Tatsumi Memorial hospital, room 24C was somewhat quiet and vacant, save for a red-haired girl, whom of which was sketching away in a drawing pad of sorts. She had her hazel eyes trained on the sketch in front of her when someone walked in the door.

"Hey, Chidori."

She looked up. "Oh, hello, Junpei."

He smiled fondly. "How have you been?" he asked.

"Good." She replied curtly, "What about you?"

"Eh," he scoffed, "I've been better."

She nodded.

A beat passed. "So…what're ya drawing?" he asked, attempting to look at her sketchpad. She pulled it away from him. "That's none of your business."

He chuckled. "Heh…sorry, Chidorita."

She sighed. "I told you not to call me that."

He put his hands up. "Okay, okay! I know when I've offended!"

She giggled slightly at his mannerisms.

Then, she had a thought. "Junpei," she began, stoping her sketching, "what does love mean to you?"

The Magician blushed a pale red, "L-Love?"

"Yes." The artist responded curtly.

"Well," he began, "to me, love is when you care about some so much you would do anything for them." He smiled thoughtfully as he thought of his friends, "What about you, Chidori? What does love mean to you?"

She looked down at her hands. "I…I don't know. I've never experienced love before."

He raised a brow, "You haven't?"

She shook her head. "I don't remember much of my childhood. All I remember, when I think about it…is being surrounded by white."

He noticed a look of apprehension cross her face, but it went away as quickly as it got there. He gave her a knowing smile. "I see."

"…the want to protect those close to you…" she mumbled.

He looked up. "What?"

"Junpei," she began, "how do you feel about me?"

He went into a momentary state of shock. "H-How do I f-feel…about you?" he stammered out.

"Yes." She was curious. She wanted to know if he gets the same pain in his chest when he comes see her.

"Well," he smiled timidly, "I…I like you…a lot." He face became red. "I mean, like, a lot, a lot."

She blinked. "I'm confused. Could you explain?"

He took a deep breath. "I can't really explain it," he said, "but Chidori, with I'm with you…I feel wanted. You always invite me in, you let me be…me, I guess." he sighed, "Basically, you take me seriously and…no ones ever done that before."

A small smile formed on her lips. "I see…"

"What about you, Chidori?" he said, "How do you feel about me?"

"You're weird." She said, a curt tone to her voice. He looked down. "Oh…"

She giggled lightly. "Junpei, I'm kidding."

He looked up, "O-Oh?"

"In truth…I don't know what I think of you. Your warm smiles and small talk give me something to look forward to everyday, but somewhere, in the back of my mind I know that Takaya and Jin are still out there, waiting to make their move and take me back." She turned away from him and gazed out the window, "I hate you…but at the same time, I like you. I guess I'm conflicted."

He blinked in surprise. "Chidori, I…"

Suddenly, the door opened. "Iori-san?" a voice came in.

"yes/" he said, looking up at the nurse that poked her head in the door. "Visiting hours are almost over. You should head home now." She said, a matter-of-fact tone in her voice.

He blinked. "Is it that late already? Damn, Yuka-tan's gonna kill me for being out late." He stood and grabbed his schoolbag. "Bye, Chidori. I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

She smiled. "I'll se you tomorrow, Junpei."

"Cool." He said, and she felt a light weight press on her cheek.

The door shut and Chidori blinked a few time before she realized what had actually happened just then.

Oh dear. Junpei had kissed her.