"..."

It was a quiet day at the park. Situated just beside a small forest, on this particular early, misty weekend morning, there was no one besides one very peculiar young woman...And this suited Shitt P. just fine.

Walking in a strange zig-zag, she would periodically stop to crouch down and stare at something that piqued her interest - A colorful flower, a line of ants, a catterpillar inching its way up a leaf. Though the back of her skirt had ridden up, fully displaying the dark purple bikini briefs she wore underneath, Shitt P. hadn't a care in the world about it - It wasn't like any guys would be ogling her, of all people. In addition to that, today she wore a pink visor, some kind of magenta life jacket, purple and red thigh-highs, and bubblegum pink sandals; all underneath her twin innertubes.

Stopping for a moment, Shitt P. paused while walking...Kneeling down, she pretended to be looking at something, even though there was nothing of interest on the ground. Somewhere behind her - Obscured by the mist - She could hear the most faint sound of rustling...The footsteps sounded very unsure, periodically shifting once the foot was put down.

In the blink of an eye, Shitt P. had taken off in a sprint. The footsteps were behind her still, matching her speed while never getting closer. Thoughts as indecipherable as always, Shitt P. sped up as she neared the forest. Once she was only a few meters away, she leapt.

Taking to the branches, she flit nimbly from treetop to treetop. She couldn't really hear the individual behind her, but Shitt P. could tell he was still following her. Eventually, she decided that it would be interesting to see who was following her. Changing her jumping pattern, Shitt P. landed feetfirst on the next branch, before doing a spin and two flips to the ground. She didn't turn to look at who it was - She had a rough idea...

Silently, Shitt P. listened to the footsteps...Changing from the swift, expert strides as before, they quickly reverted to the cautious, short steps towards her. When she heard a deep, but meek voice speak up, Shitt P. found her suspicions confirmed.

"Um...Shittopi-chan...?" Whirling, she looked at Kaoru with the same slight smile and wide eyes as usual. Giving him an expectant gaze, she waited for him to continue. The tall, muscular young man with the blonde reagent gave the most faint of blushes, rubbing the back of his neck and keeping his eyes fixed on the ground..."Uh...Your skirt...In the back, it's kinda...Um..." Looking back up, he saw that her innertubes were left by themselves.

Turning, he saw Shitt P. less than a meter away, staring right at him. She said calmly, "It's sweet of you to tell me, but I don't really care either way about it. Thanks for telling me, though." Admittedly, Kaoru was downright adorable to her...Despite looking like a total rabble-rouser, he was about as mean as a kitty. Soft as a marshmallow. Mmm...Marshmallow, her thoughts wandered idly...

Looking back at him again, Shitt P. saw that Kaoru had a smallish box in his other hand...Taking two steps closer, she asked him inquisitively, "Ah-hmmm? What's that you have there? Going to see a girl, perhaps...?" She blinked, secretly perplexed at Kaoru's incrementally increasing blush.

Finally, Kaoru said, "Well...It's just...Two days ago was the anniversary of when we all first met each other, all seven of us..." He gave a nervous ulp, continuing to say, "I would have given you something, but...I...I couldn't think of what you might like...So, I...I hope this is okay." Holding out the box, he offered his gift to her shyly.

Plucking the box out of Kaoru's hand, Shitt P. tore open the crudely-wrapped box and opened it up. "...Hmmm...!" She stared inside at the contents. Kaoru seemed to be growing more and more unsure by the second.

Removing the pink-colored, soft chiffon scarf, Shitt P. wrapped it around her neck. Before Kaoru could react, she had hugged him tightly around his chest, nuzzling against him.

"Thank you very much, Kaoru-kun. I love it very, very much."

Kaoru smiled shyly. "...You're welcome, Shittopi-chan."