Disclaimer: I do not own Dengeki Daisy or any of the characters in them…though I wished I did…

Chapter 1: Deciding My Future

It's been a year since the events that led to the rescue of Akira. The addition of Akira to their group had proved to be challenging and well received. Akira had slowly adapted to them to the point of opening up bit by bit to them. He never could've dreamed that this group of folks cared that much for him regardless of all the evil things he had done to them. He had a family; a real family that cared and looked for each other.

The group had fell into a daily routine that included work, studies, training and gets togethers. This helped them get acquainted to Akira and that he could also feel relaxed around them. They all kept their previous job and occasionally took on job requests from the agency. This isn't the case for Kurosaki though. Once Teru graduated, he quitted being the school's janitor, too bad for many of the female students, and took on a full job position at the agency.

Speaking of Teru….

Graduation day came and went for Teru and it was now time to pick the university to which she would continue her studies. Most of her friends have already decided and applied to their prospective universities. They still got together when they could. She loved her best friends.

Based on the events that had happened in her life and the fact that she and Kurosaki were dating each other, she didn't want to be too far away from him or her friends. She wanted to study something that she could be good at and that could also help the team should another difficult case came up. She was currently sitting on the sofa of Kurosaki's apartment reading a few informational brochures of several universities that were close by.

'Ugh, this is tuff' she sighed as she placed down the brochure she finished reading and picked up another one when she heard the front door of the apartment open.

"I'm home"

"Welcome back Kurosaki" called Teru from the living room.

Kurosaki smiled and walked towards Teru bending slightly, he gave her a soft kiss. He chuckled when he pulled back to see a much blushing Teru looking back at him.

"It's amazing. No matter how many times we kiss, you still get embarrassed" he dropped his back on the floor and as he sat down next to her eying the collection of brochures on the coffee table.

"Go bald Kurosaki" she stuck her tongue out and continued reading.

"Having trouble choosing I see" he said as he picked up one of the brochures and casually looked it over, "Do you even know what you want to major at"

She sighed as she stopped reading the brochure, "No… I thought that looking at these it would help me… so far, nothing"

Kurosaki placed down the brochure in his hand and turned to Teru, "You don't have to stress yourself over this, Teru. Just think about what you picture yourself from here to five years in the future. You can choose any college that you like and if it's not to your liking, you can always choose another. It's only the first year of college. Not much happening during that time"

"I know that, but still… I want to study something that can be of use to the team… something that I can be good at"

Kurosaki frowned at this and cupped Teru's face with his hands, "Teru, don't worry about us. Whatever comes, we can handle it… besides you have managed to be a great asset to the team being just the way you are. What makes you think that you're not useful? Have you forgotten what we've been through?"

"No… I haven't forgotten… it's just that… I don't know… I feel like there's something more I can do" she sighed again.

Kurosaki's faces softened as he moved forward to give her a much needed hug, "It's ok. Listen, why don't we go to Master's dinner and cool your head for a while."

She pulled back a bit and nodded, "Ok"

Master's Diner….

"Akira, take these plates to table #4"

"Ok Master"

"Wow, its lively this evening isn't it?" Rena commented as she entered the diner and sat down at the bar next to Matsuda.

"Yeah, it gets like this every time summer break comes. We get quite busy here" Master replied as he finished pouring drinks for them.

"Yo!"

"Kurosaki! Teru! Welcome!"

"Hey guys! Nice to see everyone!" Teru chirped happily as she sat next to Rena.

"Hey Akira, how's work?" Kurosaki asked noticing said boy going up and down the row of tables.

"Crazy! It's been packed since noon and there's still folks coming in!" huffed Akira as he took three more plates from Master and rushed to another table.

"Poor guy" Rena said as she took a sip of her drink.

"Yep, good thing he's been training with Master this past year, otherwise he would've collapsed from exhaustion" Kurosaki added as he lit up a cigarette.

"So what brings you guys here?" Masuda asked.

"Teru's brain was about to collapse" Kurosaki grinned after Teru punched him in the arm.

"HEY!"

"What's wrong Teru?" Rena asked concerned.

"I can't decide what to major at when I start college soon" Teru sighed as she took a sip of her cola.

"Well was there anything in particular that you were obsessed about when you were little?" Masuda asked.

"No… I mean nothing really" Teru replied deep in thought.

"Ok, maybe we can help you out" Master said as he cleaned his hands on a towel.

"How?"

"Well, let's start with what skills are you good at, for example, how good are you with computers?" Master added.

"Not like you guys, just the basic" Teru said knowing full well that she was no match for them.

"Ok, so obviously nothing technology or program related then. What about first aids, nursing?"

"I don't think so"

"What about teaching?" this time it was Masuda who asked.

"No"

"What about psycology?"

"What?" Everyone turned to Akira who only held his hands up in the air, a sign of surrender.

"Well you're good at reading other people's emotions and you are pretty damned stubborn when it comes to helping others… I should know" Akira said as he sat down for a much needed break.

"What do you think Teru?" Kurosaki asked.

"Never thought of that before" Teru was intrigued at this suggestion.

"Akira's right. Remember when I said that you were a great asset to the team being just the way you are? This was it. You're personality and caring about others helped us through the missions. Who knows, maybe this is your strongest point. Why not try it out?" Kurosaki said as he squeezed her hand in support.

"Really?" Teru was taken by surprise.

"Yeah… If it weren't for you, I would've died back there at the island. It was your persistent to not letting me go that got me here today" Akira said as he sipped his cola.

"Do you remember the time that Antler called and tried to brainwash the team? It was you that got us back to our senses" Rena said.

"Wow… never thought of that… Guess I will try it out… thanks you guys" Teru was happy that she was indeed useful to them.

"Heh, what are friends for?" Master said as they all raised their glasses to toast to her new beginnings.

Late Evening

"Man, can those two drink or what?" Kurosaki groaned as he placed a hand on his forehead.

They had just returned from the diner and were currently back at the apartment. Teru was chuckling at his childless attitude, "you shouldn't have teased Rena about her sobriety back then" she said as she came into the living room with two glasses of water.

Kurosaki gladly took it and downed the contents in record speed, "damn that woman, she kicked my ass in that department" he chuckled as he set the glass down on the coffee table. Turning slightly, he stared at Teru who was happily looking over the brochures once more. "So Teru, what are you going to do?"

"Hm… oh… I think I'll go to this one. It's close to home and it offers a bachelors and master in psychology. It's pretty convenient and it's not that pricey".

"Good. I wouldn't want to be apart from you" he said in a low voice and got closer to her.

She could hear her heart pounding as his lips made its way to hers and were now enclosed in a deep passionate kiss. After a few minutes, they broke the kiss panting in need of air.

"Kurosaki… I…" she was silenced by his fingers on her lips.

"Hey, I told you... I'll wait for you… I'm not going to rush you… take your time… I will always be here with you"

Blushing further she nodded and was about to say something else when he claimed her lips again. She was definitely in heaven.

Later they said their goodbyes and Teru went back to the apartment that she shared with Rena, a lazy happy smile on her face.

'Things are finally starting to look up' she thought as she went to her room and went to sleep. But one thought struck her that took away her sleepiness, 'When will I be ready? Will I ever be ready? Will he wait forever?' Somehow she knew that this new ordeal was another battle that she would have to face.