A month. It had been only one month since they had escaped from that accursed school, Heavenly Host Elementary. The name still brought shivers to the group as they talked about it, and it had nothing to do with the cold, winter weather. Despite all of them making it out of the school alive, there had been many tense moments, and they all knew how close they all came to not coming back. Satoshi had almost been killed when protecting Yuka from Kizami, but Yoshikazu came and killed Kizami at the last second. Seiko had almost been hung by Sachiko, only to be rescued last minute by Naomi. Mayu had almost been killed by the two girl ghosts, but managed to come to her senses and get away at the last moment. Ms. Yui almost died when the floor gave way in the ritual room, but luckily she just landed in the basement, and managed to regroup with everyone in the end. Morishige was fine as soon as he ran into Mayu, with whom he spent the rest of his time in the school with, searching for the others. Yoshiki had been hit in the head by Yoshikazu's sledgehammer, but thankfully that only knocked him out. Ayumi had almost drowned in the pool, but was saved by Yoshiki. Naomi had almost been caught by the black misty figure in the infirmary, and barely escaped. As the group talked about the school, all these instances of near death experiences came to the surface of their memories. It was painful, but they were all glad they were back in the Kisaragi Academy library, together.

AYUMI'S POV

"Well children, I suppose it's time I head home. Have a good weekend!" Said Ms. Yui as she left, gently pulling her bag over her left arm, as her right arm was still broken from the cabinet falling on her in Heavenly Host.

The group said their goodbyes as they watched their homeroom teacher walk out of the library.

The group continued talking about the events of last month. Ayumi sat with them, listening to the conversation, until her mind began to drift as she looked towards Satoshi. She had had a huge crush on him prior to the events at Heavenly Host, but during her time at the school her feelings faltered as she realized he would never like her back, no matter how hard she tried. Satoshi liked Naomi, and her him. Everyone in the group knew this, except for the two the information actually concerned and Yoshiki. It was quite funny actually. Ayumi had been trying to convince herself that she still could win him over, but being in that school where death lies around every corner, you look at things realistically. Now, overcoming her feelings for the brown haired youth, she felt alone. She looked around the group and sighed. She was about to continue in that train of thought when she heard a chime from her pocket.

*BEEPBOOP*

Ayumi broke out of her trance and reached into her pocket to get her phone. Glancing at the text, she noticed it was from her sister, Hinoe.

To: Ayumi

From: Hinoe

Body: Hey Ayumi, it's Hinoe. Just wanted to let you know that mom, dad and I will be gone for 3 days starting today. One of our close friends in America just died and we are going to his funeral. Mom doesn't want you staying at home alone, so could you stay at a friend's house for a few days?

Ayumi sighed. She really didn't like the news. She had been looking forward to going home and spending the weekend with Hinoe, since it was a Friday. She looked up from her phone and looked around the group.

"Hey, is it okay with any of you for me to spend the weekend and Monday at your house? My parents and sister are going to America for a few days, and I can't stay home alone." She grumbled, internally cursing her parents for not having more trust in her.

The group looked around, and the answers came flowing in.

"Sorry Ayumi, I can't have anyone spend the night. Seiko is spending the weekend at my place to work on a project, and my mom says I can only have one guest at a time." said Naomi apologetically. Seiko only giggled and nodded.

"Me either." said Satoshi. "Yuka has a speech competition in a different city, and I have to go with." he said through gritted teeth.

"I wouldn't mind, but Mayu and I have a weekend long theatre convention we're attending." said Morishige, with a bored face. Mayu looked at Ayumi and shrugged with a smile.

Ayumi smiled and accepted these excuses, then looked to the one person who still hadn't said anything. Kishinuma. He had been the one she had spent all of her time in Heavenly Host with. He had been there, protecting her from any and all dangers that they faced. As she thought about this, an odd, fluttering feeling began in her stomach. It reminded her of when she used to look at Satoshi...

"Hey, Yoshiki, what about you?" Said Satoshi with a grin on his face.

YOSHIKI'S POV

As the group talked about all of the events that happened at Heavenly Host, Yoshiki took a moment to reflect on his own adventure. He remembered all the instances he and Ayumi had almost died, and all the horrible things he and the others had witnessed. He remembered all the times he rescued Ayumi From various threats, and all the times he kept her grounded when she was having panic attacks. To an outsider, it might have looked like he was just helping out a friend, but the truth was deeper than that. If he had been in the school with anyone else, he would have probably not tried so hard to help them, unless they were his sister Miki or his best friend Satoshi. However, Ayumi was a different story. He loved her. He had loved her for a VERY long time, and yet, she had no idea. He knew that Ayumi had a crush on Satoshi, and despite knowing that Satoshi liked Naomi and only considered Ayumi as a friend, he felt that he had no chance with her. The thing was, she was a straight A student, and class rep. He, however, was a once-delinquent, with his old reputation still hanging over his head. Usually, those types don't mix. Yet, being a guy, he still held hope. So, he had protected her. Not just because he loved her, but also because he knew that if he died, she would be able to continue on. If she died, however, Yoshiki would have been broken. She was the only thing other than Miki that kept him going. Of course, being the slight introvert as he was, he never told this to anyone, except for Satoshi, and even then he only told him small parts of his feelings.

As he was thinking all of this, he noticed Ayumi ask everyone if she could spend the weekend at their house. His heart jumped. He lived by himself in a small, modestly decorated ground floor apartment, which meant that he, of course, had room for someone to stay the night. However, he felt that if Ayumi had another choice, she wouldn't stay at his place in a million years. So he decided to wait and see if anyone else could have her at their house. Listening intently to the responses of his friends, he became more and more anxious, as he realized it might actually come down to him! As Morishige told Ayumi that he was busy, his heart almost stopped. He was the last person she could ask. When she turned to look at him, he noticed she was looking at him with a weird look on her face. It almost looked like the face she made when she looked at...suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by Satoshi.

"Hey, Yoshiki, what about you?" Said Satoshi, looking at Yoshiki with a knowing grin.

"Damnit, it's like he knows what I'm thinking!" He thought.

"Oh? Well...uhh...yeah, I'm free, and I've got plenty of room, so I guess you can spend the weekend, S-Shinozaki." He said with slight stutter, and a blush. "Y-you know, if you want. It-it's up to you I guess." He finished lamely.

Satoshi snorted, and looked at Yoshiki with a man-up-and-quit-being-a-bitch look on his face. Yoshiki glared back with a I'll-fucking-kick-your-ass-if-you-don't-stop look. Satoshi merely shrugged and put on a satisfied look.

Yoshiki turned his attention to Ayumi, and waited for her answer with bated breath.