Miyake Shinobu yawned sleepily and stretched her arms. Looking at her clock, she groaned. No one had bothered to wake her up, and now she had slept her whole Saturday morning away.

Getting out of bed, she looked out her window. The weatherman had forecast thunderstorms for that afternoon, but it was still nice and sunny out. She frowned, having not made any plans with Inaba because of the rain that was supposed to be pouring down. It was way too late to try to do anything now.

Feeling gloomy, she plopped back down on the edge of the bed, wondering what to do now. The pile of books on the nearby table beckoned to her. That had been her original plan for today, to get some serious studying done. The entrance exams were drawing closer every day, after all.

After getting a snack, Shinobu headed back up to her room and scooted up close to the table. Cracking open her math book, she started doing a few problems. Since she paid attention and took good notes, the problems weren't that hard, just extremely tedious. The pleasant sunlight streaming in through the window wasn't helping her stay concentrated either.

She managed to finish a few more problems before she started daydreaming, wondering what she would have done with Inaba today. Most likely they would have just gone for a walk and had lunch somewhere, but that would have been more than enough. She was happy just to be with him, what they did really wasn't that important. She figured he felt the same way, as he was always eager for their simple dates.

Still thinking about how nice Inaba was, her wandering eyes spied an envelope stuck in the corner of her dresser's mirror. Realizing that she wasn't getting any work done anyways, she hopped up and retrieved it. Sitting back down, she carefully opened the envelope and pulled out several well-creased pages. She'd already read the contents many times over, as had her friends, but she still couldn't help rereading them every once in a while.

The first letter's handwriting was surprisingly neat to be Ataru's. She unfolded it carefully and started reading.

Hey Everyone,

It was really nice to hear from all of you. Right now we don't have any idea how long it will be until we can return to Earth. To the best of our knowledge Uru is still planning the invasion, we just don't know when. The situation really worries us both, but it's not like there's anything we can do about it.

I'm glad to hear most of you ended up in the same class again. Please tell Onsen-Mark that I said hey, and that we both miss his lectures. Try to make it sound sincere though. I don't know what I'm going to do about exams, but I guess there are always cram schools. I have learned a lot since this summer because we had a job repairing this huge spaceship, but that's not something that translates well into academics. I am now considering going into a trade school someday though.

Since it seems to be such a hot topic, let me just confirm that no, Lum has not dumped me yet. And no, she isn't planning to. In fact I recently asked her to be my wife officially, and she said yes. The wedding date is set for November 30th, if I'm doing the calculations right. I would love for all of you to be there, but unless something drastic happens that won't be possible. I am sorry.

Shinobu-chan, I'm really glad to hear that things are going well with Inaba. Aside from being totally clueless, he's a pretty cool guy. I really appreciate him doing this for us. I let my mom know our old house was safe, thanks for letting us know. Anyways, thanks for being such a good friend all these years. I really appreciate it, and I know that Lum does too.

Ryuu-chan, I haven't seen Benten-sama for a while due to the situation out here, but when I do I'll let her know you're waiting for that rematch. From what I hear, she's doing fine. Please tell your father that Oniboshi doesn't have any real oceans, though there are some nice beaches on a few of the larger lakes. I don't have a clue how he intended to get here anyhow. And to answer his other question, I have absolutely no idea.

Sakura-sensei, Ten wanted you to know that he is happy for you. He's kind of depressed about your engagement, but I don't think it's serious. He is just a brat after all. If you happen to see that little girl that had a crush on him, tell her he said hi and that he really misses her. Also please tell your uncle to stuff his ill omens. Maybe he could eat them instead of always being such a little mooch. It does figure that things would have finally quietened down after we left. I blame Lum wholeheartedly for any weird occurrences over the last few years.

Perm, sorry to hear things are so boring back there. I can't believe you are stuck hanging out with the likes of Mendou though, that's pretty bad.

Mendou, good buddy, I'm glad you are having such a good time with Asuka-chan. Please tell her to give you one of her special hugs for me, I know how much you love those. Tell your sister I said hi as well.

Well, that's about all I have to say right now. Aside from getting engaged and working a lot, not all that much has happened to us since we left Earth. Living on another planet is weird, but you get used to it pretty quick I guess. Until we speak again, I wish you all good luck.

Your friend,

Moroboshi Ataru

Shinobu sighed as she read his last lines yet again. Inaba had brought her these letters back in early November. Then just days before Ataru's wedding date the ships from Uru had arrived in Earth's orbit. It had been months since the ships had unexpectedly left them in peace, but they still hadn't heard anything more from Ataru.

She wished Inaba could go check on them again, but apparently he wasn't exactly supposed to travel that far from his own sector of subspace without a good work related reason. When his supervisors had found out he hadn't been in too much trouble, but he wasn't going to risk it again. She hated that he had gotten yelled at in the first place just to please her.

In any case, she couldn't help but worry. The Uruseins hadn't given Earth any demands; they simply ordered the planet's military to stand down. Then without warning the ships had quickly left the Earth's orbit a few days later. A lot of theories were still flying around, but no one knew for sure what was going on out there.

Ataru had told Inaba that the Uruseins were somehow blocking Earth's satellites from receiving Oniboshi's communications, and they had no other way to contact the planet. She had initially hoped after the invaders had left that Ataru and Lum would return, but as time went on that hope had faded.

Picking up the other letter, Shinobu smiled sadly. Things had been rough between herself and Lum for a long time, but they had eventually become good friends. She unfolded it just as carefully and began scanning through it.

Hi!

How are you all doing? I hope everyone is ok there. It really seems like forever since we've talked. I regret that we all didn't get to go on any trips this summer. We were going to invite everyone to go to the beach right before the fall semester started, but then all this happened. I hate that we didn't even get to say goodbye.

We had a lot of fun reading your letters. Please thank Inaba again for going out of his way for us. I know Darling misses hanging out with all of you, and I feel the same way. We've really had a lot of fun times together since I came to Earth.

If you've already read Darling's letter, then you know what's going on between us. You can imagine my shock when he proposed to me out of the blue a couple of weeks ago. I've been really busy planning our wedding, and I wish everyone could see the dress I picked out yesterday. It is so cute! I just hope Darling likes it. I can't wait to see his expression when I walk down the aisle.

I know several of you were worried about our relationship, but things have never been better. We don't fight as much anymore, and Darling's been so sweet lately. I'm not sure what's changed between us, but I'm certainly not complaining.

We were staying at my parent's house for a while, but now we're living in our UFO. Our days are much different from when we were students. Darling doesn't like relying on my parents, so we've been picking up repair jobs when we can. That leaves us a lot of free time, but now I'm spending a lot of it planning the wedding.

Congratulations Sakura-sensei, I'm really glad to hear you and Tsubame are getting married too. Shinobu-chan, it sounds like you've found that special someone for you too. I'm really happy for all of you, and I hope we can all see each other again soon.

With Love,

Lum

A single tear ran down Shinobu's cheek as she finished reading. It really wasn't fair that things had turned out this way. It had seemed annoying at the time, but she missed all the adventures and rowdy class times they had survived last year. Though she was very happy with Inaba, life just wasn't as exciting anymore. It seemed like their little group was losing touch more and more without Tomobiki's oddest couple to bring them together.

It suddenly occurred to Shinobu that she didn't have to let things be that way. Here it was a beautiful day out, and she was sitting around in her room moping. Putting the letters away, she started getting ready to go out.

Young Master, you have a phone call."

Mendou Shutaro didn't bother to look up from the report he was reading. "Who is it?"

"A Miss Miyake," his retainer replied.

"Shinobu-san?" Mendou asked, looking curious. He put down the paper and rushed over to the nearest telephone.

"Hello?"

"Mendou-san, is that you?" Shinobu asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, what's going on?" He tried to sound casual. Shinobu hadn't called him in at least a year now.

"I was just thinking that it's a really pretty day out, and I'm kind of bored. So would you like to go do something?" She paused, afraid he might get the wrong idea. "Just as friends of course."

"Of course," he stuttered. "Sure, I wasn't doing anything important." He glanced at the financial reports scattered across the table. It was nothing that he couldn't handle later. "Where do you want to go?"

"It doesn't really matter," Shinobu replied. "How about the park?"

"That's fine. Do you want me to send a car for you?" Mendou asked.

"Nah, it's not far. I'll just meet you there," she told him before hanging up.

Shutaro stared at the phone for a moment. Why did Shinobu suddenly want to hang out with him? Was she having a spat with that ridiculous rabbit costumed guy? He could only hope.

He felt a bit guilty to be getting excited about a date when he was supposedly betrothed to Asuka, but frankly things were getting pretty stale between them. They had spent a lot of time together, but other than trying to working on her fear of men, they hadn't made any progress in their relationship. She still seemed to have an unnatural affection for her own brother that was creeping Shutaro out more and more. He was starting to wonder if he only spent time with her out of pure loneliness.

"I'm heading out," he announced to his retainer, snatching up his ever-present katana as he left the room. "Please don't tell anyone who called."

"Will you require an escort?"

Shutaro shook his head adamantly. "No, I'll be fine. I've got my phone if anything comes up."

"Mendou-san!" Shinobu called out, waving to get his attention.

He turned, finally spotting her near the fountain. It was just his luck that the park would be insanely busy today. It was only early March; the cherry blossoms weren't even out yet.

"Shinobu-san," he greeted her warmly. "Have you been waiting long?"

She smiled and shook her head. "No, I just got here," she cheerfully replied. "Isn't it just a gorgeous day?"

Shutaro looked up at the clear sky. "Yeah, it's nice out."

"It was supposed to rain," she pouted. "I was going to stay in and study, but I just couldn't on a day like this."

He nodded, but he really would have been perfectly happy to remain in his nice climate controlled mansion on a chilly day like this. Maybe in a couple more months when it was actually warm out he would be able to share her sentiment in truth.

"So, what did you want to do?" he asked, putting his hands in his jacket pockets.

"I don't know," she replied. "For starters, we could just walk around and catch up a bit. We might be in the same class, but it seems like we hardly ever talk anymore."

He nodded. "That's fine." Whatever she wanted to do was fine, even if it was a bit vague.

"So," he began, "What's going on in your life?"

"Not that much," she admitted. "I've just been studying a lot and hanging around the house. She quietly sighed. "I suppose I have a really boring life."

"Sounds pretty normal," he replied. "Spring has yet to come, after all."

"Well, what have you been up to?" she asked.

He thought for a moment. "I went skiing up north last weekend," he mused. "A couple of weekends before that, I visited one of our southern resorts to swim and relax a bit."

"See, your life is a lot more exciting than mine," Shinobu whined. "I've barely even left Tomobiki since last summer."

"Is that right?" Shutaro asked casually. "Well, next time I go out of town, if you want you could come with me."

She frowned slightly. In the past he had invited her along on a lot of trips, but she had always suspected that her role was either to make Lum feel more comfortable, or to occupy Ataru. Why would he be asking her now?

He noticed her hesitation. "If you don't want to, that's fine too," he stammered out. He mentally groaned. Real smooth there, Shutaro. What had happened to his once confidently debonair way of winning over the ladies?

Shinobu looked at him, surprised to hear him tripping over his words. "I'll think about it," she replied. "Are you ok?" she asked, looking at him more closely.

"Of course," he replied, forcing himself to act confident. "Well, I'll inform you the next time I'm planning a trip, and you can let me know then."

"Ok," she agreed cautiously. Mendou wasn't acting like himself at all today. She hoped that he wasn't feeling under the weather or anything. It was a bit chilly out, and she didn't want him catching a cold on her account.

They walked a bit longer in silence. Shutaro glanced over once or twice, but really wasn't sure what to say. Finally he decided to just get it over with and ask her straight out.

"So, how are things going with you and Inaba-san?" he inquired, trying to sound like he was just making conversation.

"Pretty good," Shinobu replied. "I mean, we don't get to see each other as much as I'd like, but other than that I don't have any complaints. He's a really sweet guy."

He almost grimaced but managed to smile instead. "That's good," he replied. It looked like Shinobu wasn't on the outs with the bunny man after all. She must have meant it earlier when she had asked him out as a friend.

"How about you and Asuka-chan?" she asked. "I know you've been hanging out with her a lot lately."

Shutaro wrestled for a few seconds whether he should tell the truth. In the end his accursed pride won out. "Oh, things are great," he lied. "She's a really great girl."

"I'm glad to hear that," Shinobu replied. "Is she starting to get used to other men?"

"Somewhat," he replied. Asuka didn't run at the very sight of a man anymore, but if they got within a few feet of her she still tended to run like the wind. It was extremely frustrating. They couldn't go anywhere besides their estates; dining out or visiting resorts together was completely out of the question. Not that she had any interest in that sort of thing anyways. She was perfectly content to stay at home and fawn over her brother, Tobimaru.

Shinobu smiled, glad that things were going well for Mendou. He wasn't a bad guy at all, just a bit too vain and woman crazy for her tastes. It was nice that they could still hang out together without things being weird between them.

Shutaro's eyes wandered off towards the trees. The new leaves were slowly starting to come in on some of them, but it would be a while before the park would be covered in green. He sighed and wondered if he would still be in the same situation when these leaves started to fall once more.

"I was reading those old letters from Ataru and Lum-chan this morning," Shinobu suddenly announced. "They got me thinking about how quiet things have been around here since they left."

"I know what you mean," Shutaro agreed, keeping his eyes firmly on the sky. "That Moroboshi always caused trouble for everyone."

Shinobu giggled. "That's true, but it was a lot of fun, wasn't it?"

"At times," he grudgingly admitted. "I don't know if I would attribute that to Moroboshi though."

"Oh, come off it," she replied. "You don't hate him half as much as you want people to think."

"He's uncouth, loud, impolite, disrespectful, and idiotic," Shutaro protested dramatically.

"Fine, have it your way," she teased.

He was quiet for a few more minutes. "I must wonder if that lout's married now."

"I don't know," Shinobu replied, "but I hope so." She sighed and looked down. "Do you think they're ok?"

"Moroboshi's got the devil's luck," Shutaro responded. "And he wouldn't let anything happen to Lum-san either.

"That's true," she agreed quietly. "I wonder if they'll ever come back here."

He smiled, trying to cheer Shinobu up. "I'm sure they will sooner or later."

Ryuunosuke grunted as she hefted the heavy bag of rice that she was attempting to get home. It was just like her father to make her carry it back by herself. It wasn't like he needed to buy so much at one time anyways. The market wouldn't give them a bulk discount or anything. She suspected he did it just to inflict more torture on her. At this rate it was going to be dark before she could get back to the school.

She staggered down the street a bit more before setting the bag down again. This was torture on her back. Out of breath, she leaned against the park fence for a moment. That old man was really going to get it as soon as she got back.

She was surprised to hear someone faintly calling out her name. Looking around, she quickly spied Shinobu coming her way with that idiot Mendou in tow. She rolled her eyes, not really wanting to hear any crappy pick up lines from the smug jerk. Shinobu was fine, but Mendou tended to really get on her nerves. She waved curtly back at them and crossed her hands behind her head casually.

"Ryuunosuke, what a pleasant surprise to see you here," he greeted her warmly. She might be a bit rough, but she was still a female, and he was compelled to be polite.

Shinobu smiled. "What are you doing?" she asked, looking curiously at the huge canvas bag Ryuunosuke had been carrying.

"Trying to get this rice home," Ryuunosuke replied. "I've still got a long ways to go, so I should probably get going."

"How are you going to carry that all the way back by yourself?" Shinobu inquired worriedly.

"I'll get it there, no problem," the girl answered proudly.

Shinobu frowned and whacked Mendou on the arm. "Help her carry it!" she commanded.

"That's ok," Ryuunosuke objected. "I got it."

"No, no, I insist," he said, seeing a chance to be chivalrous. He bent down and took hold of the sack, pulling up as hard as he could. It didn't budge.

"Little too heavy for you?" Ryuunosuke asked wryly.

"This is nothing," he insisted, his face turning slightly red. He managed to get it about an inch off the ground before the weight forced him back down. "How did you get this so far?" he demanded.

She glared. "My stupid dad is always making me do this stuff. Says it builds character."

Shutaro frowned for a moment, then whipped out his phone. "I need a truck here immediately," he commanded. Looking at the bag again, he added, "And a couple of strong guys too."

"You really don't have to do that," Ryuunosuke growled. This was turning into a real hassle very quickly.

"Nonsense," he replied blithely. "I refuse to let a lady carry such a heavy burden when it's within my power to help."

She crossed her arms and leaned back. Mendou might be annoying, but she wasn't stupid enough to let her pride keep her from accepting some help.

Within five minutes a rather large delivery truck screeched around the corner and slid to a stop next to them. A couple of burly guys in the usual black sunglasses and suits piled out and stood at attention.

"I need this delivered to Tomobiki High School," Shutaro told them. "Take it to the school store and give it to Mr. Fujinami.

"I'll just go with them," Ryuunosuke interjected. "Dad won't be home yet." She got a good grip on the bag and heaved it in the back of the truck, crawling in after it. "Thanks, Mendou, I appreciate it."

"Are you sure that you want to ride back there?" Shutaro asked, looking worried.

"It's fine," she said dismissively. "When I lived out in the country I used to hitch rides like this all the time."

Shutaro nodded. "Alright." He turned to the driver. "Drive carefully, and don't hit any bumps."

The retainer nodded and climbed back in with his partner.

As the truck rumbled off, Shinobu waved goodbye to Ryuunosuke. "That was really nice of you," she said.

"It's the least I could do," he answered. "A gentleman such as myself could never let a lady suffer so."

"Asuka-chan's a lucky girl," she replied.

Shutaro blushed ever so slightly. "Of course," he said with as much bravado as he could summon. "Any lady would be lucky to marry into the illustrious Mendou family."

Shinobu rolled her eyes. "You know, you would have gotten a lot more girls back in the day if you toned it down a bit," she told him bluntly. "No offense, but that arrogant attitude is a bit of a turn off."

His eyes widened; He was not used to Shinobu, or any other women aside from his sister for that matter, calling him out. "I apologize," he hastily stammered. "I wasn't aware that I was being arrogant."

She sighed. Mendou probably didn't even notice, it was such an ingrained part of his personality. "I'm not trying to be mean," she said more gently, "but you do come off that way at times."

"I see," Shutaro responded quietly. "I shall certainly try to watch that."

Shinobu smiled. "I guess it doesn't matter as much now though, since you have Asuka-chan."

"Yeah," he said distantly. "I guess not."

Shinobu frowned, afraid that she had actually hurt his feelings. Mendou wasn't acting like himself at all today. Between bursts of his usual confident air, he seemed almost nervous. "Why don't we go have some tea?" she suggested, trying to change the subject.

"That'd be nice," he said with a slight smile. "My family owns a nice little teashop right down the street that I've been meaning to try."

She listened carefully for any sign of conceit in Mendou's words, but he sounded like he was honestly just suggesting the place without trying to brag. "Ok," she agreed.