A/N: I was just on a role when I got back into writing this and strucck with inspiration. That is why new chapter is so close to last new chapter. I don't think you guys would complain about that, though...

It was Sunday, the weekend. Chizuru had decided to go to the mall with her friend, Sen.

When they saw each other, they immediately hugged and made squealing girl sounds.

"Chizuru-chan! How are you?" Sen asked. "Are you sure you're okay at that school full of just boys? If you want, I can help you transfer to my school..."

"O'Sen-chan...Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine. Kaoru-kun and Heisuke-kun are at that school, so I really can't imagine going anywhere else."

A small smile came to the other girl's face. "You three have been in the same class since grade school, haven't you? I'm jealous."

Chizuru laughed. "We grew up together. Though Kaoru-kun is in a different classroom than Heisuke-kun and I..."

"Hmm...Say, Chizuru-chan, are there any cool guys in that school?" Sen asked.

"Eh? Cool guys? Well...it is all boys besides for me, so of course."

"Ah, not like that, silly! I mean, are any of them potential boyfriend material?"

Chizuru blushed slightly. "Th-that's...that isn't...I haven't thought much about dating any of the boys in my school..."

"I see...Well, I'm sure that at least a few of them must have given thought to dating you."

"I-I'm sure that hasn't happened, O'Sen-chan!" the blushing girl denied, shaking her head.

Suddenly, there was an arm around Chizuru. "How can you be so sure, Chizuru-chan?" asked a dreadfully familiar voice.

"Okita-senpai...how did you even find me?" she asked with a small sigh.

"I know everything," he replied.

"I thought that only applied for things in school?"

"Nope. It applies for all things concerning Chizuru-chan," he said.

Suddenly, Okita was on the ground, clutching his head. Standing next to him, was Saito who was holding what appeared to be a very, very heavy bag.

"I'm afraid the level of your shamelessness caused my hand to slip in shock. I apologize, Souji."

Okita just chuckled and stood back up. "That was mean, Hajime-kun!" he said in a slightly whining tone.

"Ah! Saito-senpai! You're here as well?" Chizuru asked, bowing in greeting. She hadn't talked to him much, but he didn't seem like the talkitive type either.

"We came together," Okita told her.

"So, Chizuru-chan, these are your schoolmates?" Sen, who had just gotten over the strangeness of the situation asked.

"Oh, yes! O'Sen-chan, this is Okita-senpai and Saito-senpai. And to my senpai, this is O'Sen-chan, a friend I met at summer camp."

"So, Chizuru-chan does have a nice girl friend, then?" Okita asked. "That's nice, I guess."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Sen said.

Saito nodded politely at her. "The same to you."

Sen looked right at Okita and said, "Please take good care of Chizuru-chan, then."

"E-eh?" Chizuru asked. "O-O'Sen-chan! H-he's not..."

The young man in question quirked an eyebrow slightly but then put his arms around Chizuru to hold her from behind. "I'll take very good care of her. No need to worry."

"E-eh? Eh?" Chizuru was now blushing brightly. "I-it's not like that! Okita-senpai! You keep making people misunderstand our relationship!"

"Ne? Then, does Chizuru-chan dislike me?" he asked.

"N-not that I don't like you, but...I'm not prepared to be in a realtionship with someone like senpai..."

"Someone like me...? That hurts you know, Chizuru-chan..."

"N-not like that, either! I only meant that it's..." she was a crimson color by now and just hoping no one she knew would see them.

THUMP! WHAM! THUD!

Sen kicked Okita in the back of the head at the same time Saito hit him with the book again, causing him to fall rather hard onto the floor.

"I see I misunderstood the situation. I apologize to you, Chizuru-chan," Sen said.

"I-it's fine...I-is he all right though?"

"A wise man once said that killing Souji would take a neuclear bomb," Saito told her calmly.

What wise man was that? both girls wondered.

"Ow..." said the fallen man, confirming that he was alive.

Chizuru's attention was actually in another place. There was a familliar looking man at the food court not far away.

"Is that...Harada-sensei?" she asked.

Saito glanced in the direction she was looking. "It would appear so..."

Okita was suddenly on his feet. "I love seeing teachers out of school...It's kinda like watching a dog walk on it's hind legs."

"Harada-sensei!" Chizuru called, going over to say hello.

"That's not how teacher-watching works..." Okita sighed but watched her go.

"You make a habit of it?" Sen asked.

"I also take and sell pictures."

"You are a strange man."

"I pride myself in it."

Harada had looked up and saw the female student of his coming over.

"Ah, Chizuru, hello."

"Hello, sensei. How are you?"

"Ah. I'm fine. You don't need to be formal with me. We're not in school, after all."

"Oh. Yes. That's true, I guess..." She wondered though if it was okay to be familiar with a teacher even on days off.

"Would you like some chicken?" he asked, offering her some of the barbequed chicken wings he had.

"Oh, no. I'm fine. Thank you, though."

"Come on. There's five pounds of meat here. I can't eat it all. Tell the other's they're welcome to come over and have some, also."

"Th-then...yes." She turned and motioned for Sen, Okita, and Saito to come over.

After introducing Harada and Sen to each other, they all sat down and induldged themselves in the teacher's generosity with his food, while they talked.

"So, what made you get into teaching, Harada-san?" Sen asked.

"Eh? Well...mostly the job security and benefits...Not that I don't enjoy teaching. I do like it now that I've tried it. I just hate the fact that I have to wear a tie for work and people talk to me formally. It makes me feel so old." He laughed a bit.

"But...Harada-sensei looks quite young, even so," Chizuru said. "I don't think there's a single person who could fairly call you an old man."

He quirked a smile at that and reached over to pat her on the head. "If I were four or five years younger, I'd want you all to myself, you know?" he said jokingly.

She blinked. "Eh?"

Then they were quickly off on another topic, until they parted ways and Chizuru headed home.

When she was about to go in her front door, she heard someone call her name and looked to see Heisuke waving at her from outside his bedroom window in the house next door.

She smiled and waved back. "Good evening, Heisuke-kun. How was your day off?"

"Relaxing, I guess," he said with a small shrug. "Hey, wanna go to that place tonight?"

"Eh? Really? We haven't been there in years! Is it even still there?" she asked.

"Yeah. I checked earlier. It's still where it was the last time we went. You wanna go?"

"The same way we used to?"

"Of course. How else?"

"Well, we could go before curfew for a change, you know?" she told him, a bit more worried about breaking rules than she had been as a child.

"But that takes the fun out of it!" he insisted. "If we're going there, we need to do it right!"

"I guess...Yes." She nodded and smiled. "It's not the same if we go any other way. Tonight at ten o'clock?"

"Maybe eleven. I wanna make sure my mom's asleep first, y'know?"

"Okay. Eleven then."

They looked at each other and giggled like naughty children. Chizuru was definitely looking forward to that night.

A/N: Yeah. Ending here for now. I'll probably update really soon, but I need sleep at the moment. Next chapter will reveal where they're going. Be sure to leave a review, please.