"Kana?"

Kana jerked a little as the sound of the warm voice yanked her from her thoughts. She shook her head to clear it and smiled. "Hello, Shigure-san. It's been a long time."

"Indeed. Fancy meeting you here." Shigure greeted with an answering grin as he moved closer, standing beside Kana in front of the large tank of seahorses that she was studying avidly. "Surely you returned to Tokyo because you had important, adult things to do? Like making arrangements for your wedding, for instance. What are you doing spending your time lounging around aquariums all by your lonesome, I wonder?"

Kana hadn't told Shigure or any of the Sohmas that she was engaged yet, but all the same, it didn't surprise her that Shigure knew already. "You're here too." She answered simply.

"Touché. We all have our reasons, I suppose." Shigure bobbed his head brightly (he himself was avoiding his editor) and gestured to the tank before them. "You like seahorses, hey?"

Kana's lips curved softly upwards. "Yes, aren't they cute?"

"Oh, absolutely!" Shigure enthused, his grin widening considerably. "They're adorable! Charming! Dare I say it, downright loveable!"

Kana only blinked at him, her face full of innocent confusion.

"So, have you always liked seahorses, ever since you were a little girl?" Shigure continued conversationally. "Or perhaps you have some reason for being especially fond of them?"

"I just like them." Kana responded lamely, not sure what he was getting at.

She turned back towards the tank, fidgeting slightly. Shigure had never said or done anything unkind to her, but something about him made her feel uneasy. There was something tantalizing in his dark eyes that always gave her the feeling that she was missing something, that there was something important she ought to know. She didn't know what, but sometimes, she could swear he was trying to tell her something.

Like right now, as he watched her with a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth, allowing the silence to dominate the air.

Kana twisted the diamond ring on her finger anxiously, trying to come up with something to say. "Shigure-san, do you know anyone that you can't help but ...connect... with some sort of animal?"

Shigure tilted his head back casually, looking skywards with that knowing smirk of his still on his lips. "I myself feel a sort of connection to dogs. But it sounds like you have someone specific in mind."

Kana glanced up at him sharply, before cutting her gaze back to the seahorses. "No." She denied quietly. That statement was proved untrue only moments later as Shigure stretched lazily, preparing to leave.

"Would you tell Hatori-san I wish him a happy New Year? I... I meant to go visit him, but I..." Kana trailed off weakly.

"Chickened out? It's understandable; Haa-san can be awfully intimidating." Shigure waved a hand at her breezily. "I'll pass on the message."

Kana thanked him with a dip of her head, filled with a strange sense of apprehension that she couldn't explain as she watched Shigure wander away. Distantly, she thought she could remember a deep voice saying, "...if you threw a real seahorse into a bathtub, it would die."

A/N: This takes place around the end of the second book. In case you were confused at all, Kana has a slight inkling about the past because even though her memories have been erased, Hatori said that the memories aren't buried too deeply away. (Or something.)

I'm thinking about writing some more random drabbles and making a collection out of this, provided I have the inspiration. Opinions, please?