Developmental Phase Two

by pretense

Sequel to Developmental. Oneshot. Full summary inside.

BloodLust: Ohayou minna-san!!! I'm sorry coz I wasn't able to update my other fic (Yakitate Fairytale) in time coz to tell you the truth I'm kinda running low on ideas for that so any help given is highly appreciated (just PM me, ok?)

Anyway this fic is Christmas themed so if anyone is wondering why the heck I'm posting this up on January its because a certain stupid good-for-nothing moron (a.k.a. me) slacked off during my Christmas break and so I wasn't able to do many useful stuff for my fics. However, I actually (somehow) did something helpful I was actually able to type at least half of Yakitate Fairytale Chappie 5 and I'm currently working on Zannen's chapter two… Anyway, this fic just came out of nowhere and since I thought it was pretty good, I decided to type it and post it…

Another reason why I'm posting this on January is because I came out with the plot at December 29 (waaaaaay past Christmas) so I thought that I'll just post it on my birthday (January 11) and besides I haven't even typed it yet back then, I was still plotting… Anyway enough of my crap and here's the summary…

Summary: This fic took place some months after Developmental ended. Apparently it's Christmas time so all of the employees of the Southern Tokyo Branch (actually, all employees of Pantasia) were given a one-week Christmas vacation… Each of them will be going back to their respective families to celebrate the festive occasion… Everyone except Shigeru since his (half) brother is in another country and there is no way that he'll spend his Christmas with his father and the yakuza… So Kazuma, not wanting to have his boyfriend spend the Christmas alone, brought Shigeru along with him to his hometown… And well… Let's just see what happens… After all, they do have something rather important to tell about themselves… –cough cough- On with the story then!!!

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Developmental Phase Two

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Kanmuri Shigeru was leisurely watching the view from the window of the train. Snow was lightly falling covering the scenery of green trees and fields in a sheet of pure white. He rested his head on his hand as he continued to gaze out the window however a slight movement on his left drove his attention away from the sights. He smiled to himself as he gently replaced Kazuma's head on his shoulder and shifted his position as to make Kazuma feel more comfortable, the brunet had been asleep for quite a while now… Seeing his lover's serene expression made him smile a bit wider, his thoughts then drifted on to the past two days…

Flashback…

"Good Morning, everyone! I have great news for all of us!" Tsukino announced as she entered the bakery.

Everyone immediately turned their attention to her waiting to hear what she was about to say.

"Grandfather just announced that he'd given all of the workers of Pantasia a one-week Christmas vacation, in order to spend some quality time with their families during the holidays, isn't that great?" proclaimed Tsukino happily. "It starts today until next week… So I guess that everyone should go back home now in order to prepare for Christmas with their families, don't you think so?"

Manager Ken, Kageto, Kazuma and Shigeru looked doubtful at each other for a whole minute before cheering loudly and then quickly running away, leaving Tsukino blinking in disbelief, "Oh well, you can't help it… Christmas is only once every year…" she thought to herself as she shrugged before she closed the shop with the padlock; luckily she was early to arrive and the others hadn't made anything yet. She then adjusted her jacket before she walked back to her house, Kyosuke was probably already waiting for her there, seeing as she had promised to spend this Christmas with him…

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Meanwhile, Kazuma and Shigeru had already reached Shigeru's apartment where Shigeru was currently making hot cocoa for both of them. He then sat on the couch beside Kazuma and handed the brunet a mug of hot cocoa. They silently sipped their drink each lost in their thoughts. Suddenly Kazuma spoke, looking up he asked quietly "Ne Shigeru, where will you spend your Christmas?"

Shigeru turned to look at Kazuma upon hearing the abrupt question; he deposited his mug on the coffee table before he answered, "Where else? Here of course. Why did you ask?"

"You mean, you're not going to your family?" came Kazuma's next question as he too placed the mug on the coffee table.

Shigeru could see concern in Kazuma's eyes and his expression softened a bit, "Well, my half-brother's abroad and my only other choice is to go to my father's house… with the yakuza… So you see, it's not really a difficult choice for me…"

"But will you be okay with that? Spending your Christmas alone… Coz I was going to go back to Niigata to spend the Christmas with my family but…" Kazuma bit his lip as though he was holding something back but then Shigeru cut him off.

"Kazuma, don't worry about me… I'll be fine on my own. After all, having spent so many years studying abroad, I kinda got used to spending the holidays by myself…" Shigeru stated reassuringly, "So don't fret, I'm going to be fine… You don't have to miss spending Christmas with your family just because of me… Look, they're your family, they're important to you so-"

"But you're important too, Shigeru…" Kazuma defended as he threw himself towards Shigeru, wrapping his arms around the teen's waist and burying himself in the other teen's chest.

Shigeru was quite surprised at Kazuma's actions but then again he was also quite used to it. He then held his lover closer to him as he placed a kiss on top of the brunet's head. "Well then, what do you suggest that we do about it, hmm?"

"Well…" Kazuma raised his head from Shigeru's chest and looked face to face with the said teen, "I was actually thinking if… you know…"

"If what?" asked Shigeru not fully understanding what Kazuma was talking about.

"…If you would go with me to Niigata… and spend your Christmas there with me and my family…" Kazuma said looking away.

Shigeru could only stare blankly at Kazuma for a couple of seconds before he said, "Wait… So you're asking me to go with you to Niigata and spend Christmas there with your family?" Kazuma nodded. "That's really kind of you Kazuma but… wouldn't I be just a hindrance to your family's Christmas… I mean, I'm not really a relative of yours and I don't think that just bringing me in there will be good for them, I mean, they probably wouldn't be 'oh-so' happy when an unexpected guest arrives and I don't want to cause any trouble so-"

"Don't you want to spend Christmas with me…?" inquired Kazuma looking downcast.

"I'm not saying that Kazuma…" Shigeru said as he mildly made Kazuma face him, "It's just that… I-I don't really know how to face your family right now…"

Kazuma tilted his head, "Why is that? You didn't do anything wrong…"

"No, it's not that I did something bad but… it kinda has something to do with this thing between us…" Shigeru said absentmindedly running his hand through Kazuma's hair.

"Our relationship…?" Kazuma asked chastely.

"Mm-hm…" came Shigeru's reply.

"But what's wrong about it? We didn't do anything wrong…" Kazuma uttered as his arms encircled Shigeru's neck. "Is it wrong to be with the one you love…?"

Shigeru sighed; there was no way that he could win this against Kazuma, and besides, the last thing that he wanted this Christmas is for his lover to be unhappy. He then flashed Kazuma a warm smile before placing a sweet kiss on the brunet's lips. "Fine then, I'll go with you… Happy?"

Kazuma's eyes shone with delight when he heard Shigeru's decision. He nodded fervently and glomped the other teen.

"Now then, when will we be leaving? We should probably already start preparing our luggage if we are going to leave soon…" Shigeru suggested.

"Um… Actually, I don't know yet… How 'bout if we just leave on the 24th? It won't take more than an hour to get to Niigata anyways…" Kazuma replied

"Okay… Well anyway, we should organize our baggage right now, it would help lessen the hassle, but then trip is still two days away… What are we going to do 'til then…?" Shigeru asked as the two of them stood up.

"Well, I was planning to buy them some gifts for Christmas… would you like to help me in choosing the right present?" Kazuma asked at the same time giving Shigeru a pleading look.

"You know, you really didn't need to beg like that, I was going to say 'yes' anyway…" Shigeru stated with a smile gracing his lips. "But before that, let's arrange our things already, ne?"

"Okay!" was Kazuma's excited reply.

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

It had begun to snow outside and therefore Kazuma and Shigeru both wore their jackets before they went out, having finished their packing. They rode a taxi towards the shopping center, which was pretty far away from Shigeru's house.

They first went to an automotive equipment store to buy a gift for Inaho since it was the store nearest to the entrance. After much consideration they finally bought her a new helmet and a pair of protective gloves for her motorcycling. Next they went to an agricultural shop to purchase some farming tools for Kazuma's grandparents. After that, they had a fairly hard time in looking for the right gift for Kazuma's mother. They went around many shops trying to find a suitable present. After what seemed like the tenth store that they've visited Kazuma decided that they should just buy his mother some new clothes. Shigeru helped Kazuma in choosing the right dress and other articles of clothing; in the end they managed to buy 2 dresses and a blouse, which they paired with a long skirt. It was then that Kazuma decided that they should give the presents they bought coming from the two of them, Shigeru just agreed and hoped that the recipients wouldn't think of other thoughts from seeing that the gifts they received came from the two of them as one.

They were tired from walking too much and so they headed to a restaurant to have their lunch, after that they rested for a while before continuing their 'shopping' or what they preferred to call as 'gift hunting'. Kazuma then led Shigeru to more shops to look for the appropriate gift for Tsukino, Kyosuke, Manager and the others. They had quite a problem in choosing gifts for the aforementioned persons, even Kazuma couldn't think of the right thing to give. In the end they just decided to buy whatever they found there, they bought Tsukino an organizer, a bottle of shampoo for Kyosuke (for his ever changing hairstyle according to Kazuma) and another bottle of hair conditioner for Manager since they couldn't think of anything else. As they were passing by a store Shigeru suddenly stopped causing Kazuma to halt as well. Kazuma looked at where Shigeru was staring at and asked, "Shigeru? Why did you stop? Is there anything that you'd like to buy from that shop?"

Shigeru turned to face him, "Well, I was thinking of buying Tsutsumi-san something for Christmas… And speaking of which I should probably buy something for my father too…"

"Well then, what are we waiting for? Let's go in!" Kazuma stated as he grabbed Shigeru's hand and pulled him along as he went inside the shop that Shigeru had been surveying.

"But I don't really know what he'll like… What if I buy the wrong gift…" Shigeru asked doubtfully.

"Don't worry about it… It's the thought that counts anyway… And besides I think he'll be glad that you actually remembered to give him something for Christmas." Kazuma replied in an assuring way.

"Okay then… Will you help me find something for him?" queried Shigeru.

"Of course. Why not?" was Kazuma's cheerful reply. "How about this jacket? Or that shirt over there?"

Shigeru carefully considered Kazuma's suggestions, "Do you think that he'll like that one? What about if we pair that with this t-shirt? It looks like a good combination, don't you think so?"

Kazuma nodded, "Let's buy it then! Here, we share in paying for the items don't we?" he then handed Shigeru some money to pay for the clothes.

"B-but these are just for my brother… You don't need to pay for them as well…" Shigeru said giving back the money to Kazuma.

"On the other hand you also helped in paying for the gifts to my family, right? So it's alright with me…" Kazuma stated as he crossed his arms, "And besides those clothes are pretty expensive you know… Or I could just buy another gift for your brother…"

"Wait, I didn't say that… I just don't want to trouble you with paying for these stuff… But since you insist, fine, I won't bother dissuading you…" Shigeru suddenly smiled warmly at Kazuma before he went to the counter to pay, "Why do you always seem to win against me…?" he said in a low voice, mostly talking to himself.

The cashier smiled at him as he approached the counter, "It looks like you and your friend get along very well…" Shigeru looked back at Kazuma to find him sitting on one of the high plush chairs in the store with his feet dangling from the seat, the plastic bags of the things they've bought were at the floor next to the chair that he sat on as he looked around the store childishly, he even waved at Shigeru when he saw the teen looking at him. Shigeru just shook his head with a light smile on his lips, meanwhile the salesclerk had already began to sum up the total amount of the items. After that Shigeru paid for the clothes and went back to Kazuma.

"What are you so happy about all of a sudden…?" asked Shigeru as he helped Kazuma get down from the chair.

"Nothing… It's just that I've realized that this will be the first Christmas that we'll be spending together…" Kazuma said in a whisper.

Shigeru blinked for a moment as he absorbed what the brunet had just told him, he eyed Kazuma for a while and returned the brunet's smile with his own. Kazuma then picked up some of the bags motioning for Shigeru to do the same and so Shigeru gathered the other bags and walked out of the shop alongside Kazuma. Their next stop was the department store where they looked for other things to buy; they bought a comforter for Shigeru's father, a bag of junk foods and gum for Monica, a new book on how to be a father for Kai, and some other objects for Kuroyanagi and the rest. They also bought some wrapping paper, Christmas cards, a yard or two or ribbons and two rolls of scotch tape. They had their dinner at the food court before they went home.

It was just ten minutes past nine when they arrived at Shigeru's place. They deposited the shopping bags at the living room as they dropped on the couch dead-tired. After about five minutes of rest Shigeru sat up and nudged Kazuma, the brunet gave him a bleary look, "Let's just wrap up the presents tomorrow… Let's go to sleep now…" Kazuma just nodded and dozed off, Shigeru raised an eyebrow at his lover's sleeping form before gently wrapping his arms around the brunet and carrying him towards his room. Shigeru gradually laid Kazuma on his bed and soon after positioned himself next to the brunet and held his lover closer to him as he too fell asleep, neither of them having changed their attire due to their fatigue.

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

The next morning…

Kazuma slowly woke as the morning sun's rays almost blinded him; he groggily sat up and rubbed his eyes as he looked around him. He had obviously been sleeping on Shigeru's bed, however if his memory served him right, he fell asleep on the couch last night… 'Oh well… Shigeru probably carried me in here whilst I was asleep…' thought Kazuma as he got out of bed and arranged it properly before going out of the room.

He found Shigeru at the kitchen area, apparently having just finished cooking their breakfast. Shigeru greeted him just as he entered the kitchen, "Good morning Kazuma…" he placed a kiss on Kazuma's lips before continuing, "Did you sleep well? I just finished cooking breakfast, I was going to wake you up but well… Anyway, let's eat…"

After they had their breakfast and washed the dishes, they went to the living room and moved some of the furniture to have more space. Shigeru then got out the things they bought yesterday and placed them on the floor where Kazuma was waiting for them. He and Shigeru spent most of the morning and the earlier part of the afternoon wrapping up the gifts. After finishing wrapping up all of the things they had purchased yesterday they had half-an hour's rest. Shigeru laid on the couch as he rested his tired muscles, whilst Kazuma was still on the floor cleaning up the stray bits of wrapping paper that were littered almost everywhere. After a while Kazuma finished tidying up, he wearily leaned against to Shigeru who had positioned himself beside him on the floor, arranging the now-wrapped presents. Shigeru wrapped his arms around Kazuma making the other teen feel more relaxed. Kazuma sighed, "Shigeru… remind me not to do last-minute Christmas shopping ever again…"

Shigeru kissed Kazuma on his forehead, mumbling his reply, "Of course…"

"Well, now that that's done, what else do we need to do?" Kazuma asked as he closed his eyes.

"Let's see… Well, we're going to leave for Niigata tomorrow, right?" Shigeru asked.

"Mm-hm…"

"We've already prepared our luggage beforehand… And we've just finished with these gifts, so what else are we missing…?"

Both of them thought for a while until…

"Hey Shigeru… do we already have train tickets? I mean, we wouldn't be able to leave without them…" Kazuma said jadedly.

"… Oh yeah… I forgot that, thanks for reminding me… Anyway, I think I'll just call the train station and ask them to reserve two tickets for the two of us…" Shigeru said as he gently moved Kazuma away from him as he began to stand up. He headed towards his phone and called the train station, he inquired about a train leaving for Niigata for the next day and reserved two tickets just as he told Kazuma. "There, the ticket problem is solved… is there anything else…?" asked Shigeru as he went back to Kazuma.

"Hmm… I don't think so…" replied a still exhausted Kazuma.

"Well, what are we going to do then…?" Shigeru then resumed his previous position with Kazuma in his arms.

"Rest." was Kazuma's short reply as he cuddled closer to Shigeru who rested his chin atop the brunet's head whilst he toyed with the other teen's brown locks.

Shigeru smiled to himself as Kazuma's soft purring reached his ears, softly he spoke to his lover not even expecting Kazuma to reply. "Kazuma… you know, I'm still confused… I still don't know how to tell your parents about us… I mean, there's a high possibility that they wouldn't approve of this… I don't know what to do or say…"

"Don't worry everything will be alright… If you can't tell them, then I will…" Kazuma murmured as he buried his face in Shigeru's chest, inhaling the sweet fragrance of the one that he loved so much. "And I just won't easily accept their nonconformity… They can't separate us… I promise you that…"

"What are you talking about Kazuma? Are you really sure of what you're saying? Would you seriously disregard your family just for me…? Because that's just not right…" Shigeru said shifting in his position, looking directly at Kazuma. "You shouldn't do that, we'll just have to accept their decision, no matter what it is…"

The brunet in question looked up with concern in his eyes, "Why are you saying that?"

"It just has something to do with a thing called 'respect', Kazuma… If only there was another way, but they're your family, they have a right to know… Speaking of which, we still have my family to deal with later on…" Shigeru replied thoughtfully.

Kazuma looked downhearted so Shigeru continued, "But I guess we should enjoy the holidays first… We can just tell them about it on the day that we're going to leave… Is that okay with you?"

A newfound hope seemed to light up in Kazuma's eyes as he gave Shigeru his warmest smile as well as a chaste kiss on the lips. Shigeru felt glad, just having Kazuma happy was enough for him. And while in the thought of Kazuma's happiness, something else crossed the teen's mind…

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

On the morning of their departure…

Shigeru was still in deep slumber when he felt something poking at his side. At first he just ignored it but after some time it became more persistent, he opened one eye only to find Kazuma's face in a very close proximity with his. He raised an eyebrow, obviously questioning why Kazuma was trying to wake him up this early in the morning; the sun hadn't even risen yet!

Kazuma just blinked at him for a few seconds before he began prodding Shigeru's cheek along with soft whispers, "Shigeru… Shigeru, wake up…"

"Nnnhhh… Why? It's still too early…" Shigeru murmured as he closed his eye once again turning away from the brunet, trying to go back to sleep.

"But Shigeru, today's the day we head for Niigata… You have to wake up early… Come on…" Kazuma continued to plead as he rolled Shigeru over so that the teen was in his previous position once again and he began to trace unknown patterns on Shigeru's bare chest. "Wake up sleepy head…"

Shigeru tried to go back to sleep but Kazuma's persistent whispers hindered him from doing so, instead he just feigned sleep hoping that Kazuma would stop if he saw that he was already sleeping… However it seemed that feigning was useless as it became apparent to him that Kazuma wasn't giving up so easily as Kazuma began to whine childishly, Shigeru would've rolled his eyes but he had a better plan in mind. He just let Kazuma continue for a few seconds before he swiftly enfolded Kazuma in his arms and pulled the startled brunet down towards him, their lips meeting in a sudden kiss.

Kazuma was still trying to awaken his sleeping lover when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around his shoulders without any warning. He yelped in surprise as he found himself losing balance and rapidly falling on top of Shigeru, then their lips met. It was just then that he realized that Shigeru intended this to happen, he smiled in their kiss as he felt Shigeru's lips form a smirk, he then started to kiss Shigeru back, passionately. Shigeru's gentle caresses on his back seemed to egg him further and before he knew it Shigeru had already rolled him over, making him on top of Kazuma, and they were now engaged in a fierce battle of dominance with their tongues. Eventually Kazuma lost and Shigeru slowly 'attacked' Kazuma's mouth, taking care in licking, feeling and sucking on every part of it within his reach. Kazuma's hands found their way to Shigeru's back, moving his hands gently along his lover's back, somehow pulling Shigeru closer to his body. Unhurriedly the two of them parted, hints of regret could be felt from the way that they deliberately separated, gasps for air were immediate as their lungs seemed to have dried up.

"Wha-What was that f-for…?" Kazuma asked in between breaths.

"Nothing… I just wanted to greet you good morning…" Shigeru replied with a casual smile.

"Is that how you normally greet a person 'good morning'?" came Kazuma's slightly annoyed reply.

"Are you angry at me…?" it was Shigeru's turn to ask.

Kazuma looked at him, then he looked away as though deep in thought. He faced Shigeru once again, with an unreadable expression on his face suddenly a light smile tugged on his lips, "Of course not… I can never be angry with you… But really, why did you have to do that?"

"I dunno… It just sort of came to me… and besides it's been a while since we last kissed like that…" Shigeru grinned.

"Why you…" Kazuma playfully threw a pillow directly on Shigeru's face.

"What?" Shigeru asked indignantly as he removed the pillow from his face.

"What do you mean 'it's been a while'? We just had that last night!" replied Kazuma with traces of amusement in his voice.

"Really? Oh yeah…" Shigeru thoughtfully stated. "Oh well… -shrug- Shall we have breakfast now?"

"Sure, but I'm cooking. You clean up the bed… and the room as well…" Kazuma said as he lightly pushed Shigeru off him. "Good luck then…" he then picked up some of his clothes and put them on, he noticed that Shigeru was pouting, "Aw, don't sulk Shigeru…" he walked towards his lover who was now sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned closer to Shigeru and kissed him on the lips, "There. You okay now?" Shigeru looked pleased and gave him a small nod. "I'll start cooking then… Just go to the kitchen when you're finished okay?" Kazuma had already walked out of the room when he suddenly popped his head back in, "And Shigeru, kindly put some clothes on before you go out…"

Shigeru smiled and ran a hand through his hair. He let out a contented sigh before he tended to the task at hand. They had an early breakfast that day (at 6:00) and therefore their lunch was early as well, they had their lunch at 11:00 before they headed to the train station, got their tickets and rode the 12:30 bullet train to Niigata…

End Flashback…

Just as Shigeru finished his flashback the speakers on the train blared, "We are now at the Niigata station, all passengers of this stop please exit the train safely… I repeat, we are now at the Niigata station, all passengers of this stop please exit the train safely…"

'We're here…' Shigeru thought to himself as he carefully shook Kazuma in an effort to wake up the brunet. "Kazuma, wake up now… We're already there…"

They had successfully got off the train, bringing their luggage along with them. They rode a taxi towards Kazuma's home although they had to walk about half a kilometer to actually get there seeing as taxis can't drive along the place where Kazuma's family lives. Kazuma knocked on their door, with Shigeru just behind him, and they patiently waited for someone to answer it. However, not even a minute has passed when the door was opened and a loud shout of "Omigosh! Kazuma! You're here!!!" was heard accompanied by an almost suffocating hug as brother and sister reunited after being separated for a long period of time.

"Oh, and you've brought Shigeru along too, huh?" Inaho stated as she finally let go of Kazuma and noticed Shigeru standing there. "Hey, Shigeru, how are you? I hope Kazuma wasn't being a bother to you… And I suppose he was the one who asked you to come with him?"

"Ohayou Inaho-san… I'm just fine; Kazuma isn't being such a trouble at all. And about me coming here, well yeah… It was just as you said; it was all Kazuma's doing…" Shigeru replied.

"You really asked him to come here Kazuma…?" Inaho said, talking to Kazuma once again, "But Shigeru has his own family to go to this Christmas, right? You needn't have bothered him into coming all the way here…"

"Um, actually onee-chan…" Kazuma bit his lip as he tried to explain; "…I sorta invited Shigeru over to… um, spend the Christmas with us… Coz you see he has nowhere else to go… His brother is abroad and he sorta don't want to spend the Christmas with his father…"

"Did I hear it right? You don't want to spend your Christmas with your father, Shigeru?" Inaho asked out of curiosity. "But why?"

"Well, it's a long story… And I'd rather not talk about it… Let's just say that I'm not really comfortable there…" Shigeru replied.

"Um, excuse me, onee-chan, but don't you think that we should all get inside now?" Kazuma asked noticing that Shigeru was starting to get a bit uncomfortable.

"Oh. Right. Sorry… I kinda got carried away, come on in…" Inaho said as she opened the door for them to come in.

Kazuma and Shigeru went inside the house and a warm air greeted them, in contrast to the cold air outside, they carefully set down their bags and looked around the house. Shigeru had an inquisitive look upon his face as he observed the inside of the house. It had a certain homely touch to its simple designs and furnishings making it give off a cozy atmosphere.

"It's not really much, but I just like it the way it is…" Kazuma stated when he noticed that Shigeru seemed to be surveying the interior of his home.

"It's… This place is really nice, I like very much… It has a sort of warm aura about it…" Shigeru replied flashing Kazuma one of his best smiles. Kazuma didn't seem to have found anything to say to his lover and so he just remained quiet, a small smile tugging on his lips.

"Ehem."

Both teens turned towards the source of the sound that was, or rather, who was Inaho, she had been standing there all this time but they didn't seem to have noticed her. Her hands were on her hips and she had a rather cheerful look on her face, making the two lovers worry a bit.

'Oh crap, how could I have forgotten about Inaho-san? What if I accidentally did something that gave away our secret… Kami-sama help…' thought Shigeru frantically, eyeing Kazuma as though trying to say something to the brunet by just looking at him. However it seemed that Kazuma already understood the situation without the other teen telling him, he cast a worried glance at Shigeru.

"What's with the sudden troubled faces, hmm?" Inaho asked, a sly mien replacing her previous cheerful look.

"N-Nothing… It's just nothing, onee-chan. You may have been imagining things." Kazuma stuttered nervously.

"Really? You know, I've just noticed it these past few minutes… You and Shigeru seem to have… what was it called again…?"

Both of the aforementioned teens' eyes widened, 'Please let her have the wrong idea…' Shigeru was silently praying to any god that would listen.

"Oh I know, its mutual understanding… You guys seemed to have become closer since I've last seen the two of you… Well? Is there anything that you guys would like to say, hmm? Come on, I won't tell… What's with all these new mutual understanding stuff, huh?" Inaho interrogated.

"It's nothing. Really." Shigeru said confidently.

Inaho didn't seem to believe him but she questioned no further. "If you guys won't tell fine then, anyway, let's go, mother, and all of our grandparents have been waiting for so long to see you again, Kazuma. We've all missed you… I'll show you to them, okay? You can also come along too, Shigeru. You'll be able get to know our family a bit more…"

"Oh, okay then…" replied Shigeru as he tagged behind Kazuma and his sister. As they were walking Kazuma halted and waited for Shigeru to catch up to him. "We'd better be a bit more careful," he quietly whispered to Shigeru from the corner of his mouth, Shigeru just nodded in agreement.

Inaho led them to their living room where Kazuma's grandparents were sitting, drinking something that looked like tea. They instantly greeted Kazuma with a big group hug, along with some shouts of "Kazuma!", "Kazuma, you've returned!", and "Oh, it's been so long since I've last seen you my dear grandson!" to which Kazuma replied, "Jii-chan, Baa-chan! I've missed you all as well!"

While his grandparents were affectionately greeting Kazuma, Shigeru continued his observation, there he saw a medium sized Christmas tree decorated with assorted colored Christmas balls, ribbons and poinsettias, the fireplace was light emitting warmth for all the occupants of the room, this place was really pleasant in its own simple way. However he felt a hand tap his shoulder, he turned to see Inaho looking at him; he gave her an inquiring look.

"What do you think you're doing just looking around, come meet our grandparents…" Inaho said to him with a smile on her face.

She pulled him towards her grandparents who were still crowded around Kazuma, obviously not having noticed Shigeru. Kazuma noticed Inaho tugging Shigeru towards him and his grandparents around him. Kazuma excused himself from his grandparents as he helped Inaho bring Shigeru over. With Shigeru finally seated, with Kazuma and Inaho on either side of him, Inaho began to introduce him. Kazuma noticed that Shigeru was being a bit awkward when he was speaking to his grandfathers. (Note that all three of Kazuma's grandfathers are here; Umasaburou, Umatarou, and Umajirou) He slowly and deliberately let his hand slip, lightly hitting the back of Shigeru's hand, which was settled on the said teen's side, Shigeru turned to look at him through the corners of his eyes. Kazuma mouthed, 'Don't get so nervous' to him along with a reassuring smile, Shigeru gave a small smile back. It was then that Kazuma mentioned that Shigeru would be staying with them for Christmas, he felt glad that it was okay with his grandparents, now it was only his mother whom he was worried of.

"What is this I hear? A special guest celebrating Christmas with us?" came voice from the doorway.

"Okaa-san! You're here! I thought that you went out shopping?" asked Inaho as she greeted her mother.

"Well, what can I say, I just remembered that the store that I was going to was closed today, so I went back home again…" her mother explained, "And what do I see when I come home? My beloved son, and it seems that he brought a friend along as well…"

"Okaa-san, this is Kanmuri Shigeru, he's my friend and co-worker in the Southern Tokyo branch of Pantasia…" Kazuma began as he stood up and so did Shigeru.

"Nice to meet you ma'am…" Shigeru greeted respectfully.

"Same with you, Shigeru-kun… I'm Kazuma and Inaho's mother, but you can just call me Hieko(1)-san, okay?" Kazuma's mother said to him. "Now, I seemed to have passed by a couple of bags when I entered the house, I wonder where those should go…"

"Oh, those are ours, okaa-san… I'm sorry, I sort of forgot about those, eheheh…" Kazuma replied as he scratched his head.

"Okay, but then, where's Shigeru going to stay at? The spare bedroom is currently in no condition for anyone to occupy, since it's been left for so long that it's really dusty and we've sort of used it as a storage room…" Inaho said.

"Really? Hmm…" Hieko continued to think, "Kazuma, is it okay with you, if Shigeru stayed in your room? I mean, after all you are the one who invited him here…"

The two teens looked at each other with only one thing on their minds, 'Again…?' Kazuma asked Shigeru, "I'm alright with it, how 'bout you?" Shigeru just shrugged and replied, "Its okay…"

"So it's settled then…" Hieko stated "Now, would you boys, kindly bring up your luggage, it's been kinda blocking the entrance…"

"Okay then!" was Kazuma's instant answer. "C'mon Shigeru!"

Shigeru had a wry smile on his face as he followed Kazuma. They gathered their bags from the doorway and then Kazuma led him up a flight of stairs. There was a hallway on the second floor with three doors on each side, Kazuma went to the second door on their left and motioned for Shigeru to follow him. He then explained to Shigeru before they entered his room, "The room before this is onee-san's room, the one opposite it is my grandparents' room and of course the one across my room is my okaa-san's the last door's are our spare rooms… Come on…"

Kazuma's room was simply furnished with a bed on their left, a closet athwart it, and a study table on one corner. There was also a window that can be viewed from the side of the bed that gave them a view of the front of the house. Kazuma eagerly went inside and left his bag on the floor as he proceeded to his bed, and he launched himself into it, bouncing as he hit its soft covers. Shigeru went inside and smiled at his lover's juvenile behavior, partially closing the door behind him. He then placed his bags beside Kazuma's and walked over to the side of the bed. Kazuma smiled childishly at him before extending his hands as though asking for help in getting up. Shigeru, not suspecting a thing, took Kazuma's hands but before he knew it he was falling onto the bed himself. He fell beside Kazuma who was looking at him and grinning, "Why, Shigeru, how nice of you to join me…"

Shigeru adjusted his position, so that he was laying his back to the bed as he faced Kazuma, "Why did you have to do that?"

"No reason, it's just that I noticed that you were being too tense earlier… Just relax, would you? Everything's going to be fine…" Kazuma replied.

"How can I not worry? I'm in front of your whole family and then we're going to spend five days here, and I don't know how in the hell I'm going to tell them about us! And there's also the high possibility that they wouldn't approve of our relationship and-"

Kazuma pressed a finger to Shigeru's lips, effectively silencing the teen. "I've told you before, haven't I? If you can't tell them, then I will… I don't know how many times I've said this to you before, but I'll say it again: everything is going to be fine, just relax and be yourself. That's all that they'll need to see, okay?"

"But-" Shigeru tried to speak but Kazuma prevented him from doing so. "Show them the Shigeru that I know and fell in love with, not a Shigeru that's trying to please them…" said Kazuma quietly before removing his finger from Shigeru's lips.

"Okay… But I can't help it… I haven't done this before and things like this have never been taught to me in school, how am I supposed to know what to do?" complained Shigeru sadly as he sat.

"Just keep calm and be yourself… That's all you need to do…" Kazuma answered as he too sat up and enveloped Shigeru in a warm embrace.

"Okay, I'll do my best." said Shigeru as he relaxed in the hug. "But you know, this means that we're going to act as though there's nothing between us… You okay with that?"

"Not really but we really have no choice now, do we?" came Kazuma's reply as he finally let go of Shigeru and stood up, "Anyway, we'd better get back down there or else they're going to get pretty suspicious…" Shigeru followed Kazuma's lead and both of them went downstairs. They spent the rest of the afternoon helping in the Christmas preparations.

Nighttime came and Shigeru found himself in a 'getting-to-know-you' conversation with Kazuma's family, particularly with Kazuma's mother and Inaho. They asked him questions such as 'Where did you study?', 'You're just around the same age as Kazuma, right?', 'I heard that you work in the same branch as Kazuma, how long have you been working there?', 'You guys were both in that Yakitate 9 thing, weren't you?' and many more things that he was actually thinking if they somehow knew about his and Kazuma's relationship because by the way that they sounded, it was like they were expecting a marriage. However, Shigeru continued to answer their questions politely and truthfully and before he knew it they were already counting down to Christmas. The Christmas dinner was scrumptious, it was apparent that Kazuma's mother was a great cook. They also exchanged their gifts, and Shigeru was quite surprised when he received one from Kazuma's family when he wasn't really expecting anything, he gratefully said "Thank you" to them before he opened it. Inside was a cream-colored muffler; it was very soft so he assumed that it was made from wool. He was also glad that Inaho and the rest liked the gifts that he and Kazuma bought for them.

But after all the fun and laughter, Kazuma became tired and so did Shigeru, therefore so they excused themselves and went off to bed. Once they entered their room, it was only then that Shigeru realized that they had also brought their other gifts as well, he told Kazuma about it but Kazuma just sleepily replied that it was okay and that they'll just bring it along when they will go back to Tokyo as he was changing into his pajamas. Shigeru was too tired as well to disagree, so he just went along with it, changed into his sleepwear and went to bed. He lied down beside Kazuma and he felt the brunet cuddle up to him. "Kazuma, what if they saw us like this?" Shigeru asked the brunet.

Kazuma opened his eyes before he replied, "But, I'm used to sleeping like this now… And besides I don't think that anyone would look into this room, anyway…"

"Okay then…" Shigeru stated as he wrapped his arms around the brunet's smaller form as he kissed Kazuma on the lips, wherein the brunet responded with a sort of yearning. "Good night, Kazuma…"

"Good night, Shigeru…" came Kazuma's muffled reply as he wrapped his arms around Shigeru's waist and buried himself in the other teen's chest.

Neither of them noticed a pair of chocolate brown orbs peering through the slightly ajar door. None of them heard the small gasp at a sudden realization. Inaho went away from the door at once, leaning against the wall, her hands covering her mouth; she couldn't believe what she just saw. Sure, she had been teasing them earlier, but she didn't really think that it was true. Her brother and Shigeru… She just couldn't believe it… How could've it had happened? And how come her brother didn't tell any of them about it yet? She took another peek and saw Kazuma sleeping soundly, cocooned in Shigeru's embrace. She had noticed before that those two seemed to be on pretty good terms with each other, but for them to get together like that? It was just really unexpected. And to see them acting like that with each other, it made her think that they had this relation for a long period of time already. But still she couldn't believe it… She then decided that she will just ask the two about it tomorrow, before she went to her room to get some sleep, hoping that her dreams wouldn't be plagued by what she saw…

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

The following morning…

This time, Shigeru was the first to wake up, he found himself held in a snug embrace by his brunet lover. A light smile tugged on his lips as he gazed at Kazuma's peacefully sleeping form. He affectionately ran his hand through Kazuma's hair; this seemed to be his favorite pastime nowadays… Kazuma's face slightly contorted as he began to wake up as well, causing Shigeru to halt in his actions, detaching his hand from Kazuma's brown locks of hair. Kazuma's eyelids fluttered open as they revealed lively caramel orbs. He lifted his head and placed a kiss on Shigeru's cheek at the same time greeting the other teen "'Good morning…"

"Did you sleep well…?" was Shigeru's immediate question.

Kazuma nodded happily, "You did too, right?"

"Mm-hm…" Shigeru replied as he hugged Kazuma tightly before letting go of the smaller teen.

Kazuma sat up on the bed and started to stretch whilst Shigeru got out of the bed and began his stretching as well. They were arranging the bed they slept in when they heard someone call their names. Both of them turned around to find Inaho standing by the doorway with a serious expression on her face. She closed the door behind her before walked towards the two teens without even a greeting; she then looked at each of them as though she was scrutinizing them.

"Onee-chan…?" asked Kazuma worriedly as Inaho was still looking at the two of them and saying nothing, "…Is anything wrong…?"

Inaho sighed before she asked in a concerned voice, "Kazuma… Shigeru… Is there something that the two of you would like to tell…?"

Shigeru and Kazuma exchanged confused looks before they shook their heads. "Why are you asking Inaho-san?" Shigeru asked back.

"Well…" Inaho started in a low voice, as though she didn't want anyone else to hear, "Kazuma, Shigeru please don't get angry with me… but last night, okaa-san kinda asked me to check on you two, after you guys went upstairs, to see if you guys would like to have some tea with them before you slept… So I did, but when I went to your room… I kinda saw you guys… you know… and… well, I wanted to know if what I saw last night was true or was it just a figment of my imagination…" Inaho was now looking away as though she was afraid if she had said something wrong.

Meanwhile, the two teens in question were staring bug-eyed at her; they couldn't believe it… Inaho saw them… Shigeru was sweating slightly, this was it, and he had to tell her but how? Kazuma looked at him with worry in his eyes… Shigeru decided to just tell Inaho the truth and just deal with her reaction… He gulped and took a deep breath before he began, "Well, Inaho-san… To tell you the truth… Kazuma and I are actually in a relation ship."

Inaho gasped as she turned to them again, "What? But you're both guys! How could it have happened? Since when?" Inaho's questions came one after the other.

Shigeru exhaled once again, "I know that it's pretty hard to believe but it's true. Kazuma and I love each other very much, Inaho-san… You remember the last time that you visited Kazuma, right? It was when he was sick and had a deep problem, wasn't it? Well, it's really hard to explain, but well, sometime after you left, actually it was the day after you left, Kazuma decided to tell me about it. We went to a far away place from the city where no one could hear our conversation. I didn't really know what to do back then, I noticed that he was really scared and the fact that he was going to tell me about his problem worried me even more, I was even more troubled when he asked me if I love him… It looked like he was looking for at least some sort of comfort, if ever his plan of telling me went wrong… But in truth, I already had feelings for him before, although maybe it was only during that time that I realized that it was love, so told him but it seems that he didn't believe it… He then told me straight-out what had been bothering him for weeks, I was shocked, and I didn't know what to do. And before I knew it, he was already walking away form me, saying things like 'he was already expecting me to snub him just because I've already found out what had happened to him' and things like that…" Shigeru stopped for a while but he was surprised when Kazuma took over and continued where he left off…

"But then he chased after me, and told me how he really felt towards me… He said that those things didn't matter anymore, and that he's going to do everything he can to help me get over it… He gave me hope that everything could still go back to the usual and that I could eventually forget about those miserable things… And after that, well you can already guess can't you onee-chan? We got together and I moved in with him in his apartment…" Kazuma reminisced, a smile forming on his lips as he recalled the events. "However, we told no one of our relationship because I didn't want other people to disdain us… And also because I was afraid that some people will separate us if they found out… So we kept it a secret… But after a while I started to feel guilty about hiding all it to my family and friends and so another reason why I brought Shigeru along here is because I wanted to introduce him to our family and at the same time tell them about us… And well, that's pretty much it, onee-chan… What are you going to do now?" Kazuma asked sadly.

Inaho didn't move or say something for a moment but suddenly she flung herself towards the two, hugging them tightly. Kazuma and Shigeru were both surprised; this was the last thing on their minds. "Oh you guys… You should've told me earlier! I had already noticed before that you guys were really close but to have the two of you in a relationship with each other… I wasn't really expecting that but from you guys said… I think that I can accept that… I just can't believe that the two of you are together… You just can't imagine how happy I am… with Kazuma finally finding the right person for him…" Inaho then let go of the two, "So if anything happens to my brother you're going to be the one to blame Shigeru… So you'd better take good care of him, or else I'm going to beat you up, okay?" She asked with a smile on her face.

"O-okay…" was Shigeru's uncertain reply.

"Thanks so much for understanding, onee-chan…" Kazuma stated, "Well, then shall we have breakfast…?"

The three of them went down to breakfast in lighter moods than before. Hieko had cooked pancakes, which were Kazuma's favorite food especially since it was his mother who cooked them. After eating, it seemed that there was nothing left to do… so Inaho insisted that Kazuma tour Shigeru around their place for a while… Kazuma didn't want to but his mother urged him and so he had no choice but to do so… He was currently in his room with Shigeru, preparing for their little trip outside when Inaho suddenly came to him and asked, "Kazuma, do you, by chance have any load left on your cellphone? Because it seems that my friend had left something of hers in my bag, I was about to text her but I have no more load left… so can I borrow you phone for a while, I'll just inform my friend about it and then return it to you at once, okay... so please…"

Kazuma, being gullible as usual, felt sorry for her sister's friend and immediately lent his sister his cellphone. Inaho said thanks and excused herself as she went to her room, meanwhile Kazuma and Shigeru got their jackets and other things that they would need when they go outside where there are lots of snow. After about ten minutes Inaho went back to them and handed him his phone back with a quick thanks and then left again.

"Well, are all ready to go now, Shigeru?" Kazuma asked as he stood by the doorway.

"Yup. Shall we get going then…?" came Shigeru's reply as he joined Kazuma and the two of them went downstairs. Kazuma then announced that they were about to go out to his mother in the kitchen, saying that they'll be back at around teatime. As they left Kazuma couldn't help but feel that his sister was up to something… however he just shrugged it off and started to tour his lover around the place.

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Most of the stores in the town were open so Kazuma and Shigeru spent the majority of the day looking into the stores; sometimes they bought stuff but not all the time. They had their lunch at a café before they started sightseeing once again.

It was already around five thirty and the two of them were already tired and cold, Kazuma then took Shigeru to one last spot where they rested. Shigeru and Kazuma were sitting by the riverside (you know the riverside in Kazuma's flashback form episode one, where he last saw Kirisaki before the bastard left, that's the one I'm referring to here…) the river had frozen due to the below zero temperature and snow was covering almost everything. Shigeru had brushed the snow off where they were sitting in order to avoid their clothes from getting any wetter than they already were, Kazuma was sitting right beside him as they watched the orange sun setting in the horizon giving them warmth in the midst of all the coldness.

"You know, this is kinda like the time when I told you about you-know-what months ago…" Kazuma said quietly, breaking the silence between them. "Just the two of us, watching the sunset like this… although minus all the snow around us, of course…"

Shigeru smiled as he looked at the brunet beside him, the soft orange glow coming from the setting sun seemed to perfectly compliment Kazuma in his opinion. "Yeah… this does bring back memories… So, I presume that's why you took me here…?"

"Well, not really… but this is where I last saw Mr. Kirisaki, he gave me his dream of making Ja-pan before he went to Tokyo and started St. Pierre… I don't know why but…" Kazuma paused for a while before continuing, "… I just can't understand why someone as nice as him from before became my enemy… I mean he was the person who taught me how to bake in the first place, he even shared with me his dream of making Ja-pan and asked me to pursue it, but now, he's going against me and… I just don't know…"

Shigeru pulled Kazuma closer to him and held him in a tight and affectionate hug; "Don't worry… I know it's pretty hard for you but I believe in you… You can go through with this… You told me before yourself that I should never give up and always continue fighting right? If I can do it then so can you, you're a much greater person than me in more than one way… But enough of all these depressing things Kazuma, its Christmas time for God's sake! We should be happy and as far away from sadness as possible… We can discuss these things when we're back in Tokyo again, okay?" Shigeru stated soothingly trying to cheer Kazuma up.

"Okay." Kazuma agreed as he buried his face into Shigeru's soft cream-colored muffler, "Ne, Shigeru, I'm starting to get cold, should we go home now…?" came his muffled question with his face still buried into the scarf

"Why are you asking me that? I you already want to go back then just say so…" Shigeru replied with a smile. "But if you're feeling cold then here…" he gently removed the muffler from his neck and then replaced it, although this time it was surrounding both him and his lover, drawing their faces closer to each others'. "Are you feeling warmer now?" Shigeru asked lightheartedly seeing his lover's face turn a delicate shade of red.

"Well, a bit…" Kazuma replied as he played along, "But I'm still cold…" he pouted as he looked away.

Shigeru chuckled; he just simply loved Kazuma when he was being all cute like that. "Well, what do you want me to do…? From what I can see…" he cupped Kazuma's bright red cheeks with his hands and caressed them gently, "you already look red-hot…" his lips then curved into a smile as he leaned closer to Kazuma.

Seeing Shigeru's movement, Kazuma already knew what was coming next; he slowly shut his eyes as he too moved closer, their lips had barely touched when suddenly, his cellphone rang. Both of them jumped in surprise and retreated from each other; the muffler that enclosed them loosened and was taken away from Kazuma. Kazuma fumbled in his pockets in search for his cellphone, he then put it up to his ear and asked, "Hello?"

"Kazuma, where are you and Shigeru right now? It's already getting dark, okaa-san's starting to worry if you guys are still alright…" came his sister's voice form the other end.

"Oh, gomen, nee-chan… but we were already on our way home, we would be there in about five minutes…" Kazuma replied, not even wondering how in the world his sister was able to call him if she didn't have any load.

"We'll be waiting for you then, bye…" said Inaho as she finished the call.

Kazuma put his cellphone back in his pocket before returning to his lover, "They're already waiting for us… I think we should go back now…"

"Okay" was Shigeru's simple reply as he stood up with Kazuma imitating his action as the two of them went back to Kazuma's family house. It was eerily quiet when they reached the house, making them feel very nervous about what they would find inside, thankfully Inaho opened the door before they even knocked and, although this was also a bit surprising as Inaho seemed to be checking for something but, hey, at least they knew that the people in the house were still alive; the ghostly silence made them think of very unlikely things.

They went inside without another thought and were highly unnerved at the seeming emptiness of the house, Inaho seemed to notice their panic-stricken faces and said timidly, "Um, Kazuma, Shigeru, would you guys be angry at me if I tell you that I kinda slipped something about you two accidentally to okaa-san…"

"Wh-WHA-" Inaho instantly covered Kazuma's mouth with her hand upon becoming aware that her brother was going to shout, "Shh, quiet Kazuma… Look, I didn't mean to but my tongue just slipped and anyway, I haven't said that you two are in a relationship or anything of that sort… I just unintentionally blurted out that you two had something important to say, so… You know how okaa-san is right, Kazuma? She really wants to know so, she and our grandparents are in the living room right now, and they're sorta waiting for you two to come back and say that something important that you guys had wanted to say… I'm really, really sorry, Kazuma and Shigeru…" Inaho said in a voice full of remorse as she finally released her brother.

Kazuma and Shigeru looked at each other with their faces in equally horrified expressions. What were they going to do now? Kazuma's family was already expecting them to say something… Panic was starting to spread through them, their thoughts racing fast; thinking of what excuse they could use but not one useful thought came to the two of them. Shigeru bowed his head in defeat, Kazuma looked at his lover, worry and concern filling his caramel eyes as they stared apprehensively. "Shigeru…" Kazuma asked uneasily, "are you alright? Why are you like that…?"

Shigeru raised his head and looked at Kazuma with a determined shine in his eyes, "Kazuma, we have no choice now, we have to tell them about it right now… Inaho-san had already started this, although by mistake, we can't do anything else about it except just to go with the flow and just tell them…"

"But Shigeru…" Kazuma stated moving closer to the teen, " are you really sure about that… We can just make excuses-"

"What will be the use of our excuses if we're going to tell them about it much later on?" Shigeru defended. "We should tell it to them right now, Kazuma, after all it is one of the reasons why you brought me along isn't it? So what are we waiting for? There's no turning back now, our little revelation time had already come…"

"Okay then, I understand…" Kazuma finally agreed.

"Thanks, Kazuma." said Shigeru as he placed a kiss on Kazuma's forehead, "Now, Kazuma, I want you to just stay outside of the room with Inaho-san while I try to talk it out with your family…"

"What? You're going alone?" Kazuma reacted, "There's no way, I'm letting that happen. I'm going with you and that's final." He slipped his hand into Shigeru's, intertwined their fingers and held onto Shigeru's hand tightly, as though to emphasize his point. "You and I are in this together, Shigeru; I won't let you go through with this alone."

Shigeru found that he couldn't argue with Kazuma, the brunet's point had a strong foundation, so he just smiled and replied 'okay'. Kazuma smiled back and the two of them walked into the living room hand in hand, not really full of confidence but having each other by their side was already more than enough for the two of them. Inaho followed closely behind, an affectionate smile on her lips.

They entered the living room and sure enough, as what Inaho had said before, Kazuma's mother and grandparents were all there sitting in a straight line side by side, obviously waiting for them. The tension in the room seemed to heighten as Kazuma and Shigeru sat down beside each other, opposite the usual occupants of the house, with Inaho having sat beside her grandmother.

"Kazuma and Shigeru…" Hieko started, "Inaho had told us that you some sort of important announcement to us… Can you kindly relay to us what it is…?"

Shigeru's heart was beating fast; this was it… he'll have to do this… he can't let Kazuma down. He gulped before he started to speak, "Yes, Hieko-san, we do have something to tell… And it somehow concerns your son, Kazuma and, me…"

"Does your entwined hands has anything to do with it?" came Hieko's sudden question.

'Oh crap. Kazuma's mother sure is keen, well I can't do anything more about that. I guess I'll just have to do my best, well, here goes nothing…' Shigeru thought before calming himself and starting to speak again, his speech was fluent and he was doing really great in hiding the nervousness in his voice and his eyes shone with unwavering determination. "Well, yes, ma'am… Actually, what we've wanted to tell you is that – Shigeru took a deep breath- Kazuma and I are in a relationship. Our relationship isn't just a simple camaraderie with each other but it is something much deeper. Something much more affectionate, something with passion… and that something is called 'love'. Hieko-san, I know that you and other people may not approve of this, which is why Kazuma and I came here to ask if you would consent of our relationship…"

"I see… So that's why…" Hieko stated as she absorbed what Shigeru had told her. "Kazuma…"

Kazuma instantly straightened up and faced his mother, looking directly in his mother's inquisitive burnt umber orbs with his own caramel ones filled with fortitude.

"Kazuma, I would like to know if you really feel the same way with Shigeru-kun… If you really love him even though the two of you are guys and you know fully well that this type of relationship is not really accepted by the people… Have you ever thought of what might happen to you if even a hint of your relationship with Shigeru becomes public…?" Kazuma's mother asked him, her voice dead serious.

Shigeru looked at Kazuma, even he hadn't thought of what would happen if any trace of their relationship had leaked out, he had been too intent of what their close friends would think and if that was already unfathomable how much more if everyone else found out about it… He was starting to worry; he hadn't counted on this relationship being so complicated, he was starting to think of telling Kazuma just to say 'no' since the risk would be to high but before he could even open his mouth Kazuma had already replied with a firm "Yes." Shigeru's hand was starting to slip away but Kazuma held it securely as he continued to speak.

"I understand what you are trying to say, okaa-san, as well as what the risk of having this relationship is but it's all okay with me…" Kazuma stated confidently, "I truly love Shigeru and nothing in this world can change that and I'm fully confident that it is very much the same with him which only strengthens what I feel for him even more."

Shigeru was stunned at Kazuma's statement; it hit him hard, he felt really sheepish with even just holding Kazuma's hand right now. Whilst he was worrying too much, Kazuma's faith in him never wavered for a second; Kazuma seemed to be stronger than him. He then resolved within himself that he would never, ever doubt in his love for Kazuma anymore, he would be just like Kazuma, putting his whole devotion to his lover and maintaining his fidelity no matter what.

Kazuma turned to his lover and their eyes met. And with just a small smile, both of them became assured and looked back at the people before them, full of newly found confidence with what the other had said and conviction in their shared love.

Hieko's stern look softened and she smiled warmly at the two of them, completely confusing the two lovers, "Well then I have no objections what so ever to your relationship. I give my full consent to the two of you. I just want to ask one thing from the two of you: love each other faithfully and always be there for one another."

Kazuma and Shigeru's eyes widened in disbelief, they looked questioningly at each other as though looking for any sort of confirmation if what they heard was true. But when Inaho and Hieko and Kazuma's grandparents greeted them a heartfelt "Congratulations!" Shigeru smiled inwardly as he hugged Kazuma, as the said brunet couldn't seem stop himself and threw himself into Shigeru's arms.

Suddenly, loud popping noises came out of nowhere followed by a shower of multi-colored confetti coming from God-knows-where accompanied by so many different voices shouting 'Congratulations!' The couple instantly separated as they looked around them, with dumbfounded looks on their faces, as every window and door leading into the room was open and all of their friends were there. Tsukino, Kyosuke, Manager, Kai, Monica, and so many more, heck, even Mokoyama (who turned into a panda before and was now in his usual human figure) was there. Kazuma and Shigeru shakily stood up, disbelief still on their faces in contrast to their friends' smiling and happy faces.

"Wh-What are you all doing here?" Kazuma asked apprehensively.

"What do you mean, 'what are we doing here'?" Kyosuke returned the question, "Why shouldn't we be? Our favorite little artisan just revealed his intimate bond with a certain Harvard genius; we simply can't miss that now, can we?"

"But… Isn't this thing weird for you guys? I mean is our relationship okay with you?" Shigeru asked, still not believing that everyone had assented to his and Kazuma's relationship that fast.

"I'm pretty sure that you've heard me say this before, Kanmuri-kun, but I won't mind repeating it… Love is like the chaos found in outer space. If you two really love each other then, I will not be taken aback..." came a voice that everyone from Pantasia knew oh-so well… It was Meister Kirisaki; he gallantly walked into the room with Sophie just behind him.

Shigeru felt Kazuma cling tighter to his arm as the General Manager of Pantasia approached the two of them.

Meister seemed to have noticed this and said in a kind tone, "Don't worry, Azuma-kun… I won't do anything to obstruct your relationship… In truth, I just want the two of you to be happy with each other… Wouldn't you say the same thing too, Kuroyanagi?" he asked the last bit looking away from Kazuma and Shigeru and towards the back of the small crowd. The multitude of the people instantly moved away, making a sort of path for the aforementioned baker who was leaning against the wall looking annoyed.

"Who? Me?" Kuroyanagi asked feigning ignorance as he pointed to himself. "Why me?" Meister gave him a meaningful look that clearly said 'say something nice or consider yourself fired.' Kuroyanagi rolled his eyes inwardly as he began to stride forward. Stopping just a couple of centimeters away from his kouhai(2) and Kazuma.

"S-Senpai… I didn't count on seeing you here…" Shigeru stuttered as he faced his senior.

"Hm. Well what can I say…? I didn't really expect this of you, Shigeru…" Kuroyanagi started albeit harshly causing Shigeru to look away. "But…" he added, "I really can't do anything about it… I believe that everyone has his own reason for doing things, so I won't pry into however this thing happened… I can wish the two of you all the luck in the world but I don't think that that will help you much, so just a piece of advice: maintain the fidelity between the two of you no matter what. Well, then that's all that I've got to say… I'm off, then…" Kuroyanagi then turned around and briskly walked away.

Meister shook his head in compunction, "Sorry for that, Kanmuri-kun, he just didn't really want to leave his home and we just forced him to go… Anyway, we'd better follow him, lest we want something to get damaged… Congratulations again to the two of you…" and with that he and his sister went after the irritated food critic.

"Wait!" Kazuma called causing Sophie and her brother to look back at him, "Let me get something first…" he then immediately raced upwards and after less then three minutes he was back and was holding three gifts in hand. "Here, these are for you and your brother, Sophie-neechan… And this other one is for Kuroyanagi-ojiisan… I hope that this will somehow reduce his anger, so can you please give this to him?"

"Sure, Kazuma… Anyway, we'd better go… Congratulations again…" Sophie said as she followed her older brother out.

"Okay… Well, let's just forget about those idiots now the, tell us all the details…" Manager insisted once the Meister and Sophie had gone out of the house.

"Yes, please do… Inaho-san just briefed us about it earlier so were still lacking most of the details …" Tsukino added.

"Well… ano-" Kazuma was just starting to speak when someone else called out his name. All of them turned towards a certain bandanna-ed samurai standing in the middle of the room.

"Kazuma, I need to talk to you and Shigeru…" Kai said callously.

The said brunet turned to his lover and shrugged so the two of them walked over to Kai, with Monica by his side who greeted them rather cheerfully. Whilst the four conversed, Inaho called on the other's since they've prepared dinner and everyone was invited to join in.

Meanwhile, back with Kai and the other three, Kai was looking down so that shadows were covering his eyes, making it impossible for the others to see his eyes, Monica was starting to worry as Kai hadn't said anything for the past whole minute… "Kai…" the German girl said in a worried tone.

Kai then spoke in a low and deadly voice with a dark purple aura around him, frightening Monica, Kazuma, and Shigeru a bit, "Kazuma… Kazuma, how could you…"

"How could I what?" Kazuma asked, clueless.

This seemed to anger the baker even more, he grabbed the front of Kazuma's jacket and shook the brunet roughly, "How in the hell could you, the person who defeated me twice… How in the world did you become gay?! What the heck is wrong with you? I thought you were a man!" Kai shouted angrily with fire burning in his eyes.

"I never said that I was gay!" Kazuma retorted.

"Don't make excuses! How can you explain yourself having a relationship with another guy?!" Kai argued back.

"Suwabara-san, please calm down…" Shigeru stated in an effort to appease the enraged samurai.

"How can I calm down? I just found out that this brunet is a homo and you expect me to just relax? I considered him as an enemy that I must defeat, I looked up to him as a baker and now I discover that he's gay? This is probably your fault!" continued Kai, now placing the blame on the pink-haired teen.

"Kai, just calm down, will you…?" pleaded Monica gently placing her hand on top Kai's, and as though in instant, Kai seemed to pacify a bit and finally let go of the brunet.

Kazuma instantly backed away from the deranged samurai-slash-baker and went into his lover's comforting embrace, Monica then faced the two of them with an apologetic look on her face, "Erm, sorry about that Kazuma… I'll just talk to him and try to sort things out… He didn't seem to expect what your sister had told us to be true…" she compensated as she gradually pushed Kai to a corner of the room…

"O-okay…" replied Kazuma sweatdropping a bit. However, Monica and Kai had hardly gotten away before another group of their friends surrounded them; this time, it was Sachihoko, Mizuno, Panda and surprisingly, Takumi was there as well.

"Azuma!!!" Sachihoko merrily greeted with his usual accent.

"Oh, Sachihoko… How, erm, nice of you to be here…" Kazuma greeted back albeit unsurely.

"Of course I'm here! When I heard from Tsukino that she heard from your sister that you had a lover, I knew I just had to come!" Sachihoko replied with the same gleeful tone, "But I didn't really realize that it was Kanmuri…" he said as he ruffled Shigeru's hair in a carefree manner. "But, hey, it's not bad, you two make a pretty good couple…"

"Kazu-kun!" came a displeased feminine voice from above them, Kazuma and Shigeru quickly looked upwards and found Mizuno Azusagawa, sitting on the shoulders of a tall effeminate guy or a person more commonly known as Tsuyoshi Mokoyama. "Kazuma… and Shigeru… I never really thought that the two of you would get together… But you know I did notice a bit 'closeness' between the two of you when you guys fought with me during that Yakitate 9…" Mokoyama mused looking at the couple.

"Ne, Moko-chan… Can you put me down for a bit?" Mizuno requested in a childish way, to which Mokoyama obliged. "Both of you guys were in the Newcomer's Battle, right, Shigeru-kun?" Mizuno asked as she looked up at the two.

"Well, yes… that's correct, but why do you ask?" Shigeru answered.

"No reason really but… I'm having a little bet with Moko-chan… So…" Mizuno's eyes narrowed slyly, "I just wanted to know, if you and Kazu-kun had hit it off during the Newcomer's Battle or was it still during the Yakitate 9…? Well?"

"Well, I don't really remember when… but… I don't think that it started back then, we got together I mean… It was a few months after the Yakitate 9 I think…" Kazuma stated after much thinking.

"Really?" Mizuno looked upset, "Then that means that I lost and Moko-chan won't bake me his delicious sweet breads for a whole month!!" Mizuno turned to her employee, "Moko-chan… you wouldn't do that would you? Let's just forget about our little wager, okay? PLEEEEEEEEEASE……" she begged with a little pout.

"Fine… What ever you say, boss…" Mokoyama replied fondly, Mizuno was a really juvenile kid. "Sorry for the trouble Kazuma and Shigeru…" he said as Mizuno pulled him along to get something to eat, whining that she was already getting hungry.

Shigeru and Kazuma waved goodbye flaccidly, it was already getting weird for them to have their friends ask them questions, one after the other… They were just about to walk away when someone tapped them on their backs. Both of them turned around to see the red-haired former CMAP member, Takumi Tsubotzuka. He gave them a light smile before handing them a little box, "It's for the two of you… a gift from me… I hope that you guys will like it…" he said quietly.

Kazuma beamed at him, "Thanks a lot, Takumi-san, by the way-" however he hadn't even finished asking his question when the sound of a car stopping outside reached their ears. Everyone stopped as it was very unusual for them to hear a car stop in front of a house like this where there were agricultural fields all over. Kazuma and Shigeru excused themselves and went with Inaho outside to see what was going on…

All breath seemed to have been taken out of their lungs as they stared at the majestic jet-black car that had stopped in front of the house, its tinted glass windows refrained them from seeing who were inside.

The driver of the car got out and Shigeru already knew what was coming next, his heart started to beat faster as a surge of panic came over him, he couldn't believe that he was going to be here! But then, maybe he would understand, after all, everyone else was okay with it so he could be just the same… right? The driver then proceeded to open the back seat door, a short old man with dark gray hair and a mustache, followed by a young teenager with grayish-brown hair and apple green orbs that seemed to be searching for something…

"Tsutsumi, are you sure that this is the right place?" asked the old man.

A smile formed on the teen's lips as he finally spotted what he had been looking for. "Yes, Otou-san (Father)… This seems to be the right place, you see our dearest Shigeru himself is outside of the house to greet us…" the guy called Tsutsumi replied referring to his brother who was standing just a good few centimeters away from them.

"Oh?" asked the old man before he peered closer at the people before him until at last he too was able to see Shigeru, "Shigeru! So it is you!" he greeted as he moved forward to affectionately hug his son. "How have you been since we've last seen each other? Have you been eating well?"

"Yes, Otou-san… I'm perfectly alright… How about you, father?" Shigeru asked.

"I'm still as good as always." Takashi replied cheerfully, "After that whole 'yakuza heir' issue had been resolved, I've been much better… especially since Tsutsumi had begun to send me letters weekly after that… but you didn't even contact me once… It made me think that you were angry with me…" added his father with a hint of sadness as he let go of his son.

"No, Otou-san, I'm not angry with you… It's just that I've been too busy with my work…" Shigeru explained.

"Is it really 'work' that you've been busy with, Shigeru?" Tsutsumi asked his younger brother cheekily. "Isn't it more of a someone…? We were sort of told to come here because a certain person informed us there was something that you had to say… Come on don't be shy… Just tell us everything there is to know about the two of you…."

"O-Okay… Well, I- Wait a minute! You guys already know about it don't you?" Shigeru said accusingly as he realized what his brother had just said.

"How'd you know…?" this time it was his father who asked him.

"Tsutsumi-san said 'Just tell us everything there is to know about the two of you' when I haven't even said a thing! You guys were conspiring with Inaho-san weren't you?" Shigeru defended.

"You're a real genius, aren't you?" Tsutsumi said sardonically. "Okay, so I admit that we heard everything that you've said when you guys were talking to Azuma-san's mother… Inaho-san had her cellphone out and we were listening through the other end of the line, which was my cellphone that was on speaker… What do you find wrong with that?"

"Tsutsumi-san, have you ever heard of the word 'privacy'?" Shigeru replied as respectfully as he could.

"Yes. But aren't you glad that we already know about it and that you wouldn't have to repeat everything to us again…?" Tsutsumi answered back.

"Well, that is kind of a good side to it but… Oh, heck, just forget about it… But is it okay with you, Tsutsumi-san, Otou-san…? My relationship with Kazuma, I mean…" Shigeru asked unpretentiously.

"Of course it is… I would just really like my sons to be happy and if being with Azuma-kun makes my son happy then I won't do anything to obstruct it…" Takashi stated looking at Shigeru and Kazuma.

"Well, I haven't really known you for a long time, Shigeru, but if this is the way that you go, then, it's okay with me as well…" Tsutsumi said in a pleasant tone.

"See? I told you that everything would work out fine…" Kazuma told Shigeru as he walked towards his lover.

Shigeru smiled lightly as he placed an arm around the burnet's shoulders and hugged the teen closer to him. Inaho could only smile; she hadn't thought that she would be able to see her brother so happy like this… She looked at the darkening sky, there was going to be a full moon tonight, thousands and thousands of stars were already beginning to appear… however a single star seemed to be shining much brighter than the others. It also seemed to be getting bigger and bigger by the second…. It was then that she realized that it wasn't a star; something was falling from the sky! "Kazuma! Shigeru! Look!" she called out as she pointed towards the 'UFO' or 'unidentified falling object' from the sky. Everyone of them who were outside immediately moved away from where the 'object' seemed most likely to crash. And sure enough, within a matter of seconds there was a BOOM! so loud that it even caught the attention of those who were still inside, causing them to look outside curiously at what had happened. Some of those who went out were Kyosuke, Manager, Kai and Monica.

Meanwhile, there were large clouds of smoke where the 'object' fell, little pieces of the cement pavement had also been scattered and there were cracks on the ground. Suddenly a voice sounded from within the clouds of smoke, a voice very familiar to them… "Well, well… It's very accommodating that each and every one of the Japanese representatives are here… It would make things a lot more easier for me…"

Kazuma, Kyosuke and Kai all blinked, they knew that voice oh-so well and they seriously didn't want to see that guy right now…

A guy of about twenty-two wearing an unusual attire and a jester's hat with a violet tattoo of a spade on his left eye came out of the smoke. Pierrot Bolneze, Prince of Monaco and world-class clown, had just arrived, with the usual cracked look on his face. "We meet again, Kazuma-kun… And it seems that a very important event had just happened here… would you like to relay it to me…?"

"Onee-chan?! You also told him about it?!" Kazuma asked, almost hysterically.

"I didn't, Kazuma, I swear… I just called Tsukino and asked her to call the others to inform them…" Inaho replied truthfully.

Kazuma turned to Tsukino who was looking from the window, but she just shook her head saying, "Don't look at me… I don't even know his cellphone number or any other way of contacting him… And besides why would I call someone all the way from Monaco to come here?!"

"Then how…?" Shigeru was really confused.

"Don't burden your little heads anymore of thinking about it… I will tell you about it myself…" Pierrot stated "Because as a world-class clown, you have a heart that can know when one of the tens of thousands of your audience has an important event in his or her life and of course, as a world-class clown, you have to drop by and give them a little greeting… but when I found out that something like this had happened to the Monaco Cup's MVP… I couldn't believe my ears and immediately took flight. I was in a hurry so I didn't even bother to use a parachute, so sorry for the damage on this land."

"But why did you have to come here personally, Ojii- I mean Pierrot-san…" Kazuma asked politely.

"Because I wanted to greet the happy couple! Come here, you two!" Pierrot exclaimed throwing his arms wide open and grabbing each of the two lovers in each arm and hugging them tightly, almost suffocating them, although thankfully, he had already loosened his grip before they did so. "So…how did you two-" Pierrot started but then a sort of beeping sound was heard, much like that of an alarm clock. Pierrot suddenly whisked his right arm closer to his face as he looked at what seemed to be a watch. "Oh my… It seems that my time here is done and I must go now… even though I still don't want to…"he said in a contrite tone.

"But why, Pierrot-san?" Shigeru asked once Pierrot had let go of him and Kazuma. "Couldn't you stay here for just a little while longer?" Kazuma pleaded.

Pierrot gave him a sad smile, "I would really love to stay, Azuma-kun, but…" a length of rope ladder came down beside him, causing everyone to look upwards and see a helicopter hovering above them. Pierrot climbed halfway up the ladder before speaking once again, "… you guys know how strict my parents are… And besides, as the crown Prince of Monaco, I do have my 'Royal' duties to attend to… So goodbye for now, everyone!! I'll drop by again sometime…"

All of them just stared at the world-class clown as he went into the helicopter and it flew away. Shigeru and Kazuma looked at each other before turning to their friends, all of them had the same blank and confused look. "Shall we…" Kazuma asked signaling that they should get back inside and the others just shrugged. But before any of them could take even one step another loud crash was heard behind them, causing them to look back again. They found an unusually large box in the hole on the ground where Pierrot had first landed. They all turned their heads upward only to find the helicopter again with Pierrot looking out one of its windows, he then called out to them, "These are gifts from the Royal Family of Monaco to each of you! They're all labeled so just distribute it among yourselves okay? Ciao!!" and the helicopter flew off again.

"This is getting ridiculous…" Inaho stated, "Lets all get inside before anything else happens…" All of them had begun to walk back inside when she suddenly remembered, "Oh, and would you guys be kind enough to bring that box inside… Thanks."

Kazuma, Shigeru Kyosuke and Kai just scratched their heads before each taking one side of the box and gradually taking it inside. They took the box into the living room where everyone was waiting. "Should we hand out these gifts now or later, after everyone had eaten…" Kazuma asked.

"I think later, I mean you and I still haven't eaten, Kazuma…" Shigeru reminded him.

"Okay then, we'll just leave this in a corner then…" replied Kazuma as he and the other three placed the huge box in a corner of the room before resuming on their eating.

After everyone had finished their food, Shigeru went upstairs and got the bag where his and Kazuma's gifts to their friends were placed. Everyone of his and Kazuma's friends were all sitting in a huge circle in the living room as Kazuma had started to hand out the gifts from Pierrot, Shigeru then joined him and gave out their gifts. Surprisingly, their friends had also brought their own gifts with them so everyone had a good time in administering their own gifts to their friends. When all the gifts had been given, a fair amount of gifts were piled in front of each person. Everyone started to unwrap their gifts at the same time and Shigeru was really glad that their friends appreciated his and Kazuma's gifts to them, and he was even more delighted when his father and his brother had thanked him wholeheartedly for his gifts and gave him a gift coming from them.

In the midst of all the joy and bliss, Shigeru was suddenly struck with sadness. Kazuma instantly noticed this and went closer and sat next to him.

"Shigeru, what's wrong?" Kazuma asked with his voice filled with concern. "Is something bothering you?"

"Well…" Shigeru said in a depressed tone, "…it's just that… In the middle of all the gift buying that we've done for our friends-"

"Are you worried that they aren't happy with our gifts? Coz all of them seem to like their gifts very much…" Kazuma stated trying to comfort his desponded lover.

"No, it's not that…" Shigeru replied as he wrapped his arms around Kazuma and hugged the burnet tightly as he whispered quietly, "It's just that I… I'm feeling angry at myself for failing to remember to buy you, the most important person in my life, a decent Christmas gift… I wanted to buy you something really special but in all my worries concerning how to tell your family about us, I seemed to have forgotten to get you something for Christmas… I'm really sorry, Kazuma… Would it be okay with you, if my gift would be a little late?" Shigeru asked as though in an effort to make his lover happy.

Kazuma gently pushed Shigeru away from him so that they were now facing each other instead of hugging. He then said in a kind tone, "Shigeru, why are you thinking like that? You don't have to bother in buying me a gift…"

"But-" Shigeru tried to respond but Kazuma just hushed him by placing a finger on his lips.

Kazuma then continued, "You know, I won't really need any expensive thing that you're planning to buy for me for Christmas… Just having you beside me is already enough for me… Even your presence is enough for me… I don't need any stupid gift wrapped in gold because nothing can surpass the happiness that I feel when I'm with you… And I'm already contented just knowing that you're always going to be by my side… I should be the one who's sorry because I haven't bought you anything…" Kazuma finished by smiling warmly at Shigeru.

"Kazuma…" Shigeru said inaudibly as he was awestruck at what his lover had just said, he then gave the brunet a soft smile as he stated quietly, so that only the two of them could hear, "You know, I'm really amazed at the way that you think… And just like you said earlier, you also don't need to buy me a gift, you are already everything that I could ever need..."

"Aww, no fair… you copied me…" Kazuma said childishly, "But I still wanna give you a gift and I'll be really sad if you don't accept it…"

Shigeru sighed, "Fine… what ever you say…" 'But I thought that he said that he didn't have one…' Shigeru thought to himself.

"Okay then, close your eyes… I want it to be a surprise…" Kazuma said gleefully. Shigeru raised an eyebrow but nonetheless he closed his eyes. He waited patiently as Kazuma seemed to take a while, however he heard Kazuma giggle before he felt a weight shift onto his lap at the same time something soft and familiar was pressed on his lips. His eyes shot open and he found Kazuma's face very close to him with the brunet's eyes shut tight. Kazuma was kissing him. Shigeru was confused for a minute but in the end he decided just go along with it and kissed Kazuma back passionately. Kazuma's arms went round his neck as his own were wrapped around the brunet's waist, drawing them closer to each other. After some time, they parted, Kazuma had a wide smile on his face, "So, how did you like my gift…?" he asked.

"It's one of the best gifts that I've ever received in my whole life…" Shigeru replied. Suddenly he noticed that the whole room seemed to be a little bit too quiet. He turned to face their friends only to find their surprised faces staring at him and his lover. They had obviously seen what had happened. ''Telling them about us is one thing and getting them used to seeing us like that will be another…'' Shigeru quietly whispered to his lover. Kazuma seemed to have noticed this as well as he slowly got off from Shigeru's lap and sat on the floor again.

"So…" Inaho stated from the doorway, upon seeing that everyone was disturbingly quiet. "If anyone is already sleepy, I've already prepared the spare bedrooms… The girls could just sleep in my room and the rest could sleep in the spare bedrooms, everyone could fit since there are two spares and there are a lot of extra pillows and blankets…"

"Arigato, onee-chan…" Kazuma said, as everyone seemed to have finally been taken out of his or her 'trance' and were starting to move again.

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

After everyone had gone to their respective rooms and almost all were asleep…

Kazuma lay in Shigeru's arms as they gazed out of the window at the stars in the night. "Shigeru?" Kazuma asked quietly as though not wanting to wake up his lover who could probably be asleep.

"Yes, Kazuma?" came the equally quiet response from his lover. Kazuma turned around and faced his lover. "Why are you still awake? Shouldn't you be sleeping right now?" he asked accusingly.

"Well, I don't see you asleep either…" came Shigeru's ironic reply.

"Oh, whatever… Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that this is the best Christmas that I've ever had…" Kazuma stated as he moved closer to his lover.

"Same here… You know, I've never really been this happy since the first time that we got together…" Shigeru said with a yawn, "Well, it's already getting late, let's sleep now, okay?"

"Okay." Kazuma agreed as he rested his head on Shigeru's shoulder and his lover wrapped his arms around him once again. "Oh, and Shigeru…" he added, "I love you."

"Of course you do or else I would've died right now… And I love you as well, much, much more than you could ever imagine…" was Shigeru's reply as he placed a kiss on the burnet's forehead before falling into a deep slumber. Kazuma sighed contentedly, just having him and Shigeru like this was the best thing that could ever happen to him and having their parents' consent about this made him feel more at ease... They had already overcome many challenges and still more was to come for them, but they now have each other and everything would just be alright…

-O-o-O-o-O-o-O-

Notes:

(1) Kazuma's mother's name is Hieko; I actually had to re-watch episode one just to know what it was…

(2) 'kouhai' is the opposite of 'senpai', which means "underclassmen"

BloodLust: Finally! I've finished … Well, my birthday had just passed so it would be a very nice thing to happen if all of the nice reader's would leave a nice little review for me…? Please… It would be the best birthday gift for a lowly authoress such as myself… And besides I'm sorta feeling sad coz I missed my deadline, which was supposed to be on Jan. 11 (my birthday), by three days so it's now January 14 and I'm really depressed that I haven't updated this in time… So

PLEASE REVIEW… Onegai… Just for my birthday… Please…

Anonymous reviews, Flames (nice ones please), Constructive Criticisms and anything else are most welcomed. (I know that the ending really sucked) Please tell me if they're OOC, if the grammar is wrong or anything else that would help in making my fics better… Domo Arigatou!