"Oh God!" Shizuka screamed as she quickly ran out of her room, throwing her blazer on. She hastily put in her socks and shoes before grabbing her bag. "I'm late! Hisashi you're driving me to school. Come on!"

"What?" A guy with a piece of toast in him mouth said. "Why do I have to drive you?"

"Because without my glasses I can't see anything and I don't have contacts that are the right prescription," Shizuka replied, dragging her brother down the apartment steps. "Plus you were the one who fiddled with the alarm anyways."

"Alright! Alright!" Hisashi begged as they reached the car. "God damn it woman, stop pulling on my ear! I get it!"

"You're also driving me home," Shizuka said in English as she stepped out of the car when they arrived at the academy. "I can't make it home if I'm blind.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," Hisashi waved his hand dismissively. "Call me at the end of the day when you want me to pick you up. And yes I'll make sure I'm not asleep when you do."

Shizuka made her way to the classroom, walking at a quick pace. She quickly turned scorned, failing to notice another student, and collided with them hard.

"Ouch," a female voice said. "Watch where you're going."

"I'm sorry!" Shizuka rubbed her head before dashing off again, not wanting to be late. "I'm almost there." Her watch said that she had two minutes to go. She panted as she grabbed on the handle and practically tore the door off the wall.

"Ookami Shizuka?"

"Here!" Shizuka exclaimed, looking absolutely exhausted and out of breath. "I'm here." She was given a strange look as she proceeded to sit at her assigned desk - which wasn't much of one at all.

"You're wearing your hair down today?" Minami asked when she saw Shizuka bush it out of her face."

"Yeah I didn't have time put it up this morning," Shizuka replied, rummaging through her pockets. She paused after a moment and then sighed, cursing under her breath. "Looks like I won't be wearing it up today. I left something to tie it back at home."

"You're not wearing your glasses today either?" Hideyoshi sat down beside her. "Are you wearing contacts?"

"Nope," Shizuka shook her head. "I don't have contacts and even if I did, I didn't have enough time this morning."

"So how did you get to school then? Yesterday you seemed like you could barely walk down the street."

"My brother drove me," Shizuka huffed. "He's actually the reason I'm late. He turned off my alarm."

"You have a brother? How old is he?"

"Twenty five," Shizuka replied. "He's not the brightest person for his age. I'm surprised he managed to live on his own in England for a while."

"Sounds like someone I know," Akihisa said, thinking about his sister.

"Excuse me," Shizuka said after she let out a loud sneeze. "I've been feeling a little strange recently. I don't think falling into the pool fully clothed helped very much."


"Wow Aki you actually have a decent lunch today," Minami looked over at his container. "Did you sister help you cook it?"

"She can barely cook!" Akihisa scoffed at Minami's suggestion. "She just makes sure I actually cook something decent for my lunch."

"And that you don't spend all of your money on video games," Yuuji added, earning a glare from his friend.

"You're not eating Shizuka?" Hideyoshi looked at her and noticed she was the only one who wasn't eating.

"I didn't have time this morning to make something for lunch. Don't worry I'm not that hungry," Shizuka smiled politely. Unfortunately her stomach decides to not go with her lie and let out a loud growl. Embarrassed, Shizuka scratched her head and laughed nervously.

"Well I could give you some of mine," Hideyoshi offered.

"Nah I couldn't do that," Shizuka refused out of politeness.

"I have an extra bento if you want it," Mizuki's offered Shizuka. The boys immediately reacted poorly to the statement, knowing how bad Mizuki's food was. They looked dreadfully at Shizuka to see what her response was.

"Why do you have a second one?" Shizuka asked suspiciously, noticing the faces the guys were making. They looked deathly afraid, like they had tried her good before and found it terrible.

"Oh I made this for everyone," Mizuki smiled, not noticing her friend's shiver at the thought. "But if you're hungry you can have it."

"I..." Shizuka was about to refuse but then realized that if she didn't eat it she would risk insulting Mizujki and then everyone else would have to. "Thank you Mizuki." Shizuka slowly took the box smiling, but inside she feared for her life.

Her friend's eagerly watched as she used her chopsticks to pick up one of the items. Shizuka then put it in her mouth and after a few minutes she swallowed.

"That wasn't too bad," Shizuka said, but her smile was short lived. She keeled over, and Akihisa caught her.

"Shizuka are you okay?" He asked.

"Can't breathe," Shizuka coughed, slipping out of his grip. Akihisa struggled to keep her from collapsing on the floor but failed when his grip slipped to her chest. He immediately let go to avoid getting beat by Minami.

Shizuka made no attempt to stand up, and rolled over so she was on her back. She pulled at her tie to get it loose and then undid her blazer. "Why is it so hot?" She wheezed, panting while her face was slightly red. Shizuka started to unbutton her collar and then one button on her blouse. She felt her head spinning, before she finally closed her eyes.

"Maybe I used too much spice," Mizuki said, but everyone knew it probably wasn't the case. It was hard to believe she was completely unaware of her horrible culinary skills.

"Shizuka? Shizuka!" Minami called the girl's name while she poked her. "You going to be okay? You're not dying on us are you?" Shizuka's only response was panting and wheezing.

"We have to get her to the nurse!" Akihisa exclaimed.

"Well we'd better hurry," Hideyoshi picked up Shizuka bridal style. "The sooner we get her there the better."

The nurse's office wasn't too far away. It was on the same floor, just down a separate wing of the school. When they arrived though they found that the lights were off.

The door wasn't unlocked, so they tucked her into one of the beds and left her to sleep.


"How is she doing?" Hideyoshi asked.

"She's fast asleep," the nurse said. It was the end of the day and the group decided to pay Shizuka a visit. "Though I was worried about how's she's going to leave. She shouldn't be walking in her condition.

"Well let's just take her home then," Akihisa suggested. "She said her brother was at home so we should be able to get in no problem."

"That's right," Minami agreed. "Let's go then. Where does she live?" Miami turned to the girl but she received only the sound of breathing.

"I've walked past by her house a few times. I know where she lives," Hideyoshi said, carefully picking up Shizuka. "It's about half an hour away."

"That looks really cute," Mizuki said, looking at Hideyoshi carry Shizuka in his back. Shizuka had a gentle expression, and rested her chin on his shoulder. "She looks adorable."


"This is it?" Akihisa asked as they stopped on the sidewalk. They arrived at a small two-story house, that seemed to have a small backyard too.

"Does Shizuka garden?" Minami asked as they walked up to the front door, noticing the flowerbed.

"I doubt it," Yuuji said as he knocked on the door. After a few moments they heard a rustling noise and then a click.

"Can I help you?" A young man from behind the door said, opening it. He had shaggy brown hair and some stubble on his chin. "Why is my sister on your back?"

"We're her friends," Minami explained. "She got sick and there's no school nurse at the moment so we brought her home."

The man gave Shizuka a glance before opening the door wider to let them in. He led them to the second floor, where there was a large open space with s table and two couches on either end of them. There were several doors, leading to various bedrooms.

He gestured for them to sit down and grabbed a few more chairs. Hideyoshi sat Shizuka up in the empty couch and then sat next to her. Shizuka made no effort to stay straight and leaned on him.

"I'm Ookami Hisashi," the man introduced, sitting on a stool. "Who are you?" He nodded as everyone introduced themselves and then sighed. He looked at Hideyoshi and smiled. "You her boyfriend?"

"What?" Hideyoshi exclaimed. "No! Why do you say that?"

"I'm sorry," Hisashi held back his laugh at Hideyoshi's reaction. "I just thought you were because Shizuka hates physical contact like that. Anyways, do you mind explaining how she got this way? She only seemed to have a cold this morning."

"She ate some food and then she suddenly collapsed," Hideyoshi explained. He felt a tug on his shirt and looked towards Shizuka. She had moved, and curled up against him.

"What was in the food?" Hisashi asked.

"I have the left overs right here," Mizuki pulled out the bento. Hisashi picked it up and sniffed the container.

"You used too many spices," Hisashi said. "But I doubt that was the cause. You may have just used an ingredient that was slightly off."

"Mngh," Shizuka moaned, catching everyone's attention. She moved and started to lean on his chest. Hideyoshi froze, having no idea what to do. He suddenly felt her put her entire weight on him, and he fell backwards.

He found himself lying on the couch, with Shizuka sleeping on top of him. She clutched his shirt tighter, and nuzzled her face deeper in his chest.

Hisashi let out an uncharacteristic snicker as he watched the scene play out. "Man what did you do to her to get her to act like that?" Cast a spell on her?"

Hideyoshi was going to retort but refrained when Shizuka started to nuzzle again. He was afraid to wake her up so Hideyoshi found himself in an awkward position. He couldn't get up without risking waking her up.

"Kouta!" He snapped in a quiet voice. "What are you doing? Don't take pictures of us."

"But I don't know when a scene like this will ever occur again," Kouta ignored the protest and took another picture.

"Oh that looks nice," Hisashi peered over Kouta's shoulder. "Send that to me will you?"

"You have to admit that's cute," Minami said. The entire situations was laughable.

"Hideyoshi..." Shizuka murmured, barely audible but her brother burst out laughing. Hideyoshi blushed, curious to know what she must have been thinking of.

He looked at Shizuka and after a moment her eyes fluttered open. She felt groggy, and couldn't register who was in front of her. When she did her eyes went wide and it looked like she was speechless, only able to blurt out stuttering.

"Did you have a nice nap?" Hisashi burst out laughing. "Hideyoshi-kun a nice pillow? I'm sure he didn't mind."

Shizuka went bright red, leaping off Hideyoshi and running to her room. "Did you have a nice dream about Hideyoshi-kun?" Hisashi called out after her as she slammed the door shut. He put emphasis on the suffix, making Hideyoshi blush, and Shizuka want to crawl in a hole and die. "Did it feel good to rest your head on his chest and have a strong man to take care of you?"

When he heard no response except a muffled murmur from behind the door he laughed. "Hey come on now," he said. "I'm only joking."

"I hate you so much," Shizuja said in English.

"Love you too," he rolled his eyes before turning back to the others who were awkwardly sitting. Hideyoshi was completely embarrassed, and everyone else was still processing what happened. "Now, who's hungry? I'm sure that you guys will want to talk to Shizuka when she decides to crawl out of her room."

Before any of them could answer a buzzing noise went off. Hisashi pulled the phone out of his pocket and answered. "Hello?" The group noticed his expression go from a cheerful one to very serious easily. "But what about? I think that... No I... Alright goodbye."


"Shizuka?" Minami knocked on the door. "Your brother made us dinner and some soup for you. Could you please come out?"

She heard a sigh from the other side, and then the door opened. Shizuka followed her down the stairs to the dining room. "You feeling better?" Hisashi asked. "Here's your soup."

Shizuka nodded and sat down at the table, not looking towards anyone and picked up her spoon. As she began sipping it the others started eating the meal he had made. Nobody dared to speak about what had happened earlier. "I'm surprised you cooked all this," Shizuka said.

"I'm not that incompetent you know," Hisashi sighed. "I might be a little lazy but that doesn't mean I can't cook."

"A little lazy? You can barely get out if bed! It's no wonder why you're still single."

"That's not true! I just was sleeping in because I had work off today," Hisashi protested. "I'll have you know the reason I'm single is because I chose to be!"

"Sure," Shizuka scoffed.

"Shizuka?" Hisashi's face suddenly went serious. It was the same look he had when he was talking on the phone.

"Mmmm?" Shizuka took another spoonful of her soup.

"Our parents called."

There was a pause before Shizuka replied. She put down her spoon. "And? What did. They say?"

"The usual." Her friends observed her reaction, and gathered that the usual wasn't good.

"Of course, Shizuka said in a tense tone."That's all they care about is it it?"

"Don't be like that," Hisashi was going to make some justification. "You know that they -"

"I get it," Shizuka interrupted in a loud, uncharacteristic voice. "Don't say what you're going to say. I'm sick of hearing it."

"Don't make a scene," Hisashi sighed.

"Then don't bring it up," Shizuka gathered everyone's plates and brought them to the kitchen to start cleaning.

"Sorry, I have to get back to work," Hisashi suddenly stood up from the table. "If you'll excuse me..." They watched as he walked up the stairs, and disappeared into one of the rooms.


"Can we help you with anything?" Hideyoshi asked. Shizuka pointed to the clean dishes which were drying. He grabbed a towel and started to dry the dishes so he could put them away.

"Did your brother talk about a sensitive subject?" Minami peered over at Shizuka. "I'm sorry if it was awkward with us around."

"It's fine," Shizuka said. There was another silence as she took the dishes and started to put them away. Hideyoshi passed her more as she placed them in the cabinet.

"We should get going soon," Yuuji looked at the clock on the wall. "It's getting late."