Saya: It's been a long time since I updated anything. It's cause of finals I'm studying for. Stupid Stats exam. Anyway, enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Mawaru Penguindrum. Wish I did though…

Love Goes Around and Around

After much resting, Shouma's fever dropped a little bit around three in the afternoon. Not enough to attend school, but to do chores around the house. His eyes strayed to the door, wondering if the redhead would return after that outburst of his.

The doorbell rang, and he went to answer it. Sliding the door open, he found–

"Tabuki-sensei!"

"Yo, Takakura-kun." His homeroom teacher smiled, waving his hand and holding papers in his other. Ringo popped up from behind.

"Shouma-kun! Hope you don't mind the intrusion," she said, entering the house. The two took off their shoes and went straight to the living room. Shouma went to the couch and laid on it, putting a new cold wrap on his forehead.

"I can't believe a good student like you got sick," said the purple-haired teacher. The patient let out a weak chuckle. "Anyway, don't fall behind in your studies. You're lucky I know since childhood."

Shouma thanked his teacher, receiving the paperwork. Ringo and Tabuki chatted as he listened to them. Occasionally, he stared at Ringo before going to his teacher. Slapping his cheek, he felt a little bit hot and announced that he need to sleep again. The two bid him goodbye and left him in peace.

The sick student leaned against the doorway. He couldn't believe Tabuki-sensei took the time to see him in his busy schedule.

When did it all begin for him…?

Flashback

During lunch, ten years ago.

At the playground.

Shouma's first meeting with Tabuki. An unknown feeling awakens…What was it called back then?

A young boy held his injured knee close to his chest. Little drops of blood ran down his leg. He held his tears back, so no one would make fun of him. Several kids hovered around him, wondering what they should do. They were only six years old.

"What happened here?" A concerned voice asked. The children made a path for a mysterious teacher to walk through. He crouched down and made eye-contact with Shouma. The blue-haired kid backed away a little, scared of the stranger.

"Don't worry. I'm a friend."

Shouma stared at him with weary eyes. When a gentle hand reached out and paused, the young child wondered what stopped the man.

"Is it all right to look at your injury?" The man asked. Shouma, through glassy eyes, noticed his the man's hair was purple. Glasses were placed on the bridge of his nose. His blue eyes showed that he really was worried.

Young Shouma pursed his lips and showed his injury. The mysterious teacher observed it before breaking out into a small smile.

"Let's get you patched up. My name is Takubi Keiju. What's your name?"

"Takakura Shouma."

Shouma stared at the ceiling fan go by in a daze. Ringo and Tabuki left an hour ago. His fever went down greatly. His mind commanded him to make dinner, but his body didn't move an inch. His eyes glanced at the clock. Himari and Kanba would be returning home any minute now. He willed himself off the couch.

Curry.

The blue-haired teen changed his clothes and decided to make curry. An easy and simple dish. He heard the door slide open. Himari and Kanba arrived, immediately taking their shoes off. The smells of curry invaded their noses. Shouma wondered where the redhead went off after their confrontation.

"It smells good." He said, sitting down at the table.

"Whatever Shouma makes is delicious!" Himari declared, making Shouma's heart flutter. Leave it to his little sister to rejuvenate his energy. The three chowed down on their curry dinners. Two smiles, a small one and a big one, appeared on their faces.

"See, it's good," said Himari, continuing to eat her dinner. Shouma smiled at her. Kanba thought it wasn't bad. When the dishes were put away and Himari retired to her room, the two males sat on the couch. The silence was killing them. They didn't know what to do at that point.

"I'm sorry."

Kanba stared at the blue-haired teen. Did he hear that right? His eyes locked with green eyes.

"I snapped at you earlier today. I'm just frustrated," he said. The redhead raised an eyebrow, but continued listening. "The easiest to say this is…I'm jealous of you. I shouldn't be, since you told me you had a hard life before coming to this house. I want to take back what I said. Can we start over?"

Kanba contemplated what choices he had in his hands. One, he could carry on with his cold and upfront attitude, making sure he didn't feel to close to them. Two, he can make amends and start over. But that'll get him hurt in the end when he leaves the house. With a sigh, he reached his decision.

"Call me aniki, and we're even."

Shouma's eyes bugged out of his sockets. "Eh?"

Kanba smirked. "And I want a bento for tomorrow."

"The hell?" Shouma cracked a smile. He stood up and went to kitchen to make lunches for tomorrow. Kanba felt something heavy lifted off his chest. Shaking the feeling off, the redhead grabbed the remote and watched nighttime t.v.

"Aniki!"

Shouma earned a groan from the sleeping redhead.

"It's time to get up!"

"Five minutes!" The blue-haired teen frowned, shaking his roommate.

"Kanba, I already gave you five minutes!"

Kanba woke up in a grumpy mood. It wasn't right for anyone to wake up at seven-thirty in the morning. It wasn't sane for any human. He looked at Shouma, who was already in his West Garden High uniform.

"All right, all right." The redhead got up and grabbed his uniform from the closet. While changing, he thought about last night. He asked Shouma to call him aniki. What made him say that? An impulse? He got away from his house to stop being the big brother. When Shouma called him that this morning, it was pleasant, something he didn't felt when he was with his biological family.

"Are you ready yet?" Shouma called from the kitchen. He walked downstairs and sat the table with Himari. For some reason, the girl was beaming with happiness. He wondered what made her so cheery in this ungodly hour.

"Both you and Sho-chan made up." She smiled at the redhead. "Now he calls you aniki. I'm glad you guys made up."

Kanba smirked as he leaned back. "Of course I'm the aniki."

"Oh, getting all that so early in the morning." Shouma said with his eyes closed, holding a tray of food. He turned around. "Guess I'll take this delicious food away."

"Hey!"

Shouma turned his head around and smiled. Kanba smirked as he playfully punched him in the arm. The blue-haired teen set the tray on the table. Another breakfast without the parents. However, Chiemi and Kenzan told them that they'd be home by tomorrow night. The Takakura siblings couldn't wait for their arrival.

"Himari-chan!"

"Ah!" Himari stood up and rant to the door. Her two friends smiled at her. "Hibari-chan! Hikari-chan!"

"Are you ready?" The pink-haired girl, Hibari, asked. Himari nodded, saying goodbye to her two brothers. The trio left the house, with Hibari and Hikari bombarding questions at the Takakura daughter.

"Who was the redhead?"

"A friend of Shouma's?"

"Do you think he's cute?"

Himari smiled, saying, "Kan-chan is Kan-chan. He's my brother. That's all."

Her best friends leaned their heads behind, looked at each other, and shrugged. The trio moved onto another conversation. With the two boys, they leisurely took their time going to school. Kanba went to buy some snacks on the way to the train station. Shouma left him to go ahead, due to morning duties.

Thud.

"Sorry!"

"Ah, Shouma-kun!"

The blue-haired teen looked up and saw Tabuki's face. He blushed as he stepped back.

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah." The high schooler said with a light blush.

"Make sure to take care of yourself more."

Shouma nodded.

"Are you free this weekend?"

The person in question stopped thinking and said, "What?"

"Ringo-chan wanted me to go bird-watching with her. I'm taking an old friend with me. Would you like to join us? It's been a while since we hung out," his sensei said with a small smile. How could the teen refuse?

"Sure, I'd like to go!"

"That's great to hear." Tabuki turned around and walked away. "See you on Sunday!"
Shouma watched his teacher vanish out of his sight. A tiny spark of happiness grew inside of him. He snapped out of it, pinching his cheeks, and headed for the school. He couldn't wait for Sunday. However, he was oblivious of Kanba's eyes aimed at him. The redhead held his plastic bag with his snacks in it loosely. His thoughts wandered around Shouma and that purple-haired homeroom teacher of theirs.

Kanba shook his head and muttered, "One year. Just one year."

Shouma was so happy when Sunday came along. He stopped himself from staring Tabuki-sensei longer than necessary. Ringo was her usual self, declaring that she was one step closer to her destiny aka to be Tabuki Kenju's wife. He laughed wholeheartedly at her antics.

The blue-haired teen ate leftovers for breakfast. He wore a light-blue and white plaid over a white T-shirt and navy blue jeans. Himari saw this, smiled, and poked at his arm.

"You going somewhere?"

"Yes," her older brother said with cheeriness, "and I'll probably be back by five or six. Will you be all right on your own?"

"I have Kan-chan."

"Yeah." The two looked to see Kanba on the staircase. "She has Kan-chan, Sho-chan." The blue-haired teen puffed his cheeks as the redhead smirked at his reaction. As he went to the kitchen, Shouma went to the door followed by his younger sister. She looked at him with a sullen expression when he was putting on his shoes. He stood up, adjusting his shoulder bag, and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Himari?"

Suddenly, his sister embraced him in a tight hug.

"Sho-chan, are you really okay? Being with Ta-chan?"

Flashback

Three years ago.

At the playground.

I was chasing Sho-chan when he ran from the house. I didn't knew why until I asked him why. Everything made sense afterwards…

"Sho-chan!"

Himari, eleven years old, called Shouma's name. She was panting and sweating from chasing her older brother. The sun was setting when the family was having dinner and he ran out of the house, making her tail after him. The cat-and-mouse game led to the park. A lone figure sat on one of the swings, kicking back and forth.

"Sho-chan," she said, standing in front of him. No words were exchanged between them. She studied the bandages and bruises on his face. Walking towards the empty swing, Himari sat on it and waited. Minutes of silence passed before Shouma spoke.

"Himari."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

Himari stared at him and said, "I promise."

Shouma became silent again. He tilted his head up and saw the starless sky. It felt empty to him. The words left his mouth.

"I'm…not straight."

Himari stared at her brother with no change in facial expression. Her eyes wandered to the ground, with parallel tracks under her feet.

"Those injuries…Is it because you like someone?"

"Yes."

"Who?"

"Ta-chan…"

"Himari?"

The young girl's memories were interrupted. She released her arms, and Shouma reached for the door. She waved her hand and told him to have a good trip with a smile. Shouma smiled back and left the house. Himari stared at the door for who knows how long. A finger lightly tapped on her shoulder.

"Hey, Himari?" It was Kanba. He resembled her father at that very moment. "You okay?" She was blank before saying what was on her mind.

"It's Sho-chan."

"What about him?"

The girl stared at her before smiling and walked past him. "It's a secret."

Shouma waited at the park's statue. Some birds waddled to the pond, while other birds flew in the air.

"Shouma-kun!"

"Hi Oginome-san," he greeted back. His friend was breating hard. Probably from running too much. She wore a black T-shirt, dark green jacket, and a white skirt with brown sandals. The first thing she asked?

"How come you're here?"

"Hah? Tabuki-san asked me."

Ringo glared at him and turned around. Her bad mood disappeared when she saw her purple-haired prince coming towards her. She cheered and waved her hand. Her thoughts wandered around the person next to him. Her bad mood came back, only multiplied by ten when she saw who it was.

It was a woman. A woman who was a friend of Tabuki. She wore a white hat, white sundress, light purple scarf, and sandals. Her long, blonde locks of hair curled around her face. Blue eyes looked at the two teens.

"Hi, Ringo-chan, Shouma-kun." Tabuki smiled at his two students. He motioned his hand to the woman next to him. "This is my longtime friend, Yuri. Hope you two get along with her."

Shouma couldn't help but feel plain compared to the woman. She was beautiful, fit to be at Tabuki's side, and he was not.

The young man walked next to Tabuki as they strolled on the cement path. The two women were in front of them, with Ringo sending him a few glares. It wasn't his fault that she wanted to keep the woman away from her future husband.

"It's been such a long time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"That I've been able to relax as a teacher."

"Ah, I see. Why didn't you stay as a kindergarten teacher?"

Tabuki stopped walking and tilted his head up to see the sky. A few clouds passed by his vision. Shouma stared at him in a daze, mesmerized by that thoughtful yet blank expression on his teacher's face.

"Hey!"

The two men saw Ringo waving her arms. She wanted them to catch up with her and Yuri. They began walking again.

"Your question earlier…"

"Yes?"

Tabuki smiled at Shouma kindly. "I'm afraid that's a secret. Why don't we enjoy lunch now?"

"Okay!"

Saya: Reviews are very much appreciated guys! Thank you again!