Even though this is just the third chapter, I have to say I'm on a roll! I finished this chapter the day after I finished the second one. I seriously hope you people are reading. I can't stop writing and I used to have such terrible writer's block, so this is a treat for you Summer Wars fans!

Oh, and there was a mistake I made in the first chapter, so anyone reading should probably read the first chapter again (if you want to). Thank you to EX33 for pointing that out to me.

Now enjoy!

Today wasn't as much of a pain as it was yesterday. Asking her to do something so… embarrassing was very unsettling to Kazuma. But when it came down to it, they worked really hard today. If he'd known about Yuri's poor eyesight beforehand, maybe he would've asked someone else to help him with the predicament he was in. But no one fascinated him as much as Yuri did. And her predicament fixed his. There wouldn't be much lying involved. Someone did need help with their homework (even though it wasn't Kazuma, and Yuri didn't have bad grades as far as he knew). Problem solved… sort of.

And it wasn't just the homework. It was Yuri herself. She was different. She wasn't like everyone else at their obnoxious school. Sure, he had only lived in Ueda for three years, but that was because his dad's job finally allowed them to move someplace he enjoyed: his passed great grandmother's manor in Ueda. That was the first time he was actually grateful his dad had such a demanding job. And he was sure lucky to have bullies at his new school in Ueda (note the sarcasm)! Kazuma didn't care. He didn't care what other people thought of him. It wasn't his fault the bullies liked to mess with him. He was just… different. And Yuri didn't care about that, either. In a way, they were the same. Those bullies took advantage of her by flattening her tire and breaking her glasses because she was different, too. Another empathetic reason to ask her for help and to help her in return.

He was glad his family didn't do anything to humiliate him today. Sure, most of the Jinnouchi clan was scattered across Japan, but there were still some of the close relatives he had that embarrassed him plenty, his uncle Mansuku for example. For a doctor, he liked making many perverted jokes. Then there was his mom, who kept sending him hints about Yuri being more than just a friend, even though he had to keep reminding her that they weren't friends at all. Kazuma didn't deny the possibility of him and Yuri eventually forming some sort of friendship during this endeavor, but right now, they were just classmates helping each other out with homework.

Then there was OZ.

When Yuri left, Kazuma immediately went to his room to go on OZ. He found Chiyo sitting on the floor, fingering the laptop. "Chi, how are you always able to find your way in here?" The little girl just smiled and giggled when she saw her older brother.

She waddled up to him and hugged his leg. "Kazma! Kazma!" she cried.

He picked her up. "Come on, Chi. I'm taking you to bed before Mom finds that you're missing."

"Pway," she said.

"Sorry, Chi. I can't play with you tonight." He would've promised tomorrow, but Yuri would be coming over again. "Just go to sleep, okay?" Once again, Kazuma took his baby sister to her room and tucked her in her crib. "Please stay. I don't want to have to get Mom." He kissed her forehead. "Go to sleep," he said more softly. "Goodnight, Chi."

"Night night, Kazma," she murmured. This time, Kazuma stayed to make sure that his sister stayed asleep for the rest of the night. When he heard her steady breathing and even snoring, he knew she was asleep. He quickly tiptoed out of the room and back to his room.

Kazuma sighed when he saw the tiny fingerprints on his laptop. Little sisters: they were a pain, but you couldn't help but love them. And Chiyo was still only 2-years-old, so he tried not to think on it too much. Instead, Kazuma flipped the PC open and began his journey back into the wonderful world of OZ…

O.O

King Kazma checked for any messages he could've received the night before. However, he received nothing from Usagi. It had been two days since that awful defeat he suffered, courtesy of Chiyo. Since he was so distracted that night, Kazma thought it was only fair that they had a rematch. He sent her a challenge, but so far, there was no indication that she was interested at all. He knew she was online, but why wasn't she responding? Was she no longer interested in him because he lost to her? Talk about shallow. But he couldn't make such assumptions. Usagi was a serious fighter. She took these games more seriously than other opponents he'd faced in the past. That's what made her special.

He tried finding her the old fashioned way. He started a chain e-mail, asking anyone if they knew where Usagi was hiding. So far, there were no positive responses:

Sry, K. Couldn't find Usagi.

Ich habe noch nie von ihr gehört. (I've never heard of her)

¿Usagi?

King Kazma was irritated. He should've known better than to ask people he didn't know if they knew let alone heard of Usagi. How ironic, he thought. For once, he needed help and no one was there to give it to him. He didn't like playing this card, but he felt that the citizens of OZ owed him for saving all of their accounts, not to mention their lives!

But as he looked at the messages he was receiving, he noticed that these people had no idea what he was talking about. This was surprising news. There were thousands of people who witnessed the race he and Usagi had a few days ago. He figured at least one of those people should've been able to help him. But apparently, no one had a clue about the race. What on Earth was going on? He was hoped this wasn't turning into another AI scenario.

Kazma shook his head. There was no way that could happen again. He didn't want to believe it could happen again. That was a truly terrible experience he hoped he wouldn't have to go through again. He decided it was best if he did this on his own instead of asking people who didn't have a clue.

He was just about to go look for the she-bunny himself when another e-mail popped up:

I know Usagi.

This was a relief. Someone speaking plain Japanese. And they knew Usagi. That meant they most likely knew where she was. Perfect.

The avatar suddenly appeared in front of King Kazma. It was a little white fox with an red bandana and five stubby, little tails. Its eyes were blue and playful. "I'm Kei*," she said.

"Kei?" The fox nodded. "Are we talking about the same Usagi?"

"Tan girl wearing a yellow party yukata, yellow cap, droopy bunny ears, pink rabbit nose, impassive gray stare?" The rabbit nodded. "Yep, I know her. But I have to wonder why the legendary King Kazma is so interested in her."

"Can you take me to her?" he asked. "I need to speak with her."

"What'd she do that the King Kazma is asking for an audience with her?"

King Kazma glared at the little fox. She gave him a mischievous leer. "You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"Maybe." Kazma didn't like that answer. It sounded like Kei wasn't as enthused to meet him as she made out. He never met anyone on OZ who didn't like him (besides Love Machine), and he wasn't sure if he should trust this fox. Then again, how else was he going to find Usagi? By looking blindly through the infinite universe of OZ? He was good, but he wasn't that good. "Now do you want to see Usagi, or not?" King Kazma gave a curt nod. "Follow me then."

Kei began jumping from platform to platform before flying off with Kazma in her wake. "Where are you taking me?" he asked.

"The maintenance area," she answered. "Nobody but hired employees that run maintenance checks for OZ itself is already in the area, but as long as you're with me, I'm sure you'll be fine. Not even someone as powerful as you is allowed in without assistance. Since the incident with that AI, we've decided not to take anymore risks. OZ has taken extra precautions and hired a new form of 'security' to prevent anymore hackers from wrecking the mainframe, and to kill off any viruses that enter the system."

"What about John and Yoko?" Kazma asked. "Aren't they the 'Guardian Angels of OZ'?"

Kei snickered. "That's what most people thought and still think nowadays, but look at how much help they were when Love Machine attacked us. Yes, John and Yoko were created to protect the citizens of OZ, like when they assisted that Natsuki girl three years ago, but other than that, they don't do much but monitor what the 'civilians' are doing. This new form of security is used to protect the main core of OZ, which not only protects everyone's accounts and all the info downloaded into the OZ mainframe, but it also protects the world and prevents events like that AI situation three years ago from happening again. As far as we're concerned, those whales are just figureheads."

"How do you know all of this?"

"I'm afraid that's confidential, King Kazma."

Kazma rolled his eyes. He wondered why she felt the need to be sarcastic. The name Kei didn't really suit the fox.

"Here we are!" King Kazma didn't realize they had stopped until he saw that they were in a completely abandoned area. There were no other avatars in sight. "We're past the restricted area," Kei informed him.

"So where's this new form of security you were talking a—" King Kazma quickly stopped his question to avoid an arrow that was shot at him. "What the—!

"No profanity is allowed on OZ," a voice bubble appeared. Kazuma turned to see the she-bunny on a higher platform above him pointing a bow and arrow at him, ready to shoot. The impassive look he first saw on her face was now cold and determined. "And no trespassers are allowed in this area."

"What the **** are you doing!"

"My job." She pulled back the arrow. King Kazma's eyes were wide. First the scythe, now the bow and arrow; who was this girl?

Usagi shot another arrow, which destroyed the platform the white rabbit was standing on. He fell until he landed on another platform. Kazma groaned as he tried to sit up. Usagi suddenly jumped onto his platform. Her bow transformed back into her dragon scythe. The curved blade was behind his neck. A huge exclamation point appeared over his blonde head, but there was still no fear in his eyes.

"Calm down, Usagi," Kei said. She was watching the scene from afar. She decided to stop Usagi before she got carried away. She jumped onto the platform they were sharing in front of the scythe wielding she-bunny. "You know this is a no fighting zone. And besides, I brought him here."

A huge question mark appeared above the she-bunny's head. Usagi pulled the blade away from Kazma's neck and it vanished into her sleeve.

Kazma stood up and rubbed the back of his neck. He glared at the fox. "Why the **** didn't you stop her earlier!"

Kei gave him another shrewd smile. "It was very entertaining. And you really need to control your language online." A ticked-off mark formed on his temple. This was one sadistic fox. "Besides, I knew she wasn't going to kill you. You're King Kazma." He could hint the sarcasm in her speech bubble. His name was in italics every time she said it.

"How do you know I wasn't going to kill him?" Usagi asked. "It's my job to keep trespassers out of this area, dead or alive. Why'd you even bring him here?"

"He wanted to know where you were. I figured it was important since King Kazma himself wanted to talk to you."

"Please stop saying my name like that," he said.

"Like what?"

He was so close to straggling that little fox, it was painful. Instead, he walked up to Usagi. "It's true. I did ask her to take me to you. I wanted to talk to you."

Usagi crossed her arms. "Hurry up. I can't be wasting my time on you when I have a job." This was the first time she talked to him. He wondered what her voice sounded like; not all too pleasant, he bet.

"Since when do you have a job?"

"I've had it for a while."

He figured a while meant a long time. No wonder he didn't hear about her. She was a fierce martial artist, but if she had a job this whole time…

"Why'd you challenge me if you have such an important job?"

"It's not like I work here 24/7. There are millions of people who do everything they can to keep OZ from going into to complete chaos like it did three years ago. The people who run security checks take shifts, much like the people who run maintenance." Usagi froze for a moment. She took out her scythe again and pointed it at King Kazma. "This information is strictly confidential. If you tell anyone about this, I won't hesitate to eliminate your account on OZ forever." Kazma nodded. There was no fear in his eyes. He knew it wasn't any of his business, but it wasn't like he asked. Usagi put away her scythe. "Now, what is it that you need—no wait! Let me guess." Usagi put one hand on her hip. "You want a rematch."

"So you did leave your post the other day," Kei said.

Usagi glared at the fox. "I did not. I didn't have to work that day. Aren't you supposed to be in maintenance right now?"

"I think I deserve one," Kazma intervened. "It wasn't much of a fair fight."

"And why's that?"

"I was distracted." After he read the words that formed into his speech bubble, he realized how ridiculous and immature he sounded, even though it was the truth. He could see Usagi thought the same, even though her glare was as impassive as ever. Kei sat aside and they both waited to see Usagi's reaction.

A digital puff blew out of her lips. "Couldn't you come up with a better excuse?"

"It's not an excuse. It's the truth."

"Really." Usagi purposely put it as a statement. "I'm sorry, but I can't. I still have a job to do and much time to make up for."

"Oh, come on, Usagi. Stop being such a stick in the mud!" Kei landed on her shoulder. "You can have someone else take your shift!"

Usagi glared at the fox. "No, I can't."

"I'll do it!"

"You work in the maintenance department, Kei," she reminded her. "In fact, aren't you supposed to be there right now?"

The fox stuck out its tongue. Kazma wondered how she was able to do that in the virtual world. "Well, why are you so hesitant to accept his challenge? You seemed to be very eager before."

That was true. Usagi seemed different from the last time they met. She didn't talk, but mostly because she didn't need to; the yearning of competition was evident in her pale eyes. And she didn't hesitate to say those awful things about him, either. Now, she was uptight and strict, all work and no play. It was like she went through some transformation overnight. Why was she so eager to slander and beat him before? What changed? Did she not like him or something? If that was true, that made two people now.

"Well, if you won't accept my challenge, can you at least answer my question?"

A question mark reappeared over her head. "What is it?"

"Before I came here, I began asking around for you, and then Kei showed up. But before that, no one had any idea what I was talking about. No one knows who you are or recalls the race we had. Usually, news like the race would be across the world by now."

"Don't act all high and mighty just because you're King Kazma," Usagi said. "You should feel grateful that nobody remembers your defeat."

Kazma glared at her. "You know what I mean. Nobody remembers anything. It's as if it never happened, or their memories were erased or something."

Another digital puff came out of her mouth. "That's ridiculous."

"Actually, that's a pretty precise answer," Kei said.

"What?" Kazma said.

Usagi glared at the fox. "Shut up, Kei. That is strictly confidential."

"I don't really care about what she's talking about. I just want to know why everyone's forgotten."

Usagi crossed her arms again. "Well, I have no clue. I'm just security. I don't know anything about what they do in maintenance... at least, not anymore." Usagi stood frozen for a moment. King Kazma stared into her eyes. They were stoic to the point that they were frozen. Kazma waved a hand in front of her face. That wasn't a very affective move.

"Oh dear," Kei said. "She must be busy."

"Doing what?"

Suddenly, Usagi was put back in motion. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. I need to get back to work."

"What's going on?"

"That's confidential." Usagi took out her scythe once again. "You better get out of here. And don't come back." Her stern glare was now pointed at the fox. "Make sure he gets out of here and you go back to work." She took off in a flash.

"She can be a real hard-***, can't she?" Kei asked.

"Didn't you just tell me to watch my language?"

Kei just gave him a coy grin. "I think it's about time I go back to work. I'm sure you know your way out. Once I'm gone, you're on your own, so you better get out of here."

Kazma nodded curtly. "Thanks for your help, Kei."

"No prob. I hope I get the pleasure of meeting you again, King Kazma."

Kazma flew out of the restricted area before he did anything he would regret. As soon as he was gone, Kei disappeared.

O.O

The gentleman closed his laptop gently, a content smile on his face. These two characters were interesting. He was always enthralled by the renowned King Kazma, and then he discovered Usagi, the talented she-bunny, and the King claimed she challenged him a few days ago even though no else remembers. But he knew exactly what was going, and so did Usagi. He wondered what was in store for these two.

Meanwhile, a young woman walked into the room. "Sir, you have a meeting in the morning."

"Yes, yes, thank you, Kiko. You may go home, now."

The young woman bowed before leaving his office.

The young man took off his glasses and sighed. It had been a long day and he was up late again. He needed to break this nocturnal schedule. A white Shiba Inu sat in an ottoman at the side of the room. When her owner stood from his desk, her ears perked up and her tail wagged in anticipation. "Let's retire for the night, Kei." The dog barked before following the man out the door.

A week had passed since he last encounter with Usagi. No one ever mentioned anything about the race, and he almost forgot about it himself. Usagi was probably right; he should've been grateful that no one remembered his defeat, but he had an uncanny feeling about this. Even in defeat, King Kazma wasn't a sore loser. But that defeat did leave a big grudge. Usagi continued to ignore his messages, and since she wouldn't accept his challenge, he figured that match was just a one time thing. So he decided to let her work and proceed with his normal life on OZ.

However, everything didn't exactly return to normal. Kei still bothered him from time to time. Ever since their first encounter, the little vixen became attached to him. Even though she also worked for OZ, it seemed like most of her time was spent following the rabbit around to fighting events. Even when King Kazma wasn't roaming the world of OZ, Kei liked to talk to him, especially about Usagi, asking questions that were mostly about their relationship, even though they had none. Something about this Kei character just felt really unruly. Kazuma wasn't sure he should continue to see let alone talk to her anymore. What if Kei was really a pedophile or something? Then again, since when are pedophiles interested in other peoples' relationships? Kazuma tried not to think about that and just went along with hanging out with Kei. After all, communication is the number one resource in OZ.

And then there was Yuri.

Since she had to walk a far distance to get to the house, they agreed to meet three times a week. The first week was okay, besides the several interruptions from his mother. Kiyomi still liked teasing him about Yuri and egging him on to actually get to know her. It was awkward for Kazuma; this was probably the most difficult task he had in years. He never confronted anyone on their lives, their interests, anything for that matter. That wasn't to say he wasn't interested in Yuri, but she wasn't making this easy for him. The first week they'd been working together and Kazuma still barely knew anything about her besides the fact that she really needed new glasses and a new tire for her bike. Maybe starting this friendship thing was a hopeless effort.

But then came the day when Chi interfered.

"Kazuma, dear," Kiyomi said to her son. "I need to go to the market today, and I need someone to watch Chiyo for me."

Kazuma stopped eating his cereal. He knew where she was going with this. "Mom, no. Yuri's coming over today. We have to work, and we can't have any distractions."

"I know, I know. You've been working really hard these past few days, but Chiyo's been feeling left out." Kazuma almost rolled his eyes, but he didn't want to get chastised by his mother. Why would Chiyo feel left out? She was always in her little toddler world, oblivious of the harsh reality. Sure, she was clingy to him, but she could always find other ways to have fun. "I'd ask Uncle Mansuku or Aunt Mariko to watch her, but she only wants to be with her older brother."

Kazuma sighed. There was no point denying his mother. She would just make him do it anyway. And Kazuma knew Aunt Mariko and Uncle Mansuku couldn't handle a turbo toddler like Chiyo. "Fine. I'll watch her while we work."

"It's settled then! Chiyo's still asleep so make sure she gets something to eat." She kissed her son's cheek before running out the door.

As soon as he was done with his breakfast, Kazuma heard crying echoing through the hallway. Chiyo was awake. Kazuma put his bowl in the sink before attending to his sister. "I'm here. I'm here," he said as soon as he was in her room. The crying ceased when the baby girl heard her older brother's voice. She giggled and smiled a toothy smile when he leaned over the crib. "Mom went to the market," Kazuma told her, "so you're mine for the majority of the day."

"Kazmaaaa!" Chiyo waved her arms up at him. "Up! Up!"

Kazuma did so and then he blew a raspberry in her belly, causing her to be in a fit of giggles. He smiled in satisfaction. "Let's get you changed."

After Kazuma changed his sister, he began gathering her breakfast. As he did, he decided to lay down a few rules for Chiyo for when Yuri arrived. Since he was going to have to watch his sister while they did their homework, he wanted her to behave. Even though she was only two, she could still understand most of the things that came out of his mouth, but she usually did the opposite of what he said. And she usually made him look bad. He definitely didn't want to look bad in front of Yuri—not that he cared! But since she was a guest, he didn't want to leave a bad impression on her. And since she'd been coming to the manor, Yuri never had the chance to meet Chiyo. He didn't want her distracting them while they were working, so his mom usually kept her occupied and she nearly forgot that her older brother was missing most of the day.

"Okay, Chi," he said. He handed her a sippy cup filled with juice. "Someone's going to be coming over and helping me with my homework, so don't do anything distracting." He grabbed some baby food out of the fridge. "No grabbing things from the table or drooling on the table." He took out a scoop of rice from the rice cooker and started making rice balls. "Stay in your carrier and do not run off." He pointed a spoon at his sister. Chiyo burped and began laughing again. "I mean it, Chi. Don't. Running off is a no-no."

"No-no," she repeated.

"Good." He began spooning the pears into her mouth. "If only you listened to Mom and Dad."

Once he was done feeding his sister, Kazuma cleaned her off and began getting ready for Yuri's arrival. The white-haired girl usually arrived early in the day, probably for a head start because she had to walk so far to get to the Jinnouchi manor. At least she was getting exercise.

Kazuma went to welcome Yuri like he did everyday, Chiyo in one hand and her carrier in the other. As they waited, Chiyo quickly became bored. She began looking for something to entertain her when she saw Kazuma's hair. She clung to his red wife beater as she climbed up to his head and tried to pull his long ebony bangs. Once she got a strand, she yanked it mercilessly from his head. "Ow! Chi, stop it! No pulling my hair, either!" The toddler just laughed at her brother's pain.

"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Kazuma turned away from his sister to see Yuri smiling coyly at him. Her arms were crossed. He didn't even notice her approaching the house. "Kazuma with a baby. That's so adorable."

Kazuma frowned at her. "Shut up." Her smile just grew and a hand went to her cheek as she shook her head.

Chiyo watched this girl with interest. She'd never seen her around the house before and she didn't like how she was talking to her brother. She didn't like it when guests came to the Jinnouchi manor even though they rarely had any. When Yuri's gaze shifted to her, the little girl shied away into her brother's shoulder in an attempt to make this strange girl go away. However, this only seemed to attract Yuri's interest. She approached the girl and leaned forward. Chiyo looked back to see if she was still there. She quickly turned away when she saw her face.

"I'm guessing this little cutie is Chiyo." The little girl looked up again when she heard her name. Yuri gave her a generous smile. "Hi, Chiyo. I'm Yuri." She held out her hand for the little girl to take. Chiyo hesitated and looked up at her brother. He nodded her at, telling her Yuri was a friend. She took Yuri's pinky and they shook. Yuri took her pinky back and ruffled Chiyo's soft hair, making her giggle. "You're so cute, Chi. Can I call you Chi?"

"Chi! Chi!" the little girl cried.

"Chi it is, then."

Kazuma was shocked at how fast his little sister became accustomed to this stranger. Yuri wasn't a stranger to him anymore, but he was slowly becoming adjusted to this lying game they'd been playing. Chiyo was a different story. She never liked associating with strangers. Whenever someone knew entered their home, she'd try to hide away from them or cry whenever she was around them. But her reaction to Yuri was totally different. She didn't even cry. Yuri just took the natural approach and Chiyo quickly warmed up to the older girl. It was like magic.

Noticing that they were wasting precious studying time, Kazuma decided to interrupt this precious moment. "Come on."

Yuri ruffled Chiyo's head one more time before following the tan boy. When they were in the living room, Yuri noticed the rice balls lying on a platter on the table. "What's this?"

"It's a snack for us," he answered. "My mom's not here, so I have to watch my sister while we work."

"So you made snacks for us while she's gone."

Kazuma nodded before setting his sister down in her carrier. "Let's get started." Chiyo suddenly began to whine. "Oh no, Chiyo. Not now. We haven't even started yet." Kazuma picked up his sister. "What is it?"

"I don't think she wants to be ignored," Yuri said.

"Well, I can't work if she's in my lap. It's too distracting."

"Here, let me." Yuri held her arms out to take Chiyo from him. Kazuma reluctantly gave her away. Once the squirming girl was in her lap, Yuri ran her hand through her hair gingerly. Chiyo immediately calmed down and became her giggling self again. "There. Is that better?" Chi looked up at Yuri and smiled. "Now let's get started. What does the next problem say?"

As they worked, Kazuma had his eyes mostly on Yuri than on his homework. He watched in amazement as she interacted with Chiyo and did her homework blindly at the same time. Her work was neat and Chiyo was satisfied. For a quick moment, Yuri stopped to play with her hair again, which made Chiyo happier. When she became hungry, Yuri started sharing pieces of the rice ball she was snacking on with her. The toddler soon tired out from all the fun and fell asleep in her lap. Yuri gently picked up the girl and put her in her carrier. "Wow, she's a handful," she gasped out.

"Yeah. She's a ball of fire. But sometimes she can be a pain."

"Well, I think it's sweet that your sister loves you so much." Kazuma shrugged. "You love her, too."

"Of course I do." Nobody said anything after that. Without Chiyo's constant jabbering and squeals of excitement, it became as awkwardly quiet as it usually was. Kazuma suddenly missed the background noise. To break the silence, Kazuma cleared his throat and asked, "So, um, do you have any siblings?"

"No," Yuri immediately answered. "I'm an only child."

"Really? That actually sounds pretty cool."

"Trust me, you're really lucky to have Chiyo. It gets lonely being an only child."

"Are your parents real busy or something?"

Yuri scribbled down a few notes before answering, "My mom's a dancer, and my dad owns a dojo and teaches Shaolin Kung fu."

Kazuma's eyes lit up. "You're dad's a Shaolin Kung fu master?" That explained a lot.

"Yep. What's the next problem?"

"Oh, um, there's a chart." Yuri swore. "We can just skip that part. You can do it when you get your glasses fixed." Yuri didn't reply. "So, um, do you think I can, um, come see it?"

Yuri's head immediately flew up and met his eyes. "What?"

"Do you think I can visit the dojo sometime? I mean, is your dad busy or something?"

Yuri just stared at him with what seemed like shock. The tension in the room suddenly began to grow again and the only sound in the room heard was the soft snores coming from Chiyo.

Suddenly, Kiyomi came into the room and broke the tension. "Hey, you kids. How's it going?"

Yuri broke out of her stupor and turned to the older woman with a plastic smile. "It's going great!" she answered. Kazuma stared at her incredulously.

"I hope Chiyo didn't give you guys any trouble."

"She was an angel. She's the sweetest little girl."

Kiyomi smiled. "I'm glad you had fun." When she noticed her son wasn't saying anything, she turned to see him looking at Yuri in a daze. "Kazuma, what's wrong?"

"Huh?" He shook his head. "Oh, um, it's nothing." He looked away shyly.

Kiyomi's eyes blinked in confusion. "Alright… so are you guys taking a break?"

Yuri closed her book. "Actually, we're pretty much done here, so I think I'm just going to leave." She quickly packed up all of her things as fast as she could, practically stuffing everything in a disorganized fashion. "I'll see you… sometime this week. Bye." Yuri didn't bother to look at Kazuma as she sped out of the room.

Kiyomi looked at her son. "Does she know where the front entrance is?"

Kazuma sighed. He had no idea what had gotten into Yuri after he asked that question. Did he offend her by asking out of curiosity? He didn't know, and he doubted Yuri would tell him. In fact, he doubted he would see her at all this week.

Instead of answering his mom's question, he got up from his spot and left her, his sister, and his homework in the room to return to his own. He knew he shouldn't have tried this social thing. He was never any good at it.

Kei - respectful. She didn't really show any respect to King Kazma.

I know the no swearing angle is kind of lame, but OZ is also a kid friendly place. You never know who you're talking to on the Web.

Thanks to demonwolfkid and EX33 for your reviews. You guys are awesome!

R&R!