Chapter 4

"What about class 2-B, then? They haven't given me any indication as to what they want to do," Kaori muttered, as she looked at her list. She glanced around at the Student Council members, as they sat in a circular form for their weekly meeting. "Hideki-kun, can you please get in touch with their class rep and tell them they have to get back to me by Thursday?"

Hideki, who was sitting across from her, nodded. "Hai, I'll do that."

"Arigato. All right, I think that's it. We'll meet again on Thursday. Is there anything anyone else wants to discuss?"

A girl from across the table raised her hand. "Kaichou, I wanted to ask about the status of the posters that we sent for printing? We've cleared the space to put them up."

Kaori checked her file. "Ano… yes! Those will be here by tomorrow. Thank you for reminding me. Can you come meet me during the break to take them from me, Ayaka-san?"

The girl nodded. "Of course!"

"All right. Meeting dismissed. Thursday everyone, I'll send out a reminder. Well done." Kaori stood up, as the rest of the student council members started filing out. Kaori smiled at them, while gathering up the files and loose papers on her desk. She was just about to stack them into a pile when she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around and came face to face with Sousuke.

"Well, well. Kaichou in action. To think that two years ago, you couldn't even look strangers in the eye to speak to them, and now you're ordering them around with perfect ease."

Kaori flushed. "Sousuke-kun! What are you doing here, how did you get in?"

"Your schoolmates can walk in and out of the Samezuka pool as they please but I can't wait outside a student council meeting?" Sousuke asked with a raised eyebrow. He took the stack of files from her hands, waiting as she slung her bag over her shoulder. "I came to apologize."

Kaori blinked. "Apologize?"

"I was rude to you at the Iwatobi swim club," Sousuke replied. He sighed and frowned. "I guess I just don't like hearing the truth sometimes. I don't mind lying to make myself and others feel better. I shouldn't have tried to pull it off with you."

Kaori shook her head. "I shouldn't have accused you of anything either. Let's forget it."

Sousuke nodded, as the two of them quietly walked out of the Student Council room. Kaori glanced at Sousuke; he was carrying her files casually in one arm as he towered over her. She still couldn't believe how much he'd grown in the past two years. He'd become quieter, more serious. Kaori noticed that he barely smiled anymore. She smiled and lightly bumped her shoulder against his. "So, tell me more about how you got scouted. Your parents must be so happy. When did it happen?"

Sousuke forced a smile. "Uh, at the end of second year. To be honest, I don't really want to talk about it. It's all I've been dealing with for a while. Tell me more about how things have been in Iwatobi. How's Student Council work?"

Kaori blinked at his insistence on changing the topic. It was odd. She thought Sousuke would be more excited to tell her about getting scouted for one of the top universities. She looked up at his serious face for a moment. "Oh. Eto… it's not bad. It's a nice way to get to know new people, although it's a lot of work. Our cultural festival is coming soon. Will you come by?"

Sousuke nodded. "Of course, if you want me to."

Kaori grinned. "Great! I'll show you around, and there'll be a lot of great food! Iwatobi's cultural festivals are really famous! I just hope this year's is up to standard considering I'm mostly responsible for everything that happens…"

"You'll do great," Sousuke promised her, his teal eyes turning to look at Kaori softly. "You always do."

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"Forms are here. Where's the signed permission slip to use the auditorium?" Kaori demanded, as she hurried down the corridor. Two student council members were following her, both looked equally frazzled. The cultural festival was that day, and they were all at their wits' end. Kaori whirled around. "Hideki, you did get the permission slip signed?"

Hideki blinked at her. "I thought Mika-san was supposed to do it…"

Kaori's eyes flashed. "Get it signed. Now."

Hideki nodded numbly and hurried off in the opposite direction. Kaori turned to look at the other student council member standing behind her. "All right. Aya-san, I need you to go to Kobayashi-sensei and stall for time while Hideki-kun gets the permission slip. I have to go make sure there isn't going to be any delay in starting the first event."

Kaori sighed and hurried down the hallway, pushing her glasses up on her nose. It was barely 10 am and she was already feeling exhausted. She ran out onto the field, where she luckily saw that the events for the races were all ready. At least some of the Student Council members were efficient. "Is everything okay here?" she called out to the Student Council Member who was setting up the sound system for the announcements.

The student looked up. "Hai, Kaichou! We're fine here! But the people at the food stalls were looking for you earlier, I think there was some problem with napkins…"

Damn. "I'll take care of it!" Kaori promised, pulling out her phone to make a few calls to the storeroom. She had to make sure that napkins were sent to the foodstalls area in time. Once she was certain that they were on their way, she paused near the front gates. People were already starting to arrive; some of them were students of Iwatobi, but there were guests as well. Kaori paused and gave a few people polite smiles. She noticed the Swim Club group coming in, all of them dressed in swimsuits.

"Kaori-senpai!" Kou greeted her happily, skipping over. The rest of the boys followed, greeting Kaori as well. "Wow, the cultural festival looks so great! You must have worked so hard to set all of this up!'

Kaori smiled. Despite how exhausted she was, it was still nice to hear praise. After all, she'd been working for this for weeks. "Arigatou, Kou-chan," she said gratefully. "I hope you guys have a good time. Weren't you registered for the relay race today?"

Makoto nodded. "Hai. We were hoping that it might help increase our club's popularity."

"Well…" Kaori glanced at her watch. "It starts in two minutes."

"Oh no!" Kou's eyes widened and she began sprinting towards the field. "Wish us luck, Kaori-senpai!"

Kaori grinned as she watched the small red-headed girl run as fast as she could, the four boys in swimsuits trying to keep up with her. Well. At least they were getting some warming up done. She waited quietly as they disappeared into the distance. She was about to pull out her phone when she saw another familiar figure entering the front gates of the school. Her eyes widened and she grinned, waving at Sousuke eagerly.

"Sousuke-kun!" Kaori called out. Sousuke made eye contact with her and raised a hand to signal that he'd seen her. He approached slowly, his hands in the pockets of his tracksuit pants. As he came closer, Kaori noticed that his hair was slightly damp. "Did you just come from swim practice?" she asked him.

Sousuke nodded, running a hand over his short, dark hair. "Hai. I had to convince Rin to let me leave early."

"Really? I thought he would want to come himself. Kou-chan's been working pretty hard for the swim club's events. Anyway, I'm really glad you came," Kaori replied with a smile. "Do you remember the cultural festival in our first year of middle school?"

Sousuke chuckled. "Hai, I remember it. Our class put on some play, right? They made you and Kisumi-kun play the talking flowers because you had pink hair. I remember you were waddling around in a green outfit with huge leaves stuck to your arms. You looked hilarious."

Kaori flushed as Sousuke lightly patted her head. His fingers gently stroked her sakura-colored locks, pushing a strand behind her ear. She felt her skin tingle wherever his large hand brushed against it. "Oi. Baka, shut up. It was really difficult. They made me take off my glasses so I could barely see where I was going." Kaori smiled up at him, teasingly. "You're making fun of me now, but you were sweet enough tp hold my hand and lead me around everywhere all day."

Sousuke rolled his eyes. "Well, you were banging into everything-"

"Hai, hai. You can act as cold and indifferent as you want. I know that you're a softie on the inside. Inside that hard shell is a big, cuddly teddy bear." Kaori poked her finger into his chest and almost instantly winced in pain. What was he made of, steel? "Ow-ow!"

"Teddy bear, hmm?" Sousuke asked lightly. He grasped her hand and stroked his thumb over her index finger. Then he gently brought her hand up to his lips and kissed her finger. Kaori's eyes widened and her face flushed brilliantly as Sousuke dropped her hand. "Better?"

"Y-yes."

"Well, come on then. Show me around your school."

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Sousuke was surprised as he walked around the cultural festival with Kaori, to see that she spoke to almost every single person that crossed their path. He remembered her as the shy, nervous girl that would have been completely invisible. Yet now, everybody seemed to know Kaori by name, and she spoke to them all with cheerfulness and ease.

"Ohayou, Hikari-san!" Kaori greeted the girl who was standing at the ice cream stall. The girl smiled and straightened up at the sight of her Student Council President. Kaori glanced at the menu. "Wow, so you managed to get the strawberry flavor after all, eh? I'm glad! I hope the vendor didn't give you much trouble."

Hikari shook her head quickly. "No, no, he was much more co-operative after you spoke to him, Kaori-senpai! Will you have some ice cream?"

Kaori turned and glanced at Sousuke questioningly. He looked slightly amused and shrugged. He was supposed to be maintaining a diet, but he figured that he could break it just one time. "Sure, a little couldn't hurt. I'll have a small chocolate cup," he replied. Kaori ordered a vanilla and Sousuke dug into his wallet for the necessary change. When he offered it to the girl, though, she shook her head and refused.

"Oh-that's okay, senpai!" Hikari replied quickly. "Kaori-senpai was the one who helped us get all the things arranged from the stall, it's the least we can do for her and her guest! I hope you have a nice time at our festival!"

Sousuke blinked and pocketed his money as Kaori thanked the girl. They began to walk further down the lawns, both holding their cups of ice cream. Kaori suggested that they sit down on a patch of grass and they sat down in the shade. Kaori hummed as she licked her ice cream. "Mmm. This is so sweet. It was nice of Hikari to give it to us for free, right?"

Sousuke smiled. "Hmm."

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing," Sousuke replied quietly. He watched as she nervously pushed her glasses up her nose, frowning slightly at him. He ate a spoonful or his own ice cream. "You've just changed a lot, Kaori-chan. You would never have been able to speak to all these people a few years ago. You would have been too shy to even go up to one of the stalls and buy ice cream."

Kaori looked up at him and bit her lip. "You were the one who helped me break out of my shell."

"Really?"

"Hmm. I never would have gained the confidence to go up and speak to people if it wasn't for you. Even when I was running for class president in middle school- I was so nervous that I was about to drop out of the election the night before, do you remember? But you made sure I stuck through with it."

Sousuke laughed. "Well, I couldn't let you drop out after all the effort I put in!"

"Effort?"

"Well… I don't know if I should tell you this." Sousuke rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. Kaori blinked at the sight of his broad, firm shoulders before forcing herself to look back into his eyes. "But I was really worried that you might lose. After all, I was the one who'd convinced you that you were sure to win. I didn't want to be responsible for making you upset. So I intimidated a few of the guys from our class and made sure that they would vote for you."

Kaori's mouth dropped open. "What?"

Sousuke flinched slightly. "I'm sorry! Please don't get mad!"

Kaori put her ice cream down on the grass and glared at him. "Baka! I can't believe it! You rigged my first class election!" she wailed, leaning over and hitting him on the arm and shoulder. Sousuke laughed as her fists pounded lightly on his shoulder and upper arm. He leaned back on the grass as Kaori attempted to hit him in vain. Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his shoulder and he winced, clutching his arm. Kaori's eyes widened and she quickly pulled away from him. "Sousuke-kun? Are you okay? Gomen, I didn't mean to really hurt you!"

Sousuke forced a grin as the pain slowly subsided. He raised an eyebrow. "Just kidding. But it made you stop hitting me, didn't it?" he teased, playing it off as a prank. Kaori's eyes widened again.

"Baka. I hate you." She picked up her ice cream and shoved another spoonful into her mouth with a pout on her face. Sousuke watched, wondering how she could be do adorable. He felt the urge to lean over and kiss her on the lips, taste the ice cream that she was angrily shoving into her mouth. Before he could move though, Kaori glanced up at him. "Arigatou," she mumbled.

"Hm?"

"Thank you. For rigging the election. It's a little disappointing to know that I didn't win it myself, but… it gave me the confidence I needed to get here, so I suppose it was all right." Kaori gave him a weak smile. "But don't ever lie to me again, okay?"

Sousuke nodded silently. Before he could say anything, though, a pair of girls came up to them, calling Kaori's name. He frowned. While he was glad that Kaori had become more social and gained confidence, the constant buzz of people wanting to talk to her was getting annoying. He had hoped to spend time at the festival with just her.

"Kaori-san! I'm glad to see you, did you watch the relay race?" one of the girls asked eagerly.

Kaori looked up at the girls and shook her head. "Oh-no! Gomen, I missed it. Who won?"

"The Swim Club." Sousuke was silent as the girls turned to stare at him openly. He'd gotten used to it by now. Every single person that came to talk to Kaori had given him an odd look. Some had openly asked who he was, others had simply looked curious and kept quiet. These girls belonged to the former group. "Kaori-san, is this your boyfriend? Wow, I didn't know you had a boyfriend! Which school is he from?"

Sousuke resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Did they not see that he was sitting right there? Even Kaori seemed a little embarrassed at their lack of manners but she smiled at them politely. "Uh, no, this is Sousuke-kun. He goes to Samezuka Academy, but he's not my-"

"Sugoi! You're dating a boy from Samezuka!" one of the girls turned to look at him in awe. "Are you on their swim club? I hear it's very famous! You must be so rich to go to a private school!"

Sousuke raised an eyebrow. These girls literally had no manners. He frowned and wondered if he should just play along and embarrass Kaori a little bit. He smiled kindly at them. "Hai, I just started at Samezuka recently. I was in Tokyo before that, at one of the swimming academies."

The girls looked surprised. "Tokyo! Wow! Then why did you come back to Iwatobi?"

Sousuke turned and glanced at Kaori, giving her a charming smile. She flushed deeply. "I missed Kaori-chan too much to stay there. I decided to return to Iwatobi so I could spend my last year of high school with her."

"Kawaii! That's so romantic! Kaori-san, your boyfriend is so sweet, you're so lucky!" the girls gushed. Kaori was sitting silently, her face a deep red color as she glared at Sousuke. He, on the other hand, seemed to be enjoying himself. He was smiling smugly as the two girls commented on how cute they looked together. Sousuke casually put an arm around Kaori's shoulder and pulled her into his side.

"How long have you two been dating?" one of the girls asked eagerly.

Sousuke smiled and looked down at the embarrassed Kaori, who was pressed into his side and avoiding his gaze. "Well, I confessed to Kaori-chan at the end of middle school, just before I left for Tokyo. She promised she would wait for me until I came back, and she did."

"Ehh?" the girls squealed. "Sugoi! Kaori-san, you never told us that you had a boyfriend in Tokyo! You must be so happy now that you're back together again! Wow; childhood friends, how romantic!"

Sousuke looked down at Kaori, who was still flushing and staring at the ground. He smiled, using his arm around her shoulder to pull her a little closer, before placing a soft kiss on her pink cheek. She stared at him, wide-eyed, while the two girls gushed and hurried away, saying something about leaving Kaori-chan and her boyfriend alone. As soon as they were out of earshot, Kaori whirled around to face Sousuke.

"Why did you do that?" she demanded. His arms was still around her shoulder and she could feel the warmth from his body. She felt her voice go high. "Now they'll tell everyone in school that I have a hot swimmer boyfriend from Samezuka, people won't stop talking about it!"

Sousuke blinked at her innocently. "I don't know what you mean. Nothing I said was untrue."

"I-I mean…"

"I did go to school in Tokyo. And I did confess to you after middle school and you did promise that you would wait for me. And one of the reasons I came back to Iwatobi was to spend time with you. I don't see how you're getting angry when all I did was tell the truth."

Kaori flushed and turned her face down to the grass. She couldn't look into those teasing teal eyes. She wasn't sure whether Sousuke was being serious or if he was just trying to get to her. Either way, it was making her heart beat rapidly. She frowned as Sousuke took one of her hands in his and stroked his thumb over the back of her hand. "I-I mean… but… you just made it sound like something it's not…"

"What is it not, Kaori-chan?" Sousuke asked quietly.

"I-I don't know," Kaori muttered. She couldn't speak. Sousuke was too close to her; she could smell the chlorine and shampoo coming from his body and his muscular arm was wrapped around her shoulder. She was afraid that if she looked up, his blue-green eyes would be too close to hers. Kaori's breath hitched as Sousuke's thumb gently came to rest on her wrist.

"Your pulse is beating very fast, Kaori-chan. Is something making you nervous?"

Kaori opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, a loud buzzing sound came from Sousuke's pocket. He retracted him arm from around Kaori and she breathed a sigh of relief, scooting away from him. Sousuke was checking his messages with a frown. He glanced up at her. "Gomen'nasai, Kaori-chan. It's Rin. I have to get back to swim practice."

"O-oh," Kaori mumbled. "Okay. I'll see you around."

Sousuke nodded and slowly got to his feet, pulling Kaori up along with him. "Thanks for showing me your school. I'm glad we got to spend some time together."

Kaori nodded. "I-it's okay. Do you mind if I come and drop by Samezuka some time?"

"Of course not. Come whenever you want," Sousuke replied with a small smile. He put his phone into his pocket. "Bye."

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Kaori was hanging around the food stalls at the cultural festival, chatting with a few of her classmates, when she saw a familiar tuft of pink hair in the crowd. Surprised, she turned around and waved at the tall and slim boy, who was wearing a school uniform and had had the same light, sakura-colored locks as her.

"Kisumi-chan!" Kaori greeted her cousin in surprise. He grinned and waved enthusiastically as he pushed his way through a small crowd of people to catch up to her. "What are you doing here? I didn't know you were coming!"

"I can't come to see the cultural festival my little cousin organized?" Kisumi asked with a grin, ruffling Kaori's hair lightly. She frowned and swatted his hand away. Hopefully nobody had seen.

"Oi! Baka, don't do that. I have a reputation here, you know! I have enough people gossiping about me here today…" she trailed off with a frown. As she had expected, those two girls from the morning had told almost everybody that their Student Council President was in a romantic relationship with a hot guy from Samezuka Academy. Kaori hadn't been able to avoid the questions and the shock that everyone expressed when they say her. Is it so hard to believe that I could have a boyfriend? She wondered. "Did you just come from school?"

Kisumi nodded. "Hai. I had basketball practice. Then I picked up Hayato and we came straight here to see you!"

Kaori looked down and smiled. She hadn't even noticed that clutching Kisumi's hand was a tiny little Hayato, looking around with a slightly awed expression on his face. A few girls walked past, commenting on how adorable he was, and Hayoto bit his lip, clutching his brother's pant leg and moving behind him slightly. He seemed intimidated by the crowd.

"Hayato-kun!" Kaori said with a grin. He smiled up at her shyly. "There you are! I haven't seen you in a while; wow, you've become so tall! You're almost as tall as your brother now!" she teased him.

Hayato smiled shyly, seeming pleased at the compliment. "Arigatou, Kaori-nee-chan."

"You're welcome," Kaori replied with a grin. She resisted the urge to pick up her adorable little cousin and plant kisses all over his face. Instead, she reached down and took his other hand. "I think you deserve a treat for becoming so tall. How about some ice cream?"

Hayato looked up eagerly and nodded.

Kaori led them to the ice cream stall, where Hikari again insisted on allowing them to eat for free. Although this time, Kaori had a feeling that it was more because Kisumi was flirting with her shamelessly than because Kaori had helped them set up the stall. All the same, Kisumi managed to get her number before he joined Kaori and Hayato with his ice cream.

Kaori slapped Kisumi's arm lightly. "Baka. Don't flirt with girls from my school. What am I supposed to tell them when you don't call them or you ditch them? I know your reputation."

Kisumi pouted as he threw an arm around Kaori's shoulders. "Kaori-chan! That's not fair! I'll call her!"

"Hai, hai," Kaori mumbled. She glanced at Hayato, who was sitting up on the bench with his legs swinging, happily licking his ice cream cone. The small boy reminded her of herself at that age. He was quiet and didn't say much. But he really seemed to look up to Kisumi; something which Kaori herself had always done. "So, how are things at school? Is basketball going well?" she asked her cousin.

"Hai! Basketball's going great! Actually, I have a match this weekend."

Kaori smiled. "Oh? Can I come?"

"No, please don't! The last time you came, my basketball captain pestered me for weeks asking for your number. I don't know what he saw in you, but that's the last thing I need." Kisumi turned and gave her a sneaky grin. "Unless you're willing to go out with him? It would really help increase my chances of being allowed to play offense this year…"

"Shut up. Don't involve me in this, your captain was a complete pervert," Kaori replied bluntly. She suddenly remembered that Hayato was there, but the small boy was licking his ice cream with too much dedication to pay attention to either of them.

"Come on! Let me set you up on one date, please, please, please?"

"Shut up!" Kaori hissed, hoping nobody could hear them. She glanced around furtively. "Look, don't say things like that here! People already think I have a boyfriend, now they'll think I'm cheating on him too! Why is today such a terrible day for me…?"

Kisumi stared at her. "Boyfriend? Who? Where?"

"Nobody," Kaori snapped. The last thing she wanted was for Kisumi to find out that there was something fishy going on between her and Sousuke. He would never let her forget it; worse, he might go and say something really embarrassing to Sousuke himself. Even though he'd gone to a different middle school, he'd still teased both of them relentlessly back them. "Anyway, good luck with your match. I hope you do well.

"Actually, I need your help. You heard about that wedding our parents are going to in Osaka, right?" Kisumi asked. "This weekend?"

Kaori nodded. Her parents and Kisumi's were taking a short trip to Osaka that weekend, to attend the wedding of one of Kaori's father's cousins. Kaori had managed to worm her way out of attending by insisting that she had a lot of studying to do. "Hai, I know. Okaasan tried to convince me to stay at your house while they were gone. I told them that you probably wouldn't let me study a thing with all your chattering."

Kisumi looked offended. "Hey!"

"What? It's true."

Kisumi licked his ice cream with a frown. "Anyway, I have my basketball match. I can't really take Hayato there; he'll be left all alone while I'm playing and he doesn't do well with people. Can I leave him at your house? Please, please, please?"

Kaori raised an eyebrow and glanced at Hayato. He was looking up at her with big eyes and she couldn't resist the adorable expression on his face. "Of course I will!" she grinned and tickled Hayato's stomach and he squirmed and giggled. "We'll have a great time without your irritating onii-chan, won't we, Hayato?"

Hayato smiled and nodded.

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Kaori was exhausted as she came home that evening. She kicked her shoes off at the door, not even bothering to set them neatly against the wall. She tossed her bag onto the floor in the living room. "Tadaima!" she called out weakly. Her mother came into the living room with a smile as she saw her daughter sprawled out on the floor mat in exhaustion.

"Okaeri, Kaori," she greeted with a smile. "How was the festival?"

"Great. Tiring. I'm exhausted, I just want to sleep." she began to close her eyes slowly, but sat up abruptly as she remembered something. "Wait! I can't sleep! I have a test in cram school tomorrow, I have to study! Oh no, and it's Economics, why didn't I start from before?"

Kaori's mother chuckled. "Relax, I'm sure you'll manage. Take a nap first, and then we can have dinner."

"I'm not hungry. I ate too much ice cream. I feel sick," Kaori mumbled as she forced herself to get up from the floor. She groaned and began to trudge towards her bedroom. "I'll be in my room. Let me know when Otousan gets home."

Kaori's mother smiled and sighed as she watched her daughter slouch to her bedroom. That girl worked far too hard sometimes.

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"Sousuke-kun!" Kisumi called out eagerly. The pink-haired boy waved eagerly to his friend, who was lazily kicking around a football in the park. Sousuke glanced up and waved back at Kisumi. He'd been waiting for his friends for a long time, but none of them had turned up. He was relieved to at least see Kisumi. "Hey; why are you alone?" Kisumi asked.

Sousuke frowned. "Rin's hanging out with his friends from Iwatobi."

"Oh." Kisumi looked a little surprised. "Those swim club friends of his? Anyway, it doesn't matter, we can play! Do you want to play basketball? I'm planning on trying out for the school team, you can help me practice!"

"Sure," Sousuke muttered, catching the basketball that Kisumi tossed at him. He looked around, unable to shake the feeling that something was missing. He suddenly realized what it was; the small, shy girl that was always trailing behind Kisumi silently was missing today. He frowned and looked around to make sure she wasn't sitting under a tree, reading a book like she usually was. "Where's Kaori-chan? She always tags along, even though she doesn't like sports."

Kisumi grinned mischievously. "Oh. She stayed home today. She wanted me to tell you that she's sick."

"Sick?' Sousuke asked, worried. "What happened?"

"Oh, she's not really sick. She was just too embarrassed to come out here and face you." Kisumi paused for a moment, before grinning. "Come on. I'll show you."

Sousuke followed silently when Kisumi dragged him out of the park, and the two boys jogged down the street to Kaori's house. Sousuke was surprised that Kisumi was laughing so happily when Kaori was sick; he was usually a very caring cousin. All the same, he kept silent as Kisumi walked up the steps to the girl's house and knocked on the door. Kaori's mother opened the door and smiled.

"Kisumi-kun, and Sousuke-kun! Are you boys here to see Kaori? I was wondering why she didn't go out to play with you today. Come in; she's upstairs." Kaori's mother opened the door and let them in. Sousuke smiled at her politely; she often baked cookies for them, but Kisumi ignored his aunt and pulled Sousuke up the stairs to Kaori's room. He knocked on her door loudly.

"Kaori-chan! It's Kisumi! Open up!" he demanded.

Sousuke heard a small noise from within. "Kisumi-kun?" Kaori's muffled voice could be heard as she opened the door reluctantly. "I told you that I didn't want to come play today, I can't-" her eyes widened at the sight of Sousuke and she flushed a deep, tomato red. "S-sousuke-kun?" she squeaked.

Sousuke grinned. So this was why Kaori hadn't wanted to come out. Sitting on her face were a pair of thick-rimmed glasses that almost seemed to swallow her entire face. He chuckled, resisting the urge to laugh at the blushing girl, who whipped her newly acquired spectacles off quickly. She stared at her feet, embarrassed.

"I think they look cute, Kaori-chan," Sousuke told her kindly, while Kisumi laughed in glee. .

Kaori blushed even redder, but a small smile appeared on her lips. "A-arigatou."

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A/N – Phew! That was a long one!

Thanks for your review, Trickster707. For some reason, Sousuke doesn't get much love. I don't know why. Personally I think he's the only Free! Guy who actually had a serious problem in his life, unlike Haru and Rin, who seem to mope about nothing all the time. Not that I don't love them all. :P

Glad you're enjoying it, LilShorty0594. Haha, Sousuke and Kaori do have a thing going on, but it started right before he left for Tokyo so there wasn't much that they could do about it.

Thanks for reading! Do leave a review!