[A/N: This is the 3rd part of the 4-part story ^_^ I know I cut off abruptly, but I'm sort of OCD and need it to be in 4 chappies, and so this chappie was cut off at a weird part. I'm so sorry, but I am too tired and lazy to type out the rest of the story. Gomenne and Arigatou for reading this, and for commenting. I appreciate it much more than you realize ^_^.

Oh, and Hiroshima has its own traditional hotpot, too, called Dote Nabe, which features oysters cooked with miso. (. ) and Fugu Chiri Nabe is a puffer fish hot pot dish (. )]

She squelched the thoughts scurrying in her brain. There would be no more of that petty self-issue from her, she thought firmly. She started walking forwards to meet him instead of waiting outside the restaurant, but then suddenly thought of doing something different. Noting that he was still preoccupied, she turned around and ran till she reached the closest alleyway between the restaurant and the still approaching Hiruma, and waited patiently. As soon as Hiruma was close enough, she jumped out and tackled him, making the both of them crash to the ground.

Seeing the range of emotions flitting over Hiruma's face, from confusion to surprise to utter bemusement, Mamori was overcome with giggles. And her giggles being of the contagious sort that they were, pretty soon Hiruma was laughing too, try as he might not, as passers-by stared at the pair.

Mamori started getting up and brushing herself down simultaneously when she suddenly felt herself being lifted up by a pair of strong arms. "H-h-h-hiruma-kun wh—"

"Now it's my turn." Was all he said as he started marching down with Mamori perched on his shoulder like a heavy fish, putting her down only when they reached the restaurant's entrance. Mamori gathered herself, trying to look like she hadn't been carried virtually upside down the whole street. Hiruma offered her his arm, "Shall we?" She took it up with a grateful smile.

Inside Hiruma led her to the corner-most table. Mamori noted with trepidation that he had that same look on his face again.

"Ane—" He started, and then abruptly stopped. For the first time in his life, he was terrified of what he was actually doing. Sure, he'd been unsure before, but this... this was much different. These were two lives of two very very different people, and this would change all of it. And so he had another first: he chickened out.

"What is it?" She took his face in her eyes and forced him to look at her. "Tell me, please."

"I-It's just the stress from amefuto." He lied. He could see the hurt in her eyes, she thought he was keeping something away from her. He hated lying to her, she was the one he could tell everything to, and he hated seeing anything hurt her. Every time she had done something daring, his heart had been in his throat, ready to burst from the worry. And yet, today, he was the one causing the pain. "How about we leave that until after dinner? I'll tell you when we get home."

Home? Mamori stiffened. Mamori was still a med student doing her residency, and Hiruma had been living in the building that had been rented specifically for his team, so they had never lived together. But the idea thrilled her, made her happy. She smiled to herself as he played with her fingers. "Sure," she smiled at him angelically. The important thing was to let him know that she was there for him. Her mind started going through all the memories when Hiruma had confided in her, and she realized with a jolt that she was wrong to think that Hiruma never told her he loved her or that he missed her, because every time he confided in her, every time he spoke about his dreams and ambitions, every time he joked with her or kissed her, it was his way of telling her he loved her and missed her. He had always picked actions over words, and his relationship with her. She then realized another thing: subconsciously, she knew this all along. After all, if she didn't why would she, or any girl for that matter, go out with a guy for six whole years without even once thinking of something like cheating?

She was jerked out of her reverie when Hiruma gently nipped at her fingers. "Mamoriii, Mamoriii~"

"Err-Hai! Gomenne, I had remembered something," She realized that he had called her Mamori, something she loved. She saw his full-fledged grin and thought to herself how today had proved to be full of realizations.

"Well, now you need to remember that we need to actually order food before someone gets it for us." His smirk was so adorable to her, it took all her willpower not to squish him into the tightest hug she could manage.

"Hai, of course. So, what do you think? I haven't quite made up my mind."

"How about if we are a little adventurous and extravagant today?" He asked.

"Depends on what you have in mind..."

"Well, I keep on hearing talk from my sources—" Mamori giggled at the word sources, and Hiruma just smiled a little and went on "that this place has a good Fugu Chiri Nabe and Dote Nabe. Want to try those?"

"Well... it's a bit of an odd combination, to have both at once, but since it's the two of us, why not? Although... don't you think that both of those at once will be too much?"

"We can always take the leftovers home... and worst case scenario, we can always feed them to Cerberus. He'll be more than happy." Just as he was finishing his sentence, a waiter appeared to take their order. Hiruma looked at Mamori questioningly. Mamori nodded her approval, and Hiruma ordered. At a table close by, she could hear a guy, presumably the boyfriend, ordering everything without even waiting for his girlfriends response. That was another thing she loved about Hiruma. He actually cared and took into consideration what she thought about, unlike some of the other "normal" boyfriends.