Ritsu packed her bags as she looked up at the clock to see that it was almost seven. She already finished the majority of her work in the building, the rest she can do at home. Slinging the bag on her shoulder, she got up and made her way to the vending machine to have a quick drink before she left for the day.

At the vending machine, she kneeled down to get her energy drink that she will need for the rest of the night should she pull an all nighter. Bending down, she failed to notice a certain someone approach her from behind.

Standing straight she turned around only to bump into her boss. "Excuse me, sorry." she apologized before looking up to see Masamune holding her.

Ritsu blushed before taking a step back, "Uh, Takano-san." she said before moving out of the way of the vending machine.

"Have a good night." she made to walk away, but his voice stopped her, "Kisa told me what happened in the bathroom." she froze in her steps, "Oh really, what did she tell you?" she asked after a pause, feeling her heart pick up. 'Don't tell me she went back on her word.' Ritsu thought to herself, feeling a little bit of panic.

Before she could contemplate what Kisa said, Masamune laid a hand on her head, "Don't worry, this happens all the time. Should've known you were approaching your time of the month." he said, making Ritsu freeze up, "That's what she told him?" she thought exasperatedly to herself.

She looked to the side with a red face of embarrassment, "I'd rather not talk about it." she said, not really sure what Kisa said to sell the lie.

Masamune smiled at her cute red face as he moved his hand to her shoulder and stood directly behind her, "Relax, this happens all the time, it's natural for it to come unexpectedly. Just be glad that Kisa came along when she did, thankfully she had extra pads on her." he kissed the back of her head, "Next time, call me if you're in that situation."

Ritsu went even redder, imagining her boss going to the store and getting women's necessities and bringing it to work for her. No way would she live that one down, ever. "Thanks but no thanks, I can just phone Kisa if that ever happens again. 'Sides, it was a feminine matter, something you shouldn't concern yourself with." Ritsu said as politely as she could, shrugging his hand off her shoulder before walking towards the elevator.

Masamune followed close behind her, not wanting her out of his sight, "It is my concern when it comes to you. I know what women go through each month, especially when it comes to our department cycle." He said as Ritsu pressed the down button before the elevator doors opened.

Ritsu scoffed, "Yeah, fun being a girl." she said stepping into the elevator with Masamune, "See, if I were male, things would be so much easier for me; I wouldn't have these bodily problems at work AND you would leave me alone." she added with a grin as she pressed the first floor button before the doors closed.

Masamune smirked, "Highly impossible, I'd still capture you and get you to fall in love with me."

Ritsu whipped her head at him incredulously, "Did you even hear yourself just now?" 'This guy just admitted to being bi so casually.'

Masamune continued to smirk, "Yeah, I know what I said. You'd make an adorable boy by the way." he said, making Ritsu blush and turn away with that adorable pout, "Shut up, it was only a passing thought, I didn't ask for your opinion." she said, causing Masamune to chuckle in his throat.

"By the way, I'll be making dinner for us tonight. You still love curry, right?" Masamune said, already planning dinner and other activities for tonight.

Ritsu faced her ex with a blush, slightly surprised that he still remembered her favorite dish in high school, "Thanks, but no thanks. I'll be doing my work at a friend's house." she said, clutching the bag strap as she politely declined.

"We can discuss work over dinner." Masamune offered, trying to persuade her to spend the night with him again.

Ritsu narrowed her eyes at him, "Nice try boss. Fool me once, shame on you; fool me ten or more times, shame on me." she said, blushing as she she faced forward.

Masamune chuckled, "I think you mean 'screw.' Screw me twenty-six times, shame on both of us." he said, keeping track of the number of times they coupled.

Ritsu turned beat red as she glared at her boss, "Screw off!" she fired back, steam coming off the top of her head.

Masamune smiled and laughed, finding it fun to banter with Ritsu who looked away with her ever blushing face. Ritsu couldn't help but feel tingly at Masamune's laugh, it almost made her laugh as well, but she refused to make such a sound due to her stubborn pride.

"You don't have to go through the trouble, at the end of the day, you're still my boss. I don't need you acting like my Mother when I come home from a hard day at school." Ritsu said, comparing Masamune to a mother hen. At that thought, she fought the laugh that wanted to burst out of her mouth.

"More like a husband actually." Masamune clarified.

Her breath hitched in her throat at that sentence. Blushing at the implication, she turned to Masamune again to see him smiling at her in a way that was all too familiar to her, meaning that he was planning something again.

She stayed silent, unable to respond to such a sentence that made her question her resolve in not falling in love. Thankfully, the ding of the elevator saved her from coming up with a response as the elevator doors opened before she scurried out of the confined space her boss shared with her.

"I'll see you tomorrow Takano-san." she said hastily as she made her quick escape through the lobby and out the front doors to see Ichiru's car parked out front. She made a mad dash towards the car upon sight in case Masamune decided to chase her.

Ichiru rolled down the window as Ritsu approached, taking note of the blush on the editor's cheeks. As soon as Ritsu arrived, she got into the passenger's side and buckled up while apologizing, "Sorry I kept you waiting." she said as the car started to move.

Ichiru smiled, keeping her eyes on the road, "Don't worry, I just arrived actually." she said, reassuring Ritsu. "So what's on your mind?" Ichiru asked, wanting to know what happened to make her not want to go back to her apartment.

Ritsu clutched her bag until her knuckles were white, "Can we talk about it at your house? I feel uncomfortable discussing it in the car." she said, her ex's actions from this morning to earlier still fresh in her head.

"Okay." Ichiru said as she continued to drive to her house. The car ride was filled with silence, but Ritsu's conflict was speaking in volumes.

Ritsu sat at Ichiru's dining room table as she worked on the storyboards. The inside of Ichiru's apartment was modern with some art pieces featuring samurais and antique katana displays hanging on the walls as decoration.

"Would you like some juice?" Ichiru offered from over the counter as she opened the fridge.

"Yes please." Ritsu said, finishing editing one storyboard before moving on to the next.

"Your ex wearing you down again?" Ichiru asked as she pulled out a half gallon of apple juice.

Ritsu nodded, blushing as she remembered all that happened that morning, "Like you wouldn't believe. He gave me a back rub while I had breakfast this morning." she said as Ichiru came over with a glass of apple juice in hand and gave it to her before she took a seat across from her.

Ichiru gave her an incredulous look, "You consider that a bad thing?" she asked, not understanding how a simple breakfast back rub could be a terrible thing to do for an old flame.

Ritsu continued, "It gets worse, the breakfast back rub in bed was one thing, but then he took a shower with me and drove me to work. Oh, and just before you arrived, he said that he would cook dinner for us, curry. When I compared him to a mother hen, he said he was more like a husband." she finished, her face red as she talked about what her ex did for her in a span of 12 hours.

Ichiru blinked, letting it all sink in before speaking, "From what you described, he definitely sounds like a husband." she said, completely unhelpful as Ritsu glared at her before she continued when Ichiru realized something, "Wait, he cooked you breakfast right? What the hell was he doing at your apartment in the first place?"

Ritsu went even redder before she looked down. She stayed silent before she spoke, "Last night, when you dropped me off, Takano-san forced his way into my apartment and we..." she paused, feeling shameful for giving into him last night.

"What, he forced himself on you and thought that doing all these nice things for you will make up for what he did?" Ichiru exclaimed, already coming up with ten different ways to skewer the bastard like a kabob.

Ritsu blushed as she tried to explain, "It's not like that. Yes he came into my apartment without asking, but when he saw the boxes I already packed..." she took a deep breath, "...he had that look in his eyes, like I stabbed him in the back and tore his heart out. Even while we were doing it, he still had that expression." she gripped her glass of apple juice as she remembered the look of desperation on Masamune's face, the look that had her choking on her guilt, "He was gentle with me, even though he forced himself on me."

She paused in order to collect her thoughts, "He's always been like that, ever since we met each other after 10 years, he's always trying to break my resolve and make me fall in love with him again. Every little thing he does to me when no one is around pisses me off because I've been trying to forget him for the past 10 years." She took a sip of her juice before continuing, "All I wanted to do was focus on my career and live an independent life away from my family. But no, he decided to come back into my life and get into my pants every chance he gets to 'make up' for lost times. It's so annoying." she said, finishing her rant as she let out a breath.

Ichiru stayed quiet throughout Ritsu's rant, choosing to listen and pick out the key details of Ritsu's relationship with her ex/boss/neighbor/father of her child. From what Ichiru has heard, Ritsu's ex has been trying to rekindle the flame he once had with Ritsu despite her outward rejection.

What Ritsu said about him having that pained expression during their last coupling had Ichiru curious. Ritsu should be angry at Masamune for forcing himself on her, but from the expression on the girl's face was reminiscent to that of guilt. Why would Ritsu feel guilty, like she was the one that committed a crime.

Ichiru rested her chin on her woven hands as she tried to evaluate Ritsu's feelings toward her ex. Guilt is usually associated when the person recognizes the wrong he or she has done involving someone they know.

A thought struck Ichiru as she stared at Ritsu, "Ritsu, I know that you and I just met, but I have to ask." she paused as Ritsu who nodded for her doctor friend to continue, "Are you in love with him?"

Ritsu stayed frozen in her seat at that question, for a long time she has fought with herself trying not to get caught up in Masamune's affections, but it was getting harder and harder each time. Somewhere deep inside, she liked how he chased her and never seemed to give up in trying to win back her love. However, that larger part of her very being refused to give up, no matter how much Masamune tries to make her give in. Their past relationship ended badly and should not be rekindled if it will only end in pain again.

"Ritsu?" Ichiru's voice broke her out of her thoughts as she shook her head to get rid of the fog that tends to settle over her when it involves Masamune.

"I don't know, what we had back in high school was a mistake when I confessed to him. But it also made me happy, even though it was only brief, he made me feel like I had a place to belong to." She felt tears well up when she remembered the moment that changed her view on love, "But then that bastard had to go and laugh when I asked him if he loved me." she said, her voice cracking as she remembered the humiliation she felt when her high school love laughed.

"Are you kidding me, what kind of high school moron laughs at such a question?" Ichiru asked rhetorically before saying, "Let me guess, you kicked him in the balls and went to study in America." Ichiru said, already seeing the story unfold with one foolish mistake on the ex's part.

"Close, actually it was the head and I studied abroad in England the next day." Ritsu said, making Ichiru smirk slightly, "I'd pay good money to see that kick." she said, picturing Ritsu going all karate kid on her ex.

Ritsu smiled a little at Ichiru's comment before continuing, "I'm not sure what my feelings are for him at this point, but I can't let it get in the way of raising my baby." she said, her hand traveling to her abdomen, gently stroking it. "I don't want to be in love...not again. I can't do it, not if it means getting hurt once more." she said, almost quietly, but Ichiru heard her.

Ichiru could literally sense confusion in the girl, "Ritsu, I know that this is difficult for you, especially with a baby on the way. However, most of us can't control our feelings half the time, we don't choose who we fall in love with, it just happens." she said, trying to coucil the girl on her feelings.

Ritsu nodded in understanding as she wiped at her eyes, preventing any tears that wanted to spill. She felt a hand land on her shoulder, making her look up to see Ichiru standing up and looking at her with reassurance. She took the empty glass away from Ritsu, not really sure when she finished the juice, "Why don't we go to bed, you've done enough for today." she gently said, knowing that Ritsu needs a few extra hours of sleep with her condition.

Ritsu chose not to argue as she nodded, already feeling drained from today's events. With that, she gathered up the storyboards and placed them in her bag before following Ichiru to her bedroom.

Once she was changed into a set of nightclothes that Ichiru provided for her, she stepped out of the bathroom to see Ichiru setting up a futon for herself while Ritsu took the bed. "Are you sure you don't want to share the bed?" Ritsu asked as she crawled under the covers.

Ichiru smiled as she cuddled her pillow, "Nonsense, I'm fine down here. 'Sides, I tend to sleep like a starfish in the sun." she said, taking her sleeping habits into consideration.

Ritsu smiled, imagining how Ichiru sleeps as she got comfortable in the latter's foam mattress. Ritsu peeked over the edge of the bed to see Ichiru with her eyes still wide open and tracing patterns on the ceiling, "Ichiru?" Ritsu implored.

Said woman turned her eyes to Ritsu curiously, "Am I the only friend you spend time with?" she asked, wondering if whether or not Ichiru has other friends besides herself.

Ichiru smiled softly as she turned her gaze back to the ceiling, "If I'm being perfectly honest with myself, you're the only friend I have made in this town." she answered, not at all bothered by the question.

Ritsu blinked her eyes curiously, "How long have you lived here?"

Ichiru shrugged, "About 6 months, give or take. All of my friends are back home in Karakura Town." She paused as she thought of her friends.

"Have you always been a doctor?"

Ichiru smiled slightly, "Initially, I wanted to be a writer, but I found my other calling to be much more important because this world needs people who have the ability to preserve and give life." she said, a little sad that she gave up her other career choice.

Ritsu's interest was captured, "Have you written any stories?" she asked, wondering if Ichiru has ever published any.

Ichiru smiled grimly, "Only one, but I couldn't finish it. In fact, I didn't really want to finish it." she said, somewhat sadly as she thought of the book she didn't have the stomach to finish.

"How come?" Ritsu asked, not understanding why this woman would choose to give up.

Ichiru closed her eyes as she thought of her answer, "Because...then the adventure would be over. The moment I write the ending, it will be gone, I won't be able to keep the characters to myself. It will be like...like saying goodbye to my friends again." she said, obviously conflicted about her story.

"Then don't."

Ichiru faced Ritsu whose face peeked over the edge as she stared down at her, "Don't say goodbye; say 'Until I see you again. Only as a different person for another adventure.' The characters will always be there, so you will never have to say goodbye." Ritsu said, not really sure if what she said made any sense.

Ichiru stayed silent letting what Ritus said sink in before a wide smile crept onto her face. Before Ritsu could react, she was hugged with full force by Ichiru who embraced her with unbridled confidence, "Ri-chan...thank you."

Ritsu smiled, yet confused, "For what?"

"Just...thank you." Ichiru said before releasing Ritsu and slumping back into her futon.

Ritsu blinked in confusion before looking at Ichiru who was already knocked out and was sleeping, literally, like a starfish in the sun with her arms outstretched around her and her legs crossed on top of each other.

Ritsu couldn't help but smile at her friend as she got comfortable, placing a hand to her belly as sleep started to pull her under. But before she could, her cell phone that she laid under her pillow went off, retrieving it, she flipped it open to see that it was a text from her boss.

Meanwhile at Masamune's

The sole resident of the apartment sat against the door, listening for his Ritsu. Taking out his cellphone, he sent her a text to see when she would be home.

Masamune: When are you coming home?

Ritsu: I'm spending the night at my friend's. Expect the storyboards by tomorrow. I'm going to sleep.

Masamune gripped his phone, feeling further away from Ritsu than ever. He contemplated calling her so that he could hear her voice before he went to sleep, instead, he settled with sending her one last text.

Masamune: I love you. Sleep well.

With that, he lifted himself up from the floor and made his way to his room in order to try and get some sleep.

Ritsu

Masamune's text stared as she read it, 'Damnit Takano-san, why do you keep doing this to me.' Ritsu thought to herself as she closed her cellphone and placed it under her pillow. She went to sleep filled with unwanted thoughts of her ex.

Hope you enjoyed this. Leave a review if you want to see what happens next. Don't worry, he'll find out in a couple more chapters.