Ami sighed as she leaned back in her chair, closing her laptop in front of her. It had been a hectic few weeks and she was glad to have some quiet time to herself. The house was silent for the first time in days, and she was glad to take the time to enjoy the peace and quiet. Closing her eyes and stretching, she thought back over the past few weeks.

She'd found out that her father was the prime minister, and her world had been turned around almost overnight. She'd been on her own since her grandmother had passed away while she was in high school, and finding out that her father was still alive had given her new hope. He'd managed to track her down through some of his connections, and they'd had quite the tearful reunion. She smiled as she remembered how he had told her that she looked like her mother, the two of them hugging one another. She'd never met her mother, as she had passed away shortly after having given birth to her, so she took solace in what he'd said.

She had decided that she would take a semester off from college in order to spend more time with her father, and to get her own life in order. She was ahead in her classes anyway, so she knew she wouldn't have any problems with graduating on time. She was technically only a sophomore, but with as many credits she had acquired during high school, she was listed as a first semester senior. Taking some time off for herself wouldn't affect that she'd concluded when she had initially turned in the proper forms.

Ami heard a knock on the door and straightened in her chair. "Yes?"

Kaiji peered his head inside the room. "Dinner's almost ready."

"Thanks, I'll be right down." She replied. Kaiji nodded and closed the door, shuffling down the hall.

The other good thing that had happened to her in these past few weeks was that she'd been reunited with Kaiji, her childhood friend. It had been so many years since she'd seen him, so long that for a while, she'd feared that she would never see him again. He'd one of her only friends growing up, and when she and her grandmother had moved, she'd been devastated at losing him. But when she had reunited with her father, he had informed her that due to the nature of his work and some precarious threats that had been made against him, and now to an extension to her as well, she would be required to have a bodyguard with her.

That was when she had seen him. He was much older now and, she had to admit to herself, was much more handsome then she'd last remembered him. She almost hadn't recognized him at first, but when he'd seen her, his eyes lit up and had reintroduced himself to her. He was much taller too, towering over her by at least a foot or two. But he still had that teasing look in his eye that she knew so well, and had been thrilled to see him. He became her bodyguard that day, and she was glad to have someone she knew, and still trusted even after all of these years, to be protecting her.

Initially, she hadn't seen the point in having a bodyguard, as she didn't think she would be the one who would be targeted if something were to happen. But she'd gone along with it, as her father had insisted that she have one around just in case. She'd stayed with her father at his residence for a while, Kaiji staying close by, as she enjoyed spending some much needed time with her father. But after her father had received a threat from one of the terrorist groups out to destroy him, threatening to kidnap her, Kaiji had taken her to live with him at his house with his three sisters.

It had been so long since she's seen his sisters, that she had almost forgotten how caddy and loud the three girls were. When Kaiji had first brought her to his house, his sisters had been in her face with questions, about where she'd been all these years, why she was there now. They'd also thrown in a few questions about when she would be their sister-in-law. Even when she was little, Ami could remember them asking her that every time they saw her and Kaiji together. Although Kaiji had appeared embarrassed by them asking Ami those types of questions, it brought a smile to her face. They still teased their little brother shamelessly, that much hadn't changed at least. Though strange, it made her feel at ease with them, and made her feel at home with all of them.

They'd taken her under their wing and, even though she was to stay there anyway, had insisted that she live with them, upon hearing everything that had happened with her father and all of the threats. After a few days there, Ami realized that she enjoyed living there with them. Kaiji constantly would apologize to her about his sisters behavior, their loud and nosy ways, but it didn't bother Ami. She'd never really known what it was like to have a family like that, so it made her happy to be apart of one now. Even if it was just temporary.

During her time there with them, she'd enjoyed spending time with Kaiji. His personality hadn't changed much from when they were kids, as he still loved teasing her to no end as if no time had passed at all. They spent a lot of time at his house, as it was the safest place for her at the time, so they'd spent a lot of time talking to each other. They caught up on all the years they'd missed out on in each other's lives. Even though so much time had passed, she found it so easy to talk to him about anything. She had always loved that about him. She'd told him about her grandmother's passing, college, and all the other things she could think of. He'd told her about going to college briefly himself, becoming a bodyguard, his judo, and how good he had gotten over the years. She believed him, as his sisters had begged her to watch some of their home videos with them, and she had seen some of his matches that they had taped. He was extremely good, from what she'd seen. He'd been mortified when he'd found out that she'd seen their home videos, and she'd laughed as she watched him chase his sisters around the house, yelling at them for sharing those.

Ami stretched out once again and stood up, making her way downstairs to the kitchen. Even from the staircase she could hear his sisters talking loudly, blaring music as they helped prepare dinner. She smiled as she heard the three of them chatting away, giggling about some guy they'd seen at the mall the day before. She shook her head as she quietly grabbed some plates, setting them out on the table for everyone. Once all of their plates were full of food, they sat down at the table together and began eating. Ami was sitting next to Kaiji, where she usually sat, with his sisters on the other side of her.

Kaiji looked up at Ami. "Have you talked to your dad today?"

Ami nodded. "Yeah, a few hours ago. He said he had to go out of town for a week, and that he'd seen me when he got back."

Kaiji nodded thoughtfully. "I'm assuming he told you about the Election Ball you have to attend?"

Ami sighed. "Unfortunately."

When she'd spoken to her father, he'd told her of the Election Ball that the country had once a year. Most of the people who attended were politicians or wealthy businessmen, and were all expected to attend, including her father. It was a very well-to-do event, and from her father's description of it, sounded more and more like a more elegant version of the prom. He'd told her that due to his business trip, which he explained was unavoidable, that she would have to take his place. She didn't want to go, as those kinds of parties just weren't her forte, but her father had said that she needed to go for him, so she had reluctantly agreed to attend.

Kaiji smiled. "Don't worry, I'm going with you, so you won't have to suffer through it alone."

"You are?"

"Of course. I'll be there to keep an eye on you. Make sure you don't get fed to the wolves." Kaiji winked at her teasingly. Ami sighed a little sigh of relief. At least Kaiji would be there with her so she wouldn't have to be there all alone.

"You're going to a party?" Momoko piped in, sounding excited.

Ami nodded and Sakurako squealed. "Oh my god! You have to let us help you get ready!"

Nadeshiko pulled at Ami's arm excitedly. "I have the perfect dress for you to wear!"

Ami blushed. "You wouldn't mind me wearing it? I'm afraid I don't have anything really nice with me that I could wear to it. And it's supposed to be a really formal event."

"Not at all! It'll look so beautiful on you that even Kaiji won't be able to keep his hands off of you!" She replied happily.

Kaiji choked on his water and spat it out, his face flushing red. "Would you three cut that out already?" The three girls giggled and got up from the table, talking excitedly about their plans for Ami's wardrobe as they went upstairs to their rooms.

Ami looked over at Kaiji, who was still slightly red as he kept his gaze firmly on his plate. "I'm sorry my sisters keep saying weird stuff like that to you."

Ami laughed, taking her plate and Kaiji's plate as she headed to the kitchen. "It's ok. It's nice to have them around actually. They're a lot to handle sometimes, but they mean well."

Kaiji grabbed some of the plates in the sink and began washing them, with Ami taking them from him to dry off and placing them in their proper places. He bumped his hip into hers as he handed a plate over to her, smiling down at her. She bumped her hip back, and before she knew it, the two of them started splashing each other with the soapy water, laughing like a bunch of kids.

Ami stepped back, giggling as she splashed Kaiji once again with some water, and stepped right into a puddle of water. Her foot went from underneath her, and started to fall back, but felt Kaiji's arm around her waist, keeping her from falling. He held her there for a moment, their eyes locked on one another. Her heart pounded in her chest as his arm tightened around her waist, a serious expression on his face.

Kaiji abruptly released her and cleared his throat. "Don't trip and hurt yourself ya big klutz."

Ami spun to face the sink again, tucking a piece of fallen hair behind her ear. "Sorry! Thank you though."

"You're welcome, just be more careful next time." He replied, immersing his hands back into the soapy water to retrieve another dirty dish.

Glancing over at him as he washed the dish dutifully, Ami felt her cheeks burn. What was this that she was feeling with him? She'd been feeling this way more and more around him lately, but she couldn't exactly put her finger on the feeling. She'd never felt it before with anyone else, so she wasn't sure exactly what it was. He was her childhood friend, that much she knew. She also knew that he'd somehow become one of the most important people to her in her life, whether she liked it or not. Seeing him every morning always made her day, and his smile always seemed to make her heart skip a beat. She didn't have much, ok no, experience with men, so she had no idea what she was suddenly starting to feel. What does that all mean?