A/N: Yet again, I owe you guys an apology. Sorry for not updating in such a long time. I'll be honest with you:

I ran out of ideas.

I do have the big segments of the story planned out, the hard part was filling in the little things and details so that the story can flow naturally and not be too rushed or fast-paced. And also, writing turns out to be just a seasonal hobby for me. It all depends on my mood and ideas. If I don't feel like it, never mind writing a whole chapter, I can't even put together a goddamn paragraph. I hate myself. I tried forcing myself to write at times and the story.. Didn't turn out so well.. It felt really forced, and weird, and awkward, so I decided to just write when I want to, which explains why this chapter is pretty short. Again, sorry for that.

Need to let you know that chapters will be put out very irregularly from now on (as if it's not already irregular enough..). Please do note that I still love this series very much, and plan to re-watch it some time in the next holiday. Hopefully it'll reinstate all the imaginations I had when I started writing the first few chapters.

'. . .' Thoughts

". . ." Outspoken Words

". . ." Outspoken Words - Flashback


He spent so much time ruminating that when he returned his attention back to Kirino, there wasn't even 5 minutes before she returned to his place.

"Enjoyed the scene, siscon?" She sneeringly teased him the moment she arrived.

Kyousuke chuckled, "Do I really need to answer that?"

She giggled slightly, "Never mind, you probably shouldn't."

"Should we head home?" He got up and walked a few steps ahead.

She gave confirmation with a curt hum, and started walking by his side.

"See you later, Kirino!" The two models bid farewell simultaneously to their friend.

"Un! See you!"

The two also gestured a wave towards Kyousuke, to which he responded by simply raising his hand a bit. Kyousuke never bothered asking Kirino for their names, chances being he would never meet them again, plus not wanting to give Kirino any ideas that might get him an elbow to the chest.

Kyousuke was about to habitually take her hand in his before realizing his subconscious' intention, flushing himself red as a result. Good thing Kirino was focused on her phone and missed it, or else the scene would turn unbearably awkward.

It was almost 5 pm, the sky was starting to show taints of dark yellow. It was only a few minutes into the silent walk home that Kirino's voice vibrated the air,

"Hey."

"H-Hm? What is it?"

"What's with the stutter? You sounded creepy.."

"Don't mind it, weren't you going to say something?" He tried his best to avert Kirino from noticing the leftover blush on his face.

"Oh, yeah… Umm…"

"?"

"…About earlier this afternoon, on our walk here…" Her tone drops, almost into a murmur.

"Oh, about the thing that was bothering you?"

"…Yeah…" Her expression turned into that of a mix of sadness and loneliness, worrying Kyousuke instantly.

"What about it?"

"You see, actually, Ayase was supposed to model with me today."

Kyousuke shuddered at the sentence, was it supposed to be a good thing that she didn't come? Or was it the opposite?

"Why isn't she around then?" Trying not to voice out his ongoing inner conflict, he put on a mask of curiosity.

"…Just this afternoon, she told me she had something else to do and couldn't come, and that she already has a substitute for her."

'A substitute huh? Must be one of the models that were with Kirino just now.' Kyousuke thought.

"What's wrong about that?"

"It's strange. Looking for a substitute is not always easy, you can't just cancel a modeling appointment on such a short notice."

"Maybe she had already planned for something like this, so she already looked for a substitute, right?"

"It's possible, but it's really unlike her. Not to mention how eagerly she sounded in our conversation yesterday. She also usually tells me if she might not be able to come, it's really weird how she kept being quiet until the time of shoot."

"Hmm… Hearing you say that, I don't really have any explanation besides that it's something really urgent on her side."

"There's one more thing."

"?"

"She wouldn't tell me what she's doing, no matter how much I ask."

"Huh?"

"Like I said, she wouldn't tell me anything. I asked her 3 times already but her answers are all vague and unclear, it's plain obvious that she's hiding something…"

"Maybe it's really personal, and she just couldn't tell you right now. You can ask her later when you meet her."

"I suppose so, but its suddenness is what's bothering me."

"Did she show any kind of gestures that suggested this? Or did you two talk about something that might've been the cause?"

"I don't know.. I really don't think I've said anything that might've hurt her or something.."

"Are you sure?"

"Ugh, I'm sure! What are you gonna ask next? The topic we talked about? What a creep."

"Hey, I never said that. I was just saying that you would probably find something if you recalled what you discussed recently."

"*grumbles* The only thing we talked about last night was about today's shoot, and-…" She trailed off on her last remark; silence lingered for a bit before Kyousuke responded,

"…And?"

She shakes her head, "…It's nothing."

"Well, that 'nothing' might actually be the answer."

"Ugh, it's really nothing! What do you think you know, idiot?!" She screamed pretty hard on that one, stunning Kyousuke silent.

'Damn, what the heck, just when I thought she was in a good mood too.." He relented. 'To think that she got that angry, just what was it that they discussed?'

'…'

'…There's no way..' She started wondering while increasing her pace to leave her annoying brother behind.

'…It can't be the reason, can it..?' Kirino pondered deep down.

*last night*

"Kuuuu, that was so cute! I need to play this game more often!"

At her room, Kirino was continuously praising the new game she had bought the day before, when she went with Kyousuke to Akihabara. She apparently had been waiting for this game since its initial development stage, restlessly googling any and all information she could get her hands on, of course, front and foremost; its release date. At the eagerly anticipated day, she slapped Kyousuke awake very early in the morning, despite the release hour being later that afternoon.

.

"Ouch! What is it?!"

"Wake up you sleepyhead, we're going to Akihabara! Go get yourself ready!"

"7 A.M?! The store isn't even open yet!"

"We're going to have to wait far back in the line if we're late! And I don't want that!"

"But really, Kirino? 7 A.M? Can't you give me at least 2 more hours?"

"Nope, I've waited far too long for this day, I won't let you ruin it."

"Kuuhh! Fine! Get off me then!"

.

'It was his fault for not waking up sooner though.'

'Tsundere till the end' is what everyone would think if they know this real part of Kirino, which she only made known to her close ones.

.

"So, what time is it going to be released?"

"3 P.M."

"WHAT!? That's 7 hours from now!"

"I know, idiot. No need to yell."

"Do we really have to go there now? Can't we delay it a bit? Because I might be in love with this sofa."

"Gross. We're going, NOW. Come on."

After arriving there, Kirino immediately ran to the store, and Kyousuke followed suit. They found that the store was still closed, obviously. So they killed some time while having Kirino pouting all day. They later found themselves passing by the store again after circling around the town, to which Kirino had Kyousuke stand in front of the store to make sure he was the first in line, while she continued her stroll around. By this time, Kyousuke was the one who frowned.

.

'Didn't matter, we got the game.'

She had just finished one route before trailing off in her thoughts.

'Well, I'm thanking him tomorrow anyway.' Her 'dere' side resurfacing as she giggled.

Suddenly, she heard her phone rang, probably louder than it actually was because she wasn't paying attention.

'Ah, it's Ayase.'

*click* "Moshi-moshi, good evening Ayase. What's up?"

"Good evening, Kirino. Are you busy right now?"

"Not really, is there something you want to talk about?" Her tones got brighter as she started assuming her high class, role model personality.

"Yes, it's about tomorrow's modeling, you already know the theme right?"

"Yeah, it's casual, isn't it? What about it?"

"Have you picked your clothes?"

"Mhm, I'm going to use my pink frilly dress we bought last time when we went shopping together."

"Oh, that one? As expected of you Kirino, you know what's best for you. Pink really is your color isn't it?"

"Hahaha, thanks Ayase, pink just suits me best I think. Why did you ask though?"

"I'm still wondering about what clothes I am going to wear, I haven't decided yet." Ayase's voice lowers, colored by anxiety, along with slight agitation.

"Ehhh? But the shoot's tomorrow! You need to decide soon!"

"I know, I know, that's why I called you. I wanted to ask for your opinion."

To be asked by a girl of high fashion-sense, it felt weird for Kirino.

"Hmm, what color do you prefer?"

"I think probably white or blue."

"Then, how about you use the white one from back then, when you subbed me as the lead model?"

"Umm, I don't know, that dress is over 2 years old. Even if it fits, the color is no longer as bright as it was."

"Aww, and that one suited you so much too… Then do you have a lavender one? It will match well with my pink!"

"Oh, you think so? My mom just bought me a lavender dress a few days ago, wait a minute okay? I'm going to put it on and take a picture so you can see it."

"Wait wait wait! No, don't!"

A sudden shift in Kirino's voice prompted confusion from the dark-haired girl, "Huh? Why?"

"You're going to show me at our modeling place, okay? I want to see it first with my own eyes!" Kirino giggled cheerfully as she said that.

"O-Okay.. But how am I going to ask for your opinion, then? I don't think this dress is going to work well without any accessory.."

"It's fine, you can just describe how the dress looks like! I'll help you find accessories that fits it, plus I can bring some of mine too so you can put it on when we meet up!"

"Ah, I see. Good idea, Kirino!" Ayase's voice started sounding optimistic, and much less gloomy compared to the way she was before. Kirino giggled slightly, joyous to know that she could help her best friend the same way Ayase did to her on some previous occasions. They were very close to each other to the point that Kirino almost considered Ayase her own sibling, and even more so now that she had come to accept Kirino's otaku hobby.

The two girls then continued their talk about everything related to tomorrow's modeling, including the time of departure and routes taken, so that Kirino could give Ayase the accessories she promised she would bring as soon as possible. The conversation flows naturally and eventually ended up with Ayase saying that she was going to go there alone because her mom had something work-related to do.

Noticing the specific shift in topic, a certain thought came flying down to her; Ayase was the only one who she still hadn't told a thing regarding Kyousuke coming to the shoot.

Sweat started to creep out her palm, was it the phone's heat that she's holding? Or was it nervousness?

Her eyes began darting around her room, her mind searching for words and ways to convey the unprecedented event about to occur tomorrow. She needed a logical reason behind inviting Kyousuke to the shoot, aside from the truth of course. She still found the need in her to mask her true self with a stoic outer; her brother-hating persona.

"..Kirino? Are you there?"

"A..Ah, yeah, I'm here, Ayase. Sorry, I drifted a bit there, you were saying?"

"I asked if we should meet up somewhere first, so we could exchange accessories before the shoot starts."

"O-Ou, that's a nice idea, but.."

"Hm?"

Deciding to be straightforward and just say the truth, she took a deep breath, preparing her heart to find out what her best friend's reaction will be.

"I'll be.. Going to the shoot with him."

"Him? W-Wait, by 'him', d-do you mean.. O-Onii-san?!"

"Y-Yeah.."

"But, why?"

"D-Don't get the wrong idea, okay?! It's only because he asked to come, and I'm allowing it this one time only!"

"O-Oh.. Yeah, this is the first time too, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah.. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, Ayase. Is it fine?"

"..A-haha, it's fine Kirino, at least I know that we're expecting a guest now. We can meet up at the grocery store near the intersection, is that okay with you?"

"O-Okay, good idea! Well, see you tomorrow then, Ayase!"

"Y-Yeah, see you, Kirino!"

*click*

"Phew, that was rather nerve-wracking.. Tomorrow, huh?"

The brown-haired girl breathed a sigh of relief the moment she ended the call. Anticipation and eagerness flowed from her as she thought about tomorrow's event, and everything surrounding it.

Smiling to herself, she stood up and got out of her room. A subtle tune playing joyfully in her little heart.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the phone, the blue-haired girl was still holding the phone in her hand. Her eyes fixated on the white tile of floor her feet was on, the sound of her pulse reaching to her ear, as a certain sentence echoed relentlessly in her tired mind.

"I'll be.. Going to the shoot with him."

She laid her back on her bed, the becoming of her mind into a dark prison clearly mirrored by the lasting dull in her unfocused eyes. The very word of 'him' surging a waterfall of memory, too painful to hold retain, too beautiful to wash away.

The sheer thought brought forth a heavy atmosphere to her surroundings, her breath slowly becoming irregular by the passing seconds. She bit her lower lip, her fists clenching in an effort to reel away the pain she was starting to feel.

She put her arm on her forehead, a faint sparkle at the edge of her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kirino.."

"..I can't..."


A/N: Btw, I got a new keyboard, so, yay.