"I'm home!" Kanata called out as he entered the temple. "Miyu-chan?"

He found her sleeping soundly in her room. He sat down next to her and tenderly stroked her hair. She looks like an angel. She's so beautiful.

Hiseyes moved from her hair to her lips, and suddenly he had an irresistible urge to kiss her. No, that wouldn't be right.

He wondered if someone else had given Miyu her first kiss while she was away, and the thought made him want to kick something.

Miyu's eyelids fluttered open. "Kanata?"

Kanata suddenly stood up. "I, um, brought some food. I got steamed fish and lemon chicken."

Miyu was instantly awake. "Those are my favorite dishes!" He wasn't this thoughtful before… So why should he be now?

He held out his hand to help her stand up. "I know, that why I brought them. Come on, let's eat."

They had a pleasant dinner, though Kanata observed that Miyu still felt a bit awkward. He wanted her to be cheerful and childlike and unreserved, like in the old days.

As they cleared the dishes, he said, "Miyu-chan?"

"Mmm-hmm?"

"Did Nanami and Aya… Did anyone tell you about the Octagon?"

Miyu stiffened. "Yes, why?"

"What do you think of him?" He was afraid of the answer.

She put down the dishes she was washing and looked directly into his eyes. "I think that he is a fool and a jerk, and that he deserves to be slapped if he thinks that he can fool around with me." She stalked out of the kitchen.

So she knows. Kanata wondered if she thought that he was making the moves on her. He knew that he ought to explain, but he couldn't face her tonight. He couldn't muster the strength.

He dried the dishes and went to the bathroom. As he changed his clothes, he felt weak and dizzy. Is this the effect of loving someone too much?

Miyu was pacing in her room. "Miyu, you shouldn't have said that." She scolded herself. "If he wasn't putting the moves on you, then you'll be laughed at for your presumption."

She picked up her toothbrush and made for the bathroom, but found that it was occupied. She knocked. "Kanata? I need to brush my teeth." There was no answer.

After 15 minutes, Miyu got impatient. "I'm coming in there whether you like it or not!"

She burst into the bathroom and gasped.

Kanata was lying on the bathroom floor!

Miyu willed herself not to panic. Kanata-kun needs me.

She couldn't lift him, so she dragged him into his room. She managed to get him on his bed. She kept muttering, "Damn it, Kanata, you're making me worry! You could have collapsed in the kitchen and yet you chose to do it in the bathroom!"

She stuck a thermometer under his tongue. After reading his temperature, she exclaimed, "You're so hot!"

His mouth quivering on the verge of laughter, Kanata murmured faintly, "Thank… you… for the… compliment."

She laughed, relieved that he could still joke around even when he was sick. "I meant your temperature!"

Kanata tried to explain what happened. "I… was so dizzy. And weak… I couldn't call out… or stand… I'm sorry I'm being a problem…"

"You aren't a problem, Kanata." Not in this way. "I need to get some medicine and water. I'll be right back."

Miyu searched frantically for the medicine kit. Where the hell is that damn thing? She found it in the kitchen cupboard and started searching.

"Eureka!' she yelled as she found the right medicine. "There you are.'

As she filled a glass with water, she wondered if Kanata was really putting the moves on her.

Miyu assisted Kanata into a sitting position and helped him drink his medicine. "Take it easy," she kept saying. When he had finally taken his medicine, she stroked his hair off his forehead. "You'll feel better soon."

Grabbing her hand, Kanata murmured, "Miyu-chan… please don't leave me."

She wanted to pull away, but she couldn't, not when he needed her. "Of course not, Kanata-kun."

"Stay with me tonight." It was a request, not a command.

Miyu was unsure. Aya and Nanami had warned her about his reputation, but Kanata was sick, and he needed her.

And I need him, too. She was surprised by her own thoughts, but she knew they were true.

So she sat down on the bed, saying, "Okay, Kanata-kun. You rest, now."

My head hurts… like hell…

Kanata opened his eyes. The clock on his bedside table blinked 1:25 AM.

He wondered why he couldn't move well in his bed. He turned and got a shock to see Miyu sleeping beside him, a washcloth in her hand.

My Miyu… My beautiful Miyu… You're so good to take care of me like this.

He felt overwhelmed with love, so much that he wanted to shake her awake just so he could tell her.

But doubt filled him. She knows I'm the Octagon. She's probably repulsed. She hates my guts for cheating on Christine… Miyu's like that, she cares for everyone. That's why I love her…

He let out a small sigh and turned his back on her.

Beside him, Miyu awoke just in time to hear him whisper, "That's why I love you, Miyu."