(Thanks for all the reviews! To be perfectly honest, I wasn't expecting any until I finished the story, haha!
Sorry for the weekend long delay though. I was at an anime convention for the weekend, and oh man, it was awesome. I can't even put it in to words! But now that I'm home, I'll start more writings.

There will be another delay because I move into a new place on Thursday, and won't have internet until Monday! I guess that just means that maybe I'll have two chapters to upload when we get the router up and going. :D)

Kazuma stood outside the store he led Ayano to several minutes before. His usual casual wear had been replaced with a tailored black suit, shined shoes, and brushed hair. A man wearing jeans and a simple t-shirt approached Kazuma and gave him a solemn nod, "The building has been secured. This time things will go smoothly."

Another nod was exchanged between the two men, and from the corner of his eye, Kazuma saw figures moving to new positions just down the road. As time continued to pass, he tapped his foot impatiently, not knowing why Ayano was taking so much time to walk to the front of the store. After about 30 seconds of the incecent tapping he walked through the door to be greeted by Ayano slipping a small, elegant black barrette with shimmering pink gems into her bright red bangs. His eyes slowly scanned her body from top to bottom, taking note of every detail about her and the way her dress looked. "Looks like you got pretty gussied up."

"Are you saying it doesn't look good, Kazuma? Because I don't care, even if you don't like it, you're still buying it for me! And these adorable black heels, and my new hair piece! Got it?" Ayano stood up in a huff and pulled Kazuma to the register so he could purchase her new items. "Besides, you look much more dressed up than I am."

Kazuma shook his head and paid for the outfit. He offered his arm to Ayano to lead her out of the store. She hesitantly took it, and a light blush colored her cheeks. As the exited the store Kazuma shifted his weight uneasily. "What's wrong?"

He did not know what to tell the girl on his arm. Usually, when he tried to be serious with her, he ruined every moment by taking advantage of her anger, completely killing anything that could have been. This time he refused to do that, so he tried to pick his words as carefully as he could. "I love it."

"What?" Ayano stopped dread in her tracks. "What did you just say to me?" As she spoke, her voice got softer and her blush grew as her eyes darted about nervously. Had he really just said he loved her?

"I said I love it... Your dress. It looks really good on you." The serious tone Kazuma intended to keep tapered off as he saw her reaction, knowing she must have misheard him. "What do you think I said?" He looked down at her with a slight smirk planted on his lips.

"N-nothing! I just... I didn't hear what you said at all! That's it! Okay?" Her heart sunk; of course Kazuma would never say something like that to her. She knew he still loved Tsui-Ling, and she was no comparison.

Ayano dropped her arm to her side and began to walk forward without Kazuma directly beside her. When he remained stationary, after Ayano had taken a few steps, she turned around and glared at him. "How can you buy me dinner from all the way over there? I don't even know where we're going anyways! So, you better start walking now!"

Kazuma hung his head, sighing in defeat, he tried to do something properly, but it backfired as always without his help. Hands replanted in his pockets, he lead Ayano to the front of a red carpet which led up a small flight of stairs and into a very expensive looking hotel. Upon their arrival a host quickly greeted the pair and lead them to a small table in the corner of a large, relatively empty, seating room.

The lighting was much dimmer than she had expected and soothing European classical music was played by the small orchestra in the back of the room. On their table sat two sets of filled wine glasses, one with a red wine, the other with water. The two took their seats and starred at each other over the glasses.

"You already had this planned, didn't you, Kazuma? Why else would we have gotten into a place like this so quickly? So tell me, what exactly as you scheming, and how long have you been scheming it for?" On any other day Ayano would have overlooked how planned each of Kazuma's moves seemed to be, but her heart still stung from the comment earlier. "Or was it all my dad?"

Without even looking up from the menu, Kazuma twisted his lips as he put thought into the answer he would give the girl. "Look, it's not my fault you may have the memory of a goldfish, so just stop questioning things and enjoy the night, okay? Does it even matter if your father has anything to do with this?" The slightly harsh tone he used caused Ayano to slouch back in her chair.

"I can't believe you drag me out here, to just make fun of me, calling me a goldfish, just to satisfy some weird ideas my dad has. I know you're just here because you're getting paid. I don't even see why you stick around, I know you get paid up front." Her eyes teared up slightly, but her tone remained steady, and she covered her face with the menu. Any sense of confidence she had upon arrival had been brutally murdered.

The waiter, dressed in a crisp black tuxedo, brought out a small bowl of bread for the two to enjoy as they came to a final decision on their order. "Are the drinks to your liking?"

Ayano sat up and pointed to her glass of wine, "I'm sorry, but I don't drink, so could you bring me some green tea instead?"

As the waiter nodded and reached out to the glass, Kazuma stopped him. "It's fine, just leave it. Usually she doesn't, but I think the birthday girl should have her first taste of a good wine with a nice dinner tonight, don't you agree?" He shot the waiter a confident stare, and used his peripheral vision to enjoy the look of surprise on Ayano's face.