Author's Note: I do not own the sweetness of Yumeiro Patissiere. All rights go to the artist/author.

Second Author's Note: This chapter will be rather short. Sorry.

Return of Hyuga Sawako

Chapter Three: A Night To Remember

Written by HinakoNamikaze99

Intelligence, determination and uniqueness was everything Kashino liked in a girl. Liked, not loved, please.

It was everything Sawako was. He liked her sly grin, the way she chuckled at a joke, her limitless array of expressions. But she was a different person every second, which was the problem. He was sure she had mood issues, or at least had a bipolar personality, as what else was allowing her to become all innocent and gentle one moment, clumsy and uncaring the next moment, then a raging, sadistic dominatrix the next?

He found it rather interesting to guess what mood she was in, and push her buttons to see what reaction she would have. That was fun.

Then there was Amano Ichigo. Clumsy, friendly, innocent and naive. Her smile could brighten up his soul, no problem. The way her brown hair beautifully accented her untainted, clear skin and how her unnerving her gaze was made Kashino's heart race. She was his princess compared to Sawako, his mistress.

It was hard not to laugh at the thought of dark-haired, clear, blue-eyed Hyuga Sawako wearing a black, dominatrix outfit and stomping on a helpless, masochistic boy in her high heels. Hey, Kashino read his share of S&M manga too, dudes. He was still a hormone-crazed teenage boy like any other.

On to the story and ignoring the perverted side of Kashino's brain.

It was another, boring night in the kitchen, not a single Sweets Spirit in sight, the sound of metal clanging against each other audible across the room, the sweet scent of chocolate filling the cold atmosphere. Yet Kashino Makoto was beyond bored out of his gourd. Sunday evenings made him more worn-down than on other days. No reason.

Unconsciously, he held up his left hand and caught the shimmer of the tiny, expensive jewel dangling off a metal, interconnected loop that patterned across his wrist. He had never taken it off since the day Sawako left. He gently flicked the jewel and for a moment, time stopped. He lurched back in pain, feeling little memories rush into his head like blood as flashes and images clicked on and off his mind. Sawako's unusual-tasting Opera, Ichigo's terrible mille fuellie. Sawako's smile. Ichigo's smile. Their faces seemed so weird to him. Fazed out and blurry.

He hadn't realized how he would be without Ichigo or Sawako around. Over-focused, harsh, and probably intolerant. For short, a jerk.

He dropped the knife into the basin and carelessly threw the pan of steaming hot chocolate over the floor, its contents spilling everywhere. Cursing creatively, Kashino got down to his knees and busily fumbled around for some imaginary mop to appear.

An outstretched, slim arm stopped him, clutching a soft-blue handkerchief . It only took one glance for him to notice the shimmering metal loops intersecting one another up the person's elbow. Little, tiny yet beautiful charms twinkled under the fluorescent light. He could already guess who.

"What do you want, Hyuga?"

Mockingly offended by his tone, Sawako pouted and snatched away the piece of cloth, "Is that the way you talk to your friend?"

"Alright, truce, truce," Kashino sighed, accepting the 'peace treaty' item and started scrubbing away, feeling a hell lot like Cinderella.

Watchful eyes traced his every action, every blink, every breath like a hawk. He could feel her eyes grazing over his well-hidden bracelet. Then he noticed it. What actually brought him a tiny bit of horror and surprise at the same time.

Tomboyish, I-don't-give-a-damn-what-you-think Hyuga Sawako, was wearing a dress. And said dress came up two fingers above her knees, was sleeveless, and - ugh - PINK. PINK! And PINK bunny slippers to match! Everyone knew pink went horrible with blue eyes! (Author's Note: Probably not a true fact)

"What the hell are you wearing?" Kashino blurted in horror.

Sawako delicately picked the fabric of her dress and cringed, "Last year Henri replaced all my favorite jumpers with designer stuff."

"You could've just said no," Kashino retorted halfheartedly, his eyes scanning her nonexistent curves and chest with unhealthy curiosity. Just as flat as Amano...wait...WHAT THE HECK AM I THINKING! Inner Perv Kashino screamed.

She looked down and habitually twirled a lock of her dark hair nervously, "I didn't want to hurt his feelings. He did spend a lot of effort buying them."

Kashino looked away, his whole face turning black with anger at the thought that that 'French dude' was literally charming every single girl he was 'interested' in. First Amano, then Hyuga. Though if Hyuga went for him it could probably lead to a shitload of incest. No, bad idea. Even though they weren't related, it was still sicker than Ichigo x Henri (Author's Note: I have no grudge against incest. Please forgive me on this one).

After five minutes of scrubbing, Sawako decided to help out and dropped on her knees, cleaning away the liquid stuck in the cracks, doing her best to avoid eye contact with the boy beside her.

"So how did it go at the Cake Grand Prix at Paris?"

"I can't tell you that, it's cheating," Sawako replied.

"Then you won't mind if I ask what kind of stuff did you do with Yurai-senpai?"

Sawako practically squeezed the life out of her napkin and her cheeks immediately turned into a red-hot colored blush that made her whole face look like a tomato.

"BAKA!" she yelled as she whacked the dirty napkin over his head.

Realizing what she had done, she gasped in shock at the masterpiece she had done on Kashino's pretty blonde head.

After ten seconds of pure silence, Kashino sighed, "You just HAD to hit my head."

Ten seconds after that, Sawako choked and spat on his face.

It took him half-an-hour to wash out the murky brown stuff out of his hair, and even after that, there was still a tinge of permanent darkening in his scalp. Well, he was going to have them one way or another so...

"Are you ready?" Sawako whispered unnecessarily outside the boys' lavatory near the kitchen, peeking around, hoping to find something comical she could joke about.

Kashino looked up from the sink and asked, "Ready for what?"

Sawako's cheeks inflamed a pretty crimson color at the sight of Kashino Makoto, practically topless, in front of a mirror with his blond hair dripping wet and hanging delicately over his eyes. There was always something irresistible about guys who had their hair wet...bad-boy complex going on again? And wow, he did look pretty damn good, wet or dry.

"Put on a shirt, please," Sawako muttered, looking away before Kashino saw how red she looked.

"You didn't answer the question, where are we going?" Kashino asked aloud, wary that it was nearly past curfew as he slipped on a bright green sweater, constantly glancing at the mirror in case his darkened hair was visible.

Sawako grinned and chuckled, "You don't remember that place?"

Raising a knowing eyebrow, Kashino smirked and said, "Oh, that place."

"Oh, wow."

The evening sky bloomed with tiny bright constellations, the soft air slowly caressing the trees, making it look as if they were dancing. This fascinated Sawako, who had always found the night so much livelier unlike the day, where everything moved so fast that it was hard to notice nature responding around them.

"Careful." Sawako gave a half-shriek as she slipped on her bunny slipper and would have nearly fell if Kashino hadn't caught her wrist on time. Her heart pounded at the darkness below her, and the fact that they were on the roof.

"I didn't remember it being this high," she panted, her knees shaking as she tugged the boy's wrist. She felt like this wasn't a good idea anymore, and she felt the wind getting harsher as her fear grew.

Kashino slowly turned towards her, grabbing her shoulders for support. "Calm down," he assured with his steady voice, and squeezed her arm that was shaking, "you've done this a thousand times. On the trees, on balconies. Just calm down." His words brought Sawako back to her senses and she stopped trembling, her iron grip on the blonde's hand and stared across the school.

It was really lovely. The wind became gentler, and her drumming heartbeat slowed down as soon as Kashino got her to sit down. He latched his arm around her waist to prevent her from falling, and she felt safe. Safer than she had ever been. She breathed in the crisp cool air and rested her head against his shoulder, staring at the scenery.

The school really was beautiful in the night, the lights looked like stars, and it made it look so inviting, like a kingdom welcoming its rulers. With me as the queen and the king...her train of thought stopped and she forced herself not to think the inevitable. Haiku was her boyfriend. Yet why was she leaning on this blonde boy's shoulder as if they were lovers?

Then she caught him staring at her incredulously, and she quickly scooched to the other side, in fear that he didn't like her head resting on his shoulder.

She looked down and muttered, "Sorry." She could feel her whole face turning hot. Thank God it was nighttime...

"It's fine," Kashino sighed, but he looked away, a faraway gaze on his face. She then realized he was staring at the school. Its welcoming doorways and dorm rooms.

"What will you do after we graduate?" he asked, looking solemn.

She perked up, not used to being asked this question, she tilted her head and asked, "Why?"

"I was thinking...maybe we can run a shop...with Amano and the rest of course!" he added quickly.

"Hm..." she murmured, "what kind of shop?"

"A sweets shop. Chocolate, sugar sculptures, Japanese-Western sweets, anything our hearts desire, we'll be famous and then..." Kashino continued, smiling little by little as he spoke of the dream, adding a little bit of Paris and winning the Cake Grand Prix into the mix. Sawako watched him with lingering affection, the way he spoke with absolute faith and confidence, the way his eyes sparkled at the mention of getting to Paris, it made her a little melancholy at the thought that she might have to go back to Ex Group B again and join the business they promised to invite her to.

She really liked Team B, and those two years in Paris weren't meaningless. But it was fun to be back with Andou, Hanabusa and Kashino...

"I really like you, Sawa-chan!"

Sawako returned back to reality at that memory. It was the day that Haiku confessed to her. He looked so earnest, so caring, so headstrong...she shook her head, no, it would just be wrong to abandon Haiku. Yet she felt a pang of guilt at the thought that Kashino's dream would not come true.

Well, it's not as me being there would make any difference, she thought, as she carefully stood up, balancing herself with her outstretched arms as she looked down on Kashino, smiling, a fake one.

"It's past curfew, we should go."

Kashino looked bewildered as she grabbed his hand and slowly led him towards the safety of the solid floors. She felt regret feeding off her as she stepped over the railings, Kashino landing safely behind her. She smiled again, punched him on the shoulder and chuckled, "Good night!" all the time, avoiding eye contact.

She wanted to leave, she didn't want to see his face, and her whole body shivered as she willed her legs to move. Before she could turn her back on him, he grabbed her, spun her around and wrapped his hands around her. She squeaked at the intense body heat between the two of them. She could hear his heavy breathing, his trembling body, and his warm chest that always seemed to support her. He was...she had to admit, very comforting.

"You know," he said, caressing her hair as he rested his forehead on hers, "if you want to cry, cry on me. If anyone hurts you, I'll be there to defend you. If you need me, I'll never leave you." His words pierced her as she couldn't help gazing at the hazel eyes of Kashino Makoto.

His eyes looked so lonely that Sawako felt her heart race, aching at the sight at how alone this person really was. She couldn't stand it...she couldn't stand how Kashino was defending himself against his loneliness...

"Please," she croaked, tears welling up in her eyes, "please...don't look at me with those eyes..."

She felt something brush against her forehead as she fell into his arms, her tears rolling down her cheeks as she cried like a child again, clutching onto the person she trusted the most. Kashino Makoto...

Author's Note: I know this is pretty short. A little romance in this one! Instantly got inspiration from Vampire Knight! 3 I hoped you like it! Sorry! I swear I will get back to the storyline in the next chapter!

Toodles!

HinakoNamikaze99