Okay, not a big fan of this chapter. Pretty much had to rewrite the entire first thing of it today while suffering from writers block, Ugh. At least this chapter was longer than it was the first time, so there's a plus. Anyway enjoy this chapter...

~The 27th day~

"Ugh, where could it have gone?" Ayano cried in her distress. She dumped out the contents of her back pack onto her desk and began frantically searching through the items. Everyone had already left for the day and the class room was pretty much empty, but Ayano had stayed behind like she did sometimes to either finish up work in class or write something down she'd forgotten about earlier. Today she'd decided to use this time to write something down quickly in her journal. There was only one problem: She couldn't find her journal.

How could she not have noticed? She didn't even think of using it the entire weekend since she was so busy. Who knows what could have happened to it. What if someone read it? Ayano shook her head to clear the unpleasant thoughts away, but it wasn't helping her increasing anxiety.

Ayano had shifted through everything in her backpack twice, but the little leather bound devil was nowhere to be found. She stuffed everything back in the bag before slumping defeatedly in her desk chair and banging her head on the table.

"Is everything alright Ms. Tateyama?"

Ayano didn't even look up to face her teacher as she was in such despair. "Not really," she said, "I lost something really, really, really important and I've looked everywhere to find it, but I can't."

"Have you tried retracing your steps?"

Ayano perked up. "What?"

"Retracing your steps. Going to where you remember having it last and then continuing from there." her teacher said.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Ayano exclaimed nearly jumping out of her seat. Hope fluttered wildly in her heart as she grabbed her book bag from it's place on the floor. "Thanks~" she called over her shoulder to her teacher before making her way hurriedly out the door and towards the library

Okay now, think Ayano, where were you?

Ayano passed row after row of books, looking specifically for the little nook she'd been sitting in a few days ago. She knew it was somewhere in the fiction section, but there were like ten rows of that. Thankfully it wasn't as hard as she thought since she recognized some of the books on the shelf that were here the day she was curled up in the corner.

"Okay so what did I do next?" Ayano tapped her chin thoughtfully. Of course the book wasn't hidden in plain site, like on the floor. So where else could it be?

"I was here writing, then I stopped to put it away and then. . . Shintaro hit me with a book."

Well, okay he didn't hit me, Ayano mentally corrected herself mentally, but he accidentally dropped them on me. And I dropped my journal.

Ayano turned to look at the books in front of her lying peaceably on their shelves, and that's when she remembered putting the back. She looked through the books on the shelf, tackling every cover and every small looking novel, but the journal was no where to be found.

Ayano felt like crying. And again a terrible thought pushed its way into her mind. If it wasn't here then could someone else have taken it? Ayano's face reddened in embarrassment at the mere thought of someone reading her journal, all those embarrassing things she wrote. What if Shintaro found out? She groaned as she realized how cliché this was. It was like her life had turned into one of those bad romance novels. That's when she really did start crying. Hot, frustrated tears started streaming down her face as she tried o choke back her sobs.

"Come on. . . Get a hold of yourself. . ." She said through clenched teeth. Slowly her tears did dry up, leaving her eyes red rimmed and sticky. Maybe she was just over reacting. I mean, what were the chances of someone actually finding it, really? Probably the most anyone would do was turn it into the librarian and then move on with their lives. Wait the librarian! That was it!

"Excuse me," Ayano said. She'd recovered from her previous panic attack and was now smiling cheerfully at the librarian behind the little counter top desk thing. "I would just like to know if anyone turned in a journal here. I'm missing one and I believe I left it here."

"Um hang on," the librarian said as they shifted through some papers on their desk. Turning back to Ayano they shook there head. "I'm sorry; we didn't get anything like that at all."

Ayano felt her heart sink, but she plastered on her bravest smile and thanked them before turning away. Well it just seemed like this had been a total waste of her time. Ayano would've liked nothing more to do than just curl up in her bed and sleep. Wonderful, beautiful, blissful sleep.

"I know. It doesn't really seem right that she'd do that. Maybe this girl doesn't want to be found."

"Yeah I agree. Why would Kisaragi-chan do something like that?"

Ayano stopped in her tracks and looked over at two girls huddled over a computer screen with their backs to her. She might have just gone ignoring the two except for the mention of Momo's name caught her attention. Were they talking about her?

"Excuse me," Ayano approached the two girls, "What are you doing?"

"U-um looking at the internet." one said, "Do you need to use the computer?"

"Oh no, I just. . . I heard you two talking about Kisaragi. Kisaragi Momo. I just wanted to know, you said she did something bad?"

"Well, it's not bad, but um, she posted something on her blog that well. . . She's trying to find this girl who has a crush on her brother. It's really weird."

Ayano blinked wondering if she had heard right. "A girl. . . Who likes her brother?"

"Yeah, she has an older sibling, and apparently some girl wrote some pretty mushy stuff about him."

"Do you mind if I see?" But before either girl could respond Ayano pushed past them to get a good look at the computer's screen. And it was there, all there in little black and white virtual print, on the internet for the world to see and laugh over. Momo had taken her journal, found it some how and was now putting it on the internet. It was the third time that day that Ayano actually felt like crying.

"Shintaro, go get your sister and tell her dinner's ready." Shintaro's mom called from the kitchen. But Shintaro continued to sit as still as a statue, his silver headphones covering his ears blaring music and tapping his fingers lightly on the keyboard.

When there was no response from her son she walked from the kitchen to peer around the corner at her son. She saw him still staring like a mindless drone at the computer's screen in the exact same position as he'd been in three hours ago when she'd checked on him. Irritated she went over and ripped the headphones off his ears.

"Shintaro Kisaragi, move your butt up from this chair and go get your sister." she commanded. Shintaro jumped at the sound of her mother's voice and flinched back when she whacked him slightly in the head.

"Alright, alright I'm going." the teen said holding his hands up to defend himself from his mother. She gave him another hard stare before walking back to kitchen.

"Man I really wish she hadn't moved my computer out here." Shintaro grumbled to himself. He sighed and grabbed his half empty soda can and headed towards Momo's room.

Shintaro tapped gently on his sister's door. When there was no answer he opened the door a bit to peek inside

"Momo," he called from outside the room, "Mom says dinner's ready." He opened the door fully, only to realize that no one was there.

Shintaro glanced around the room and took another sip of his soda. He couldn't really remember the last time he'd been in her room. He'd felt kind of bad that they'd grown apart a bit since from when they were younger. She'd become 'popular' since she'd entered her first year of high school, and he'd just been the good student always getting straight As. Their mom assured them though, that they weren't that different and, for siblings, very much alike. Shintaro couldn't really see it.

As he continued to wait and look around Momo's room he noticed her laptop was still on. He couldn't help but look at the screen, after all it was in human nature to snoop, and Shintaro was no different. Plus they were siblings so it was normal.

The screen was opened to some text document. Apparently Momo had been writing something. Shintaro sat down in the chair in front of the desk. He then glanced quickly to the door to make sure no one was there before he started reading.

Today was fine I guess, but I still can't admit my feelings for him. I was unsure of my feelings at first, but then I smiled at him earlier this morning and he smiled back at me genuinely. He usually seems so distant and grumpy in the morning, so I wasn't really expecting that. Then he said "Hi" and I swear my heart did a little somersault.

(Shintaro couldn't really tell what he was reading. Did Momo have a crush on some guy? He had to admit he had mixed feelings about that.)

I kind of feel like it will never happen. I'm no more than a sister to him.

(Wait, what?)

He doesn't seem the type for that kind of thing anyway. I feel that for now, me loving Kisaragi Shintaro should remain a secret.

Shintaro sat back in the swivel chair. His hands were shaking slightly and small droplets of sweat were forming on his forehead. This was not happening; there was no way Momo-

"What are you doing?" a cold voice hissed practically right next to Shintaro's ear. He jumped up from the chair to face Momo who was giving him a deadly glare.

"Nothing! I-I was..." Shintaro stumbled over his words.

"Hmph. Well then get out of my room then, pervert." she said.

"I- wait how am I a pervert?" he demanded.

"I don't know, you just are."

"Forget it." Shintaro said and stomped out of the room. But he stopped when he remembered what he just read.

"Um Momo, do you have anything you want to tell me?" Shintaro asked turning back to his sister, "Anything at all, because I will listen."

"Eh? No, I don't think so." Momo said taken off guard by her brother's now serious tone.

He gulped. Please don't make me ask her, he begged silently. "Y-you're sure?"

"Yes, positive," she said, "Now if you-"

"Momo I read the computer screen!" Shintaro blurted.

Momo blinked, but then sighed and looked down. "I'm sorry," she said, "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want to take any chances on it ending badly, so I didn't." She looked back up at him. "Are you mad I didn't tell you?" she asked.

"No," said Shintaro, "But we should really tell mom about this." Oh god this conversation was getting too awkward for him.

"What? Why?" Momo asked confused.

"Because this is serious, don't you get that!?"

"It's just one girl Onii-chan, how's that serious?"

"It is when that girl is you."

"Me!?" Momo pointed at herself, "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about you writing on there that you have a crush on me." Shintaro pointed an accusing finger to the laptop.

Momo's face turned into a grimace. "You really are disgusting, Onii-chan." she said, "Do you really think I'd actually do something like that?"

"I-I don't know." Shintaro stuttered.

Momo reached up above to the shelves above her desk and grabbed a small leather bound journal from the top one.

"This," Momo tossed Shintaro the book, "is where those words came from."

Shintaro examined the small booklet and turned some of the pages finding only the first few written in.

"Do you know who wrote this?" he asked.

"Of course I don't, dummy. If I had I probably would've told you." she said it like it was the most obvious thin in the world.

"Well where did you find it then?"

"In the library, on a shelf for all the world to see."

"And you have no idea who wrote this." asked Shintaro.

"Nope, well I have ideas on who it could be, but I'm not 100% sure."

"Oh, well wha-"

"Shintaro! Momo! Your food it going to get cold if you two don't come eat right now." their mother called.

"We'll talk about this later."