru or Asakazu…maybe Asahito…Asayuki…?"

Aya face-faulted. "You egotist." She picked up the hand that was resting over her, and moved it to her stomach. "Iie, it's a Hayashi."

Tsuzuki blinked. "Aya-chan…"

"I told my teachers I couldn't come anymore. The doctor said everything's fine."

Tsuzuki grinned and pulled her into a tight embrace. "Aya-chan, arrigatou!"

She giggled. "What for?"

"My first son!"

"It might be a girl."

"Even better if it is…a girl as kawaii as her Okaasan!"

Aya giggled again. "And as sweet as her Otousama."

"Can I get you anything, Oneechan?"

Aya smiled and shook her head. "You certainly take after your Oniisan, Yuriko-chan."

Her twelve-year-old sister-in-law giggled. "Everyone says that. But at least I don't eat as much as him."

Aya face-faulted. "Hai, we'd go bankrupt trying to keep enough food around." She pulled herself out of her chair with Yuriko's help, and patted her rather large stomach. "Speaking of food, I do think it's lunchtime." She glanced towards the door. "Asato-kun said he'd be home to eat with us, but he likes to stop and get donuts, so he'll probably be late."

"Should I go check the bakery?"

"He'll get here eventually," Aya smirked. "After all, he's not going to turn down one of my meals, is he?" She led Yuriko to the kitchen. "Besides, I need your help reaching around this."

Yuriko grinned. "Do you think it's a boy or a girl?"

"No clue whatsoever," Aya replied as she pulled out three plates from the cabinet. "And I don't want to guess. I want it to be a surprise."

"What about Oniichan?"

Aya chuckled. "Changes his mind every day. One day he thinks it's a boy, the next he thinks it's a girl The next week, he doesn't care, and goes on buying toys for either one...I think he's bought more toys than I own clothes! Last month, he decided it was twins."

Yuriko snickered, and handed a package of noodles to Aya. Both blinked when there was a knock on the door.

"Could you get that, Yuriko-chan?"

"Hai!" The girl dashed out of the kitchen and opened the door. She looked up at a young man who seemed extremely nervous.

He cleared his throat several times before speaking. "Is Aya-san here?"

Aya glanced out of the kitchen. "Akira-kun, what are you doing here?"

Yuriko stepped back, and the man entered, crossing the front room to Aya. "Aya-san...I-I don't know how to tell you this..."

Aya's smile fell. "What's wrong?"

"Something happened. Asato is..."

"Oneechan!" Yuriko dove forward, but was not fast enough to catch the glass Aya had dropped. She winced away as it shattered, and looked up at Aya, whose legs were quivering beneath her. "Akira-san!"

Akira caught the hint before Yuriko even finished his name, and deftly caught Aya as she fainted.

Yuriko let her breath out. "Is Oniichan at the hospital?"

"Ah, hai."

"Good. We need to take her, too."

"Oneechan?"

Aya's eyes fluttered open.

Yuriko smiled, relieved. "Ohayou, Oneechan. Welcome back."

"Asato-kun..."

Yruiko bit her lip. "I'm sorry, Oneechan..."

"Where is he?" She sat up, and Yuriko sighed before pulling aside the curtain separating Aya from the patient in the bed next to her. She covered her mouth. "But...but he looks fine..."

Yuriko nodded. "Concussion. They don't know when he'll come out of it...if at all."

Aya began to cry into her hands, and Yuriko, at a loss, waited, head hung in sorrow, and pity.

"I'm so sorry, Oneechan..." she whispered.

She stayed by his side as much as she could, visiting him every day before the baby came. When she went to deliver, the staff of the hospital was understanding, and put them in the same room. Aya was in no denial; she knew he could wake up any moment, or stay a vegetable for the rest of his life, and she was prepared for both instances. She tried not to let it bother her too much. She moved in with her in-laws, using the excuse that she needed help with the baby. She was afraid of being along, being without him, especially with an infant to take care of.

"You should name him Asato," her father-in-law had suggested, but Aya didn't agree.

"Hayashi," she'd declared. "After all, we don't want him being confused after his Otousama wakes up."

Life carried on, in short. At least for another ten months.

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