CHAPTER SEVEN!

It's almost like I'm making progress or something! Sorry this took so long, but it's a Shin-heavy episode, and thus, super-long.

Notes!

- 'Brother' in Japanese is Onii (or Nii) + chan/san/sama, (in ascending formality). '-chan' is basically cute baby talk, '-san' is more formal and polite, and '-sama' is ridiculously formal, as if you're addressing royalty or something. Hence why the boys tease Shin by calling him 'Shin-chan' and 'Onii-chan', and he responds that they can only call him 'Onii-sama'.


Sawada Shin missed being a kid. Kids were allowed to pick something ridiculous, like a fireman or an astronaut to be when they grew up. The future was exciting, when you could be or do anything you wanted.

Real life sucks.

It sucked less now that there was an interesting teacher at school, who actually listened to her students and cared about them. It had even been almost fun lately. But when Yankumi announced that Parent Teacher Conferences were coming up next week, it served as an unpleasant reminder of what his life was really like, since there was no chance in hell his parents would actually come.

His father hated him. His mother was disappointed in him. His sister… well, Natsumi was the only good thing in the Sawada home, as far as he was concerned. And he hadn't seen her in months, due to the fact that his father had resolutely forbidden all contact with the 'unwanted son'. He rarely saw her, but spoke to her occasionally, usually when something had happened that she couldn't discuss with their parents. Dad had yelled at her for getting a low grade. Mom had told her to choose new friends. They said she needed to study more if she was ever to succeed in life.

As Yankumi gave them packets to take home, he saw that the front page asked that the family also discuss the student's future, and consider what schools they might apply to at the end of the school year, or what careers they might pursue. He stared at it for a moment before throwing it in the trash. His parents wouldn't come anyway, so there was no need to tell them. His future was… well, it was different things to different people. His father would say he had no future. The teachers at his first school exclaimed his success was assured since he was so smart – why, he could get into any school he wanted! His current Vice Principal would mutter that he had the grades to get into the top schools, but the record to keep him out. Yankumi – well, if he asked her about his future, she'd be sure to say something ridiculous like, "Follow your dreams, and if you head into the shining sun, your future is sure to be bright!"

And to him… Shin sighed. He had no idea what his future held. What to do. What to want, even. He could go to school, but where? His permanent record stated he assaulted a teacher. His transcript declared he graduated from a bottom-ranked school. He could get a job, but he had no clue what he wanted to do, or where he wanted to work. He could travel, but he didn't have the money.

Stupid future with its stupid choices, he thought to himself, feeling mixed anger and depression. He looked up as Yankumi joined them, hopping into their little group like she belonged there. The other guys had been complaining nonstop about how embarrassing their parents were at the conferences, so when Yankumi asked why they hadn't gone home with their moms, all four guys were immediately offended.

"Hey, stupid. Why do we have to go home with our parents?" Kuma answered in a mocking tone. Minami was interrupted from adding something like "What are we, five?" when Noda suddenly stared at the school entrance and shouted in surprise.

"Oh! That's her again!" He yelled, pointing ecstatically. Shin had heard them talking about a really cute girl who had been standing near the gate this morning, followed by an argument about who she had liked more, despite the fact that she apparently hadn't said anything. Looking in the direction Noda was pointing, Shin saw who it was and stopped in surprise.

Natsumi? What was she doing here? He then sent a glare at all the 3-D guys who were crowded around her, smiling creepily and asking her personal questions. Before he could decide who to kill first, Natsumi looked up and spotted him. The size of her smile told Shin that she had missed him, and that something was troubling her.

As she ran towards them, all of his friends knelt on the ground with their arms wide open, waiting to catch her. Yankumi copied them, probably with no idea what they were doing. He barely had time to think a brief Baka at her before Natsumi was in front of him.

"I finally found you!" She declared, "I was about to give up."

"Eh?" Said his audience, giving them disbelieving looks. Shin ignored them.

"Why are you here?" He asked, happy but confused.

"What's going on?" Asked Uchi, still unsure of what was happening.

"Is she Sawada's girlfriend then?" Shouted Yankumi, skidding to the front of the group. Baka, he thought again. Always jumping to the wrong conclusion.

This statement encouraged the rest of the guys to make similar conjectures, and Shin knew he was in for it. As girl-crazy as they were, they wouldn't forgive him if they thought he was dating someone without telling them.

He avoided Natsumi's eyes as they started to yell at him, wishing that his friends weren't such morons.

"Unreal!" shouted Kuma with a gaping mouth.

"You dirty bum! I thought you weren't interested in girls!" Of course Minami would say that in front of his sister. And Yankumi. But he was mostly concerned about what his sister thought. It didn't matter what Yankumi thought. Right?

Noda was also outraged. "Why were you keeping her secret?" He demanded as Yankumi nodded along, looking as put out as the rest of them.

"Such a pretty girl too!" Howled Uchi from the back.

Shin stared at a nearby tree as he sighed to himself. Why am I friends with any of these idiots? He wondered, and not for the first time.

Natsumi decided to clear up the confusion by introducing herself. She bowed, then told them with a smile, "Hi! I'm Sawada Natsumi."

Everyone's face froze in the most ridiculous expressions Shin had ever seen.

"Sawada?" Repeated Minami.

Noda leaned forward, slowly putting the pieces together. "That means…"

Shin walked up to stand beside Natsumi. "Sorry to disappoint." He started, destroying everyone's delusions. "But she's my little sister."

He heard the sound of bowling pins hitting the ground as the group of 3-D students behind him fell over in surprise.

"Sister!" Everyone else shouted in shock.

As soon as they recovered from their astonishment, everyone had swarmed Natsumi, asking her about herself, about Shin, about her childhood, and about Shin's childhood. Before he could make sure she didn't answer any of these questions (especially the last one), the guys had invited her to come hang out with them. They suggested playing pool, going to an arcade, doing karaoke, and eating at a restaurant, but when asked what she liked to do, Natsumi softly mentioned that she liked bowling. Without further ado, Shin and Natsumi were dragged off to the nearest bowling alley.

Each of the boys did their best to show off their bowling skills, with differing success. After Uchi got a strike, and turned to make sure Natsumi was watching, Minami (who had instantly claimed the seat next to her) began to tease Shin.

"Shin, you haven't been very nice by not telling us about your pretty sister." He said, smiling at Natsumi all the while. Before Shin could respond, someone else chimed in.

"He probably figured that introducing her to you guys would be a bad idea." Yankumi commented as she prepared to send her ball down the lane.

Just before she threw, Shin asked, "Why are you here?", distracting her enough so that her ball immediately settled in the gutter.

She paused a moment as she tried to justify her presence. "I'm here as a chaperone," she decided. "I don't want any funny business to develop."

Uchi, who probably wished some funny business would develop, shouted, "Which era were you born in?"

Natsumi and Shin got up to take their turn, and as they selected their balls, Yankumi asked, "Natsumi-chan, why did you come see him? I mean, you can see him at home, right?"

She stared at Yankumi, then her eyes flicked to Shin, clearly saying, You haven't told them?

Shin met her glance, then looked away. There was no particular reason he hadn't, but he just didn't see the need. As he walked up to the lane, he heard Natsumi answer, "I can't see him at home."

She joined him, and they both assumed the correct stance.

"I live alone," was all Shin offered as way of explanation to his gawking friends. "It's part of my training to become an adult."

He and Natsumi aimed, then released their balls with perfect form. Bowling had been one of the few options for entertainment considered suitable for a senator's children by his father, so he and Natsumi spent hours bowling together when they were younger. Shin grinned a bit as they both got strikes. It was nice to see he wasn't too rusty.

As he returned, his friends immediately mobbed him with questions and comments.

"What's that?" Minami asked.

"You should have told us!" Noda complained.

"I hadn't heard that," said Yankumi in a mixture of confusion and indignation, as if she was personally offended she hadn't known about Shin's living situation.

"I didn't tell you." Shin responded, giving her a look. It's not like he was required to tell her all about his life.

"Well, let's go visit his place next time!" Kuma suggested happily, and everyone slapped his head in rebuke.

"That's not what we're talking about!" They told him with stern faces.

"That's why I wanted to see him." Natsumi piped up with a smile, then walked over to her seat. Shin watched her as she went. She only came to see him when she was troubled, but he couldn't tell if she was unhappy or troubled or stressed. She's gotten good at hiding her emotions, Shin thought, then realized he had too. Another side effect of the Sawada family.

"Ooo…she loves her brother!" teased his classmates, edging nearer to his sister.

"That's nice, isn't it? Getting along well is beautiful," commented Yankumi, in her own imaginary world, as usual.

"Natsumi-chan, do you have a boyfriend?" Minami (of course it was Minami) asked slyly.

"No, I don't." She answered, getting delighted looks from all the surrounding boys.

"Whoever gets the best score this round will get to ask her out on a date. How about that?" Minami decided, and Noda and Uchi agreed loudly.

This had gone far enough. A bit of teasing was fine, but he did not want his sister to be the prize for a round of bowling. Especially since Minami was fairly good, and Shin did not like the idea of Natsumi dating Minami. Way too much trouble all around.

"Hey guys, don't decide amongst yourselves," he said in a firm tone. This only moved everyone's attention from teasing Natsumi nicely to teasing him full-on.

"Sawada, are you worried as a big brother?" Yankumi asked, smiling.

Shin was not going to take any teasing from her. "Shut up. It's your turn." He informed her shortly.

"Wait a minute," Uchi realized something. "If one of us marries her, he'll have to call Shin 'Onii-chan'! Right, Shin?"

Everyone looked at him, excited about this new revelation. "Stop kidding around. It's not 'Onii-chan, it's 'Onii-sama'." Shin told them firmly. He didn't want anybody getting any ideas.

Minami grinned and said, "That doesn't matter, Onii-sama!" Then he decided to tackle Shin with the help of Uchi and Noda.

"Alright, alright!" Shin gasped, trying not to reveal how very ticklish he was.

"Can I have her?" Noda asked, and when he refused, they attacked him some more.

They're all frickin' idiots, Shin thought as he tried not to cry from laughing so hard. The barrage finally ended, and the boys went back to arguing amongst themselves. Shin went to buy some soda while Yankumi tried to teach everyone the proper way to bowl.

Natsumi called out after him, "Get me some too! I like –"

"Orange soda." He finished for her. "I remember."

She gave him a smile that faded too quickly for his liking. Something was going on.

He watched everyone practice their throws, as he handed Natsumi her drink. She murmured a quiet "Thanks" in return.

"Something happen?" He asked, keeping his eyes on the far side of the room.

"Why?" She asked softly, confirming his suspicions.

Shin rolled his head to look at her. "You came because something happened, right?"

She looked up in surprise, unused to people reading her so well. Being fairly inscrutable himself, Shin knew what it was like to hide his thoughts all the time. Natsumi covered her surprise well, then looked away.

"No, nothing really. I just wanted to see you."

Shin looked away skeptically. She wouldn't have come all this way and risk their parents finding out that she still talked to him, just to see him. But he wouldn't push. She'd tell him if she wanted to.

Or maybe nothing big happened. Maybe she just missed being with people who weren't judging her all the time. Yeah, he decided. It's probably nothing more than that.

"You seem very happy with your friends." She commented, grinning.

Shin couldn't help a smile. "Not really," he muttered, trying to play down how happy he'd been of late. Or why.

"I think you've changed." Natsumi said with a wistful sigh. "Leaving home was a good thing for you."

He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. Leaving home may have been good for him, but it wouldn't have been for her. Living alone was hard, lonely, and could easily lead into getting into trouble. He hoped she wasn't thinking of it.

"How are Mom and Dad?" He asked softly. If she was thinking of leaving, it would be because of them.

Natsumi took a breath. "They haven't changed." That told Shin everything and nothing. He knew how his parents were, but he still didn't know what Natsumi was thinking. He drank his soda and slouched in his seat, contemplating.

Soon, they were done with bowling, and after all the boys (and Yankumi) bid an enthusiastic farewell to Natsumi, Shin walked her part of the way home. They walked in comfortable silence most of the way, then stopped a few blocks from the Sawada residence.

"Today was fun!" She said to him. "It was nice to meet your friends – although they're a little weird. Your teacher was pretty interesting too." Natsumi gave him a sideways glance as she mentioned Yankumi, which Shin carefully avoided.

"Yeah, well. They're all idiots. Especially Yankumi." Shin muttered, looking at the ground as he thought maybe Yankumi wasn't exactly an idiot. She was just mostly clueless and overenthusiastic. About everything.

For some reason, his response made Natsumi grin mysteriously, then she gave him a hug and started walking.

"Hey," He called after her. She stopped and turned. "Call me next time. Or anytime." He was trying to let her know that she could talk to him. That he could help.

She smiled, then nodded. "I will."

He watched until she disappeared around a corner, then started his journey home. He wondered if his moving out had helped Natsumi at all. He had assumed that since he was the source of tension in their home, if he left, everything would be…well, quieter, anyway. That his dad would be happy that the trouble-maker was gone and that Natsumi, the good child, had stayed.

Shin reached his apartment and stuck his last frozen stir-fry in the microwave. He took a moment to look around. Everything was modern, sparse, minimalistic. It suited Shin just fine, but Natsumi wouldn't make it on her own. She cared too much. She would be thinking about how she had hurt her parents, how much they had hurt her, and wouldn't be able to take it. Shin could take it. He could pretend like he didn't care, like he didn't mind going home to an empty house. Like he didn't care if he didn't have a parent to come to the parent-teacher conference. He had gotten really good at pretending he didn't care.

He was used to people not caring about him. He was used to being alone. If it helped Natsumi at all, he could take it. With that resolute thought, he fell into a dreamless sleep.

The next day was unremarkable, except for the amount of complaining from his friends about how embarrassing their parents were, and how ridiculous their rules were, and envious they were of Shin for living alone. He eventually retreated to the roof just to escape it all.

After getting home and changing out of his uniform, he realized he was all out of food. He headed to the nearest convenience store and grabbed some instant noodles. As he was walking back, he saw Yankumi muttering to herself and rotating her shoulder with a pained expression. Shin waited for her to see him, but she was as clueless as always. She started rolling her neck and he could hear her say something about getting a massage at home.

"Forty-year-old shoulder, huh?" He asked as he walked past.

She agreed loudly without realizing who it was until she turned to look. "Wait, Sawada, what are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.

Do you always respond to random strangers on the street? He asked her silently, then held up his plastic bag as way of explanation. "Dinner."

"Ah, pathetic! A young man like yourself eating an instant meal from a store?" She declared in a righteous tone. "Our country is going downhill unless parents give their kids more thoughtfully prepared meals."

"Aren't you being silly?" He asked, thinking that she had the shoulder of a forty-year old and the speech of an eighty-year old grandma.

"Shhh!" She shushed him, and glanced around furtively. Grabbing his arm, she ran in the opposite direction. "Alright, come with me!" She said in a low tone, for all the world like she had included him on a secret mission.

Before he knew it, he was once again in front of the local yakuza headquarters. He barely had time to take off his shoes before she had dragged him into the house and shouted, "We have a guest for dinner!"

Heads poked out of every room, and everyone came out with loud greetings for Young Master Shin, who kept bowing and saying that just Shin was fine. They sat him down at the head of the table, despite his protests, and kept asking if he would like some sake. Everyone who asked got a head slap from Yankumi, who would angrily tell them that he was still a minor.

Soon all seven were seated and partaking of a hot pot, which rather confused Shin.

"I thought this was a winter-only hot pot meal," he commented as Tetsu gave him another serving.

"Ojou really likes hot pot." Minoru informed him with a full mouth.

Yankumi smiled and added, "Even in summer, we have a hot pot meal weekly. Right, everyone?"

Everyone agreed, and Shin got the feeling that Yankumi was the only one that loved hot pot, and the rest had simply been humoring her for years. Kuroda-san smiled and told him, "Don't hold back. Eat as much as you want." He also tried to give him alcohol, then remembered his age and switched over to juice.

"Thanks," Shin said with a smile, amused by how hard everyone was trying to accommodate him.

There was one tense moment where Tetsu and Minoru crossed chopsticks for the same piece of meat, but the challenging atmosphere quickly disappeared when Wakatsu barked at them for arguing in front of a guest. They both bowed their heads and said 'Hai' so submissively that Shin got the feeling that it was less of a fight and more of a way of life for them. He grinned at the familiarity of it all.

Looking a bit different than Shin was used to, Yankumi had changed and now wore her hair in a half ponytail and had a comfy-looking sweatshirt on. She looked so relaxed here. He had only seen her in her glasses/pigtails/tracksuit combo, and her no glasses/hair down/tracksuit battle face. She wasn't quite the mild-mannered Yamaguchi-sensei or yakuza warrior Yankumi here. She was Kumiko. She was…herself.

She turned to look at him and asked him around a full mouth, "Sawada, why are you living alone when you have a family to live with?"

He stuffed some noodles in his mouth so he'd have time to think of a way to answer that.

"Doesn't that inconvenience you in a lot of ways?"

Ah, he could answer that question easily. "Well, I've always wanted to do it. I can do things freely this way."

"Hmmm…don't you get lonely sometimes?" Yankumi probed gently.

"Not at all." He lied. "I'm very comfortable." And it was easy to lie, to say that with a smile, because right now, right here, he didn't feel lonely. He felt comfortable, at ease. And he was soaking it all up to savor later.

"Is that so?" She murmured thoughtfully.

Shin pretended not to see Kuroda-san look at him with a bit of concern. He doesn't need to worry about me. I'm fine. I'm used to living this way. And when I find a bit of unexpected happiness, I enjoy it all the more.

He had been saying that to himself for so long, he mostly believed it now. Before he knew it, dinner was over, it was getting late, and it was time for him to head out.

He put on his jacket and his shoes and turned to Yankumi and her grandfather. "Thank you very much," he bowed with a smile.

"Come back any time." Kuroda-san replied happily.

"Don't be tardy tomorrow morning." Yankumi reminded him.

Kuroda-san laughed and Shin chuckled a little at Yankumi's attempt to be his teacher.

"Good night," he told them both, and set out.

"Good night!" They responded, smiling fondly as he started to walk away.

Before he got to the gate, he could hear Yankumi talking to her grandfather.

"Don't his parents worry, I wonder?"

And the warmth and light of the Oedo house faded, his smile faded as well. He reached his apartment, turned on the lights, and headed to his daybed. Sitting down, he took a moment to compare his apartment from the house he had just left. All the colors here were black or white, not the warm wood tones or bright cream of their traditional sliding doors. It was quiet, not loud with the sounds of cheerful banter or friendly slaps to Minoru's head. Shin felt a pang of jealousy. He wanted a place where the only fights were about a piece of meat in a hot pot. Where people were genuinely concerned about him, not their own reputation.

He sighed, then resolutely put those thoughts out of his head. He had chosen this life, for himself and for Natsumi. There was no room for regrets.

Shin awoke the next morning from a dreamless sleep. Today was the last day of parent-teacher conferences, and since he had no parents' schedule to work around, he had opted to take the last slot of the day. He came in through the back door of the classroom just as the front door closed and saw Yankumi race to the box of treats on the table.

Completely lost in her sweet, creamy vision, Shin decided it was time for a bit of payback for all those times she had snuck up on them. He walked slowly and quietly down the stairs and slid into the seat across from her. Being as clueless as she was, she was busy talking to herself and didn't see him.

"Sawada is the only one left…" Yankumi thought aloud, then dived into the box. "It's a bit early, but I'll consider it a reward for my work." She declared happily, then opened her mouth to eat the giant cream puff whole.

Before she could stuff it in her mouth, she finally realized he was there.

"Sawada!" She shrieked in surprise, then looked at the cream puff guiltily, and hid it behind her back.

Hiding it doesn't work if I've already seen it, He criticized her silently.

Still trying to cover up her misstep, she spoke very quickly and formally. "It's unusual for a frequently tardy guy like yourself to be on time. It's commendable!" She ended with a nervous smile.

Had this been a normal situation, he might have given her a 'baka' or tried to hide a grin, but he was waiting for her to notice the obvious and ask the stupid questions that were on the packet. After a few more seconds, she finally caught on.

"Uh, where's your parent?"

He rolled his head to the side. "Not coming."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Eh?"

"I said they're not coming." He spoke a bit louder and faster, trying to tell her to drop the issue.

Being Yankumi, she didn't. "Did you not tell your parents?"

Annoyed that she guessed that right away, he took a breath and told her, "My career path after graduation is presently undecided. That's it. End of discussion." Before she could dig any deeper, he quickly got up and headed for the door.

"Oi, Sawada!" She yelled after him, but he just kept walking. He didn't need her of all people asking about his family situation. Especially because he felt that if she asked, he might actually tell her.

Later that night, while he was deep in a book, he heard a knock at his door. He looked up in confusion. None of his friends knew where he lived, and he never had guests over, so maybe it was a neighbor or the landlord.

"Yes?" He asked the door.

"It. Is. Meee!" The door answered in a very cheerful, annoying, and familiar voice. Shin sighed and rolled his eyes. How in the world did she figure out where he lived? With a muttered curse, he remembered that his address was on file with the school. Nosy busybody, he thought as he stuck a bookmark between the pages and went to open the door.

Yankumi looked at him with a large grin. "Here I am!" She declared, as if they had been playing Hide and Seek or something equally juvenile.

"How stupid," he responded, looking at the ceiling.

"Be happy." She told him, holding up a plastic bag. "I'll make you a meal."

He stared at her in disbelief. "Can you do that?" From what he knew about her, he seriously doubted she could cook worth beans.

"Don't be silly! In preparation for married life, I wouldn't neglect culinary training." Shin narrowed his eyes more. That wasn't exactly a 'yes', and what married life was she preparing for, anyway? Things with Mr. Detective-san were moving at a snail's pace, if at all. Not that he noticed. Or cared.

So she pushed past him to the kitchen area, and Shin went back to his book. As he responded with the location of different items she needed, he kept his eyes on the page so that she wouldn't notice that he wasn't nearly annoyed as he was pretending to be. Having Yankumi bustling about his kitchen, in his apartment, with him there, felt sort of…

He pushed the thought away before it could be completed. This was just a weird, one-time thing that Yankumi was doing because he was now her new cause. Not for any other reason.

And then, when she shouted, "It's done!" and proudly placed the ceramic bowls on the table, Shin sighed and seated himself on the floor. Then he actually saw what was in the dishes. He stared at the smoking remains of the macaroni and cheese for a moment before he heard Yankumi murmur an apology.

"What is this?" He tried to ask gently. With Yankumi, he wasn't sure if she was going to cry from disappointment or beat him to a pulp with rage if he somehow offended her.

"Macaroni au gratin…charbroiled." She spoke the last word as softly as possible.

"It's not charbroiled, it's charred!" He corrected her loudly. He didn't care if she was going to cry or hit him, he was not going to risk his health by eating ashes.

Then, as if she had actually considered her 'culinary preparation' not going too well, Yankumi grabbed some instant noodles and suggested they go with that.

Shin got up and turned on the stove for the kettle. As he was wrestling with the plastic packaging of the noodles, Yankumi opted to wander around his place, making him feel…weird, again.

"Your apartment is pretty neat…or should I say, there's not much in it." She commented.

Uncertain how to react to that, Shin decided to get to the heart of the matter.

"Why are you here?" He asked. She wouldn't have come to make him a burned meal just for the fun of it.

"I had a conversation with your mom." Shin froze. How much did she know?

"When you got expelled for hitting a teacher, I heard you fought with your dad and left home." She continued, answering his silent question. She also walked closer and leaned against the counter as he finished opening the second noodles, although he wasn't quite sure why he was so very aware of her presence.

"My family is irrelevant." He told her, not wanting to talk about it further.

"Well, if you say so…" She said as he walked back towards the table.

"Don't meddle in things that don't concern you." Shin warned her, but he knew it was pointless. Meddling in things that didn't concern her was her specialty. She had worked through his friends' issues, and now it was his turn. She followed him over to the table and dove into the situation with her usual naïve nosiness.

"Sawada, how 'bout sitting down and talking with him?" Her voice was bright and cheery, like this was the best idea she had ever thought of, and of course it would work. "Maybe it's not too late to make up and return home."

He investigated her plastic grocery bag and found some meat that was probably originally intended to burn with the macaroni. He looked at it a moment before he answered.

"I have no intention of returning home." Ever. Swallowing, he finally gave in to the little voice that said he could tell her, talk to her, that it might do him some good. "My dad only cares about how he looks to outsiders. So garbage like me doesn't qualify to be his family." He smiled bitterly as he quoted some of the last words his father ever said to him.

Despite telling himself that he didn't care, he waited anxiously for Yankumi's reaction.

"I see," she said softly. "Things don't always go well, do they?" She sounded thoughtful, as though she was actually considering his side of things.

Tired of staring at the packaged meat, Shin turned to look at her. She met his eyes briefly, then smiled and moved to the other side of the table.

"Well, in my case, my parents died over ten years ago." He could hear her trying to sound like her usual happy-go-lucky self and not quite succeeding. "So, I don't really understand your situation. Your parents are alive. It's a shame that you're on bad terms and not living with them." She spoke as though she were simply voicing her thought process, rather than trying to give him advice. The kettle sang like a semi-truck, and Shin got up to pour the hot water into the noodles.

"In other words, you've come to tell me to return home?" He asked, knowing that that's what adults did. They told him what to do and how to do it.

"Hmm. Well, that was my original intention, but…"

And that was why Yankumi wasn't a normal adult. She had actually listened to him, had changed her mind, her intentions. She hadn't come here to make him do things the way she thought they should be done.

Shin's phone rang, interrupting both of their thoughts. The caller ID told him it was Natsumi.

"What's up?" He answered, glad she had called him, yet wondering why.

"Onii-chan, I…I feel suffocated at home." His eyes widened as Natsumi quoted his words during the fight with his father. "I wanna get away."

He took a breath to calm himself. He should find her and talk to her before she did anything stupid. "Hey, where are you now?" Shin tried to sound as nonchalant as possible. But then the line went dead.

"Hello? Natsumi!" He shouted into the phone in a slightly panicked voice. Without a word of explanation, he grabbed his jacket and ran out the door, Yankumi following seconds later. She didn't say anything until they reached his parents' place, for which Shin was grateful. There were enough chaotic thoughts running through his mind without Yankumi asking questions he didn't know the answer to.

"Why is there a cop in front of your house?" She inquired when they finally stopped running.

"We haven't told the school, but my dad is a senator." Trying to deal with all the memories that came flooding back at the sight of his old home, Shin ignored the exclamations of surprise from behind him.

The last time he saw this place was the day he left, back in his first year of high school.

He was sitting in the principal's office, staring resolutely at the floor, when he heard the door open.

"I'm here for Sawada Shin." Came a voice that was not his father's.

The Principal looked confused. "Where's his father?"

"I am Mr. Sawada's secretary. He's made all the arrangements for me to pick Sawada-kun up."

Shin grit his teeth. His father didn't even care enough to come get him himself. Probably didn't want news of his troublesome son getting out.

"Didn't even want Mom to pick me up, did he?" Muttered Shin, just loud enough for the secretary, a Mr. Kimura, to give him a look before ignoring him.

When he got home, his father was in a righteous fury. "Striking a teacher? What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how embarrassing this is for us? Punching a teacher! At such a good school! And now you're expelled. I have no idea where we'll find another school for you, or who will even take you! This goes on your permanent record, you know. Good God, if the press gets hold of this…"

"He was harassing one of my friends. He knew Riku didn't do it but-"

"So you attacked him for one of your hooligan friends? Is that who you're going to blame this on?" His father sighed wearily. "All you do is cause trouble for me, Shin. First you dye your hair with those ridiculous streaks, then you hang out with those trouble-makers, and then you top it all off with hitting a teacher! I know it's hard for kids like you, but I thought at least you could graduate high school without some sort of scandal. Think of what kind of reputation you're giving me! You're not even worthy of the Sawada name."

"Fine! I don't want it! I hate it here! I feel suffocated, and trapped because all you care about is your damn reputation and your damn name that you don't even care about your own damn kids! To hell with you!"

"Don't you use that language in this house! And don't you walk away from me when I'm talking to you!"

But Shin had run upstairs, slammed his door, and was throwing his money and clothes angrily into a duffel bag. He had just zipped up the bag his door cracked open hesitantly.

"Onii-chan?" Natsumi asked, then stopped when she saw him picking up the bag and throwing it over his shoulder. She bit her lip and gave him a worried look.

"I can't stay here, Natsumi. I can't live like this anymore." Shin's eyes softened as he saw her fighting tears, and he walked forward to give her a hug. "It'll be alright. If things get rough, you just remind them that I'm the bad kid, okay?" She nodded slowly, which gave him the courage to walk back downstairs.

His father was pacing in the living room, but when he saw Shin, he stormed over to the front of the stairs.

"I'm leaving." Shin told him as calmly as he could manage.

"Fine! Worthless garbage like you doesn't even belong in this family! Your entire purpose of living is to defy me and disgrace this family, so go on! Get out!"

Shin bit the inside of his cheek as he resisted the urge to shout back. He took a breath, glared at his father, looked wistfully at his mother, and gazed apologetically at his sister, then turned and walked out.

He later got an envelope with some money and his welcome to Shirokin letter from one of the guards who patrolled outside his house (a secret gift from his mother, he figured). Since that day, he hadn't seen or spoken to either of his parents.

The guard recognized him and let them both in. Shin felt a bit of relief as the door opened to reveal his mother. He didn't think he could handle seeing his father just yet.

"Shin?" She said with a look of shock.

"Mom, is Natsumi here?" He asked quickly, trying to muscle past the awkward fact that he hadn't seen his mother in two and a half years.

Recovering a bit, his mother's face turned from shock to worry. "She isn't. And I got a call from her school today. Natsumi seems to have missed three days of school. But today, she left home normally."

Steps sounded on the stairs and Shin instinctually looked up. As soon as he saw Shin at the door, Senator Sawada stopped with the familiar look of anger and disappointment that Shin had received every day before he left. And then, as if to pretend he wasn't there, Shin's father continued down the stairs into the living room.

He took a moment to prepare himself, then followed his father into the other room.

"You're living under the same roof…Why haven't you noticed until now?" He demanded, towering over his seated father.

"You are in no position to tell me that." His father interrupted, still staring at one of his stupid papers. "Natsumi had never gone against our wishes. For something like this to happen so suddenly… you must've influenced her!" Standing up, he finally faced his son, who was literally shaking with anger.

"You caused us a lot of embarrassment and got expelled. It was hard to find a school willing to accept you, but I hear that you're trouble there, too. What did you say to Natsumi? I'm sure you talked her into it!" It took all of Shin's self-control not to yell, or scream, or hit his father. "Answer me!" He demanded, and that was the last straw.

He could take his father insulting him, degrading him, but he should know that Shin would do anything to protect Natsumi, that he wouldn't do anything to push her away, or make stupid decisions.

"I don't know!" He shouted back, leaning into his father's face. Because he didn't know. He didn't know if he had said something to encourage her to leave, if he had said too much or too little. He hadn't quite decided what his next move was when Yankumi physically held him back and pushed herself between the two of them.

"Mr. Sawada. Right now looking for Natsumi is the top priority, isn't it?" She asked, trying to redirect the malevolent energy in the room.

"A stranger like you doesn't need to tell me that. I already made arrangements."

Shin turned away, exchanging anger for bitterness. That sounded familiar. "I bet your secretary is running around doing everything for you, right?" He said with a mirthless laugh.

"What?" The senator had the gall to sound indignant.

"Have you ever once put yourself on the line for the sake of us kids?" Shin couldn't help his voice growing with rage.

"That's no way to talk to your parent!" His father responded, totally ignoring the question.

Shin could hear his breath, loud, angry, fast, and he knew if he didn't want to do something stupid, he needed to get out of there. All of it, the yelling, his father ignoring what he said, his mother hovering helplessly in the background, the feeling of suffocation, it was too familiar, too awful. After being away from it for two years, he had no tolerance for any of it anymore.

He forced himself to turn away and walk out. His walk turned into a run until he got at least three blocks away. He walked quickly, fuming, as everything he hated about his life came back full force. It wasn't until a good half a mile later that he even heard the soft footsteps behind him. Turning, he saw Yankumi with a concerned look, quietly following him.

The small amount of gratitude and relief he had at Yankumi's presence calmed him enough that he could form words.

"You get it now, don't you? They gave up on me a long time ago. I'm used to living alone, it doesn't bother me. But my little sister is different. She doesn't have to feel what I've felt!"

I meant to protect her. I was trying to help her. But I messed it up. I always do. I thought things would be better after I left. I thought I'd take all their anger and disappointment with me. But I didn't. I made it worse.

"I cornered her," he spoke his thoughts aloud as he finally came to a stop. "I left home and let her carry my parents' expectations. When she came to talk to me, I should've listened to her more carefully."

Blinking back angry, disappointed tears, he kept castigating himself. I should have known. I know what they're like. I used to protect her. And then I abandoned her. Forced everything on her. It's all my fault. All if it.

"If something bad happens to her," he tried to stop imagining everything that he had heard happening to young girls in the city at this time of night. "It'd be my fault!" he shouted. He was so angry at his parents, so angry at himself that he could hardly see straight. He suddenly felt Yankumi grab his arms and pull his focus out of his emotions and onto her.

"Get a hold of yourself." She told him firmly. "Blaming yourself won't help, right?"

He forced himself to breathe. Yankumi was right. Standing here feeling sorry for himself wasn't going to help Natsumi. Channeling all his fear and anger into a grim determination, he looked up with fire in his eyes.

"I'll protect her." He vowed, then leaped over a gate so Yankumi wouldn't follow and ran down the street. He had no idea where he was going, but he was sure as hell that he didn't want her to see him like this.

After half an hour of running, he heard his phone ring. He was about to ignore it when he saw that it wasn't Yankumi. Why would Matsudaira be calling him?

"What?" he responded bluntly.

"Hey dude, why is your sister going into a casino bar? Does she go to places like that? I mean, I've heard some bad things about that place. There was this one guy that told me-"

"Where!" Shin shouted into the phone.

"Um, on Higashi Street. Dude, is something going-"

Shin hung up and sprinted for Higashi Street. He had heard things about casino bars too. They were illegal. There were hookers there. And drug deals. And guys who would be more than happy to take advantage of a high school girl.

He had never done track at high school, but he was sure he broke several records as he raced towards his sister. He didn't even give the bouncer time to react as he pushed past the doors and the people inside. Scanning the bar, he narrowed in on two guys leaning towards a girl Natsumi's height with Natsumi's hair who was cowering under the unwanted attention.

Strangely calm, Shin grabbed the first guy's shoulder and threw him to the ground. The girl, who was indeed Natsumi, turned and shouted, "Onii-chan!" in surprise.

He had no time to react as all the guy's friends wanted their turn to get beat up. The next few minutes turned into a blur as he punched one guy, got pushed into a wall, head-butted someone else, and knocked another guy to the ground. Walking back, he grabbed Natsumi's hand and tried to get out of there. It was then that the first guy he grabbed tackled him to the ground. There were a few more punches and one knee to his ribs, and he vaguely remembered landing on a roulette table. But he eventually ended up in his least favorite spot, on the ground with people kicking him.

His rattled brain was trying to think of another way to get Natsumi out when he heard someone shout, "Police!" The guys around him gave him a few last kicks, which he felt connect with his already bruised ribs, and scattered.

"Onii-chan!" Natsumi cried, crouching next to him. The only reason he had a tenuous grasp on staying conscious was because his brain kept repeating, Protect Natsumi. Get her out. Protect Natsumi. Get her out.

"Go, quick." He coughed, trying to ignore the pain in his stomach.

"But…" She objected with a look of frightened worry.

"Don't tell anyone that you came here. Understand? Don't tell no matter what." Shin was now trying to ignore how much it hurt to breathe. "Leave the rest to me." I'll protect you. I'll protect you now like I should have done then.

She made a few more objections, but he finally yelled at her to leave and she ran. With his mission accomplished for now, Shin rolled over and allowed himself to pass out. He had no idea how long he lay there until voices from above slowly pulled him awake.

"Sawada-kun?" he heard someone speak his name in a tone of complete surprise. "Shinohara! Come look at this!"

He cracked open his eyes to see two detectives looking at him with concern and regret.

"Sawada-kun, what are you doing here?" Mr. Handsome Detective-san asked worriedly. All Shin could do was blink at him.

Shinohara-san stood up. Biting his lip, he said, "You men, pick him up. We have to take him in with the others."

"But Kumiko-" Shin heard the shorter one protest.

"We have to, Kashiwagi. It's our job." With that, they both left and two other officers grabbed under his arms and pulled him upright. He was vaguely aware of shrieks and shouts from the others in the bar, but he walked in a haze until he got outside. It was pouring rain, and as the cold water hit his face, he thought he heard a soft "Sawada," from behind him. Then he definitely heard a multitude of voices calling "Shin!" and one lone voice now shouting "Sawada!"

He stopped. Almost against his will, he slowly turned his head toward the sound. There, barely restrained by the yellow police tape, was the entire class of 3-D. And right there, in the middle, was 3-D's homeroom teacher.

His friends looked confused, worried, but Yankumi's eyes were clear, piercing. He wasn't sure what those eyes asked, but as he looked away, all he could think was, I'm sorry, Yankumi.

They led him to the car, and he saw Shinohara pause and bow regretfully in Yankumi's direction before sliding into the passenger seat. As the sound of voices grew louder once more, Shin kept his eyes straight ahead. He could take a lot of things, but he was certain that seeing disappointment on Yankumi's face would kill him. He had ruined her dream, after all. He would doubtless be expelled for this, and her vow of all of them graduating together would be broken. He had let one more person down.

When they reached the station, he saw Shinohara-san speak quietly with the officers there, and Shin was taken to a small holding cell. He could hear lots of shouts and screams from the rooms around him, and it sounded like he was the only one with his own cell.

The next morning, Shinohara brought him into an integration room, and asked questions while Shin studied the floor.

"Sawada-kun, what were you doing in a place like that?"

Shin noticed something that looked like a coffee stain on the floor.

"We know you aren't a regular. Most of the people we arrested have a record of previous offenses, and they aren't afraid to rat on each other, but they all say that they've never seen you before."

Huh. The coffee stain almost looked like a weird mouse if he stared at it long enough.

"So, I'd like to just give you a warning and let you go."

Shin met Shinohara's gaze for the first time with a wild burst of hope.

"Since you're still a minor, we need to contact a parent or guardian to come before we can release you."

He went back to staring at the stain, which now looked like a strange lobster, and tried to suppress a hysterical laugh. He wasn't under arrest, he hadn't done anything wrong, but he was going to stay in jail because his parents hated him. So really, this was his father's dream come true. Shin was in jail for being a disappointing son.

"Sawada, is there someone we can call?"

You're not even worthy of the Sawada name!

Shin shook his head, and kept examining the coffee stain. Shinohara sighed, then nodded to the officers who escorted him back to his cell. When Kashiwagi-san came back a few hours later and walked him back to the same room, Shin was confused. And then, he saw Yankumi.

He immediately dropped his eyes back to the ground, but he had to know. He had to see if she hated him for destroying her dream. For not being the student she wanted him to be. If she was angry, or disappointed. Shin slowly looked up and met her eyes. He saw worry and concern, but no anger. No hate. He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding, and sat down in the chair opposite her.

Now that he knew she didn't hate him, and that Natsumi was alright, he could take anything. Staring grimly at the wall, he waited for Yankumi to speak.

"I heard that Natsumi-chan made it back safely." Yankumi ventured softly. "That's good, isn't it?"

She paused a moment, then asked, "You rescued her, right?"

He knew that if he was going to protect Natsumi, he had to protect her from everything he could. He saved her from the guys there, but if word got out where she was, her reputation would be ruined. She would be expelled. His parents would hate her too. He would be damned if he let that happen.

"She never went to such a place." Shin murmured to the wall.

"Then why were you there?" Yankumi sounded confused, and a bit upset. When Shin refused to answer, she pushed back her chair and planted herself in front of him.

"You didn't want to see her get in trouble, right? If her school finds out that she was there, she'd also be expelled." Her voice was getting louder and more frantic, and she leaned down to grip his arms. "That's why you kept silent, right?"

She wanted confirmation that he was a good guy. That he had acted bravely. She had guessed everything that had gone through his mind, and Shin cursed her for being able to see through him. But Yankumi was the only one who thought he was a good guy. As long as he protected Natsumi, he didn't care what others thought of him.

"Sawada!" She shouted, shaking him.

He couldn't look at her, but swallowed and whispered, "I beg of you, please keep quiet." He knew he was asking her to forsake her dream, to not protect him, to renege on her job as his teacher. Let me be the bad guy, Yankumi. Give up on me. Help me protect her.

Her mouth settled into a firm line, and she slowly stood up with an unreadable expression.

Almost in spite of himself, he couldn't help but asking, "Yankumi, I got expelled, didn't I?"

Her regretful silence answered him better than words. "For us all to graduate together…" He quoted, softly, sorrowfully, "seems difficult now." It was as close to an apology as he could manage at the moment.

Yankumi gazed at him for a moment, as if undecided, then she straightened and marched out without a word. When the door closed, he stared after her. I'm sorry, Yankumi, he thought at the door. I'm so sorry.

Suddenly, the door opened, and Shinohara-san came in, interrupting Shin's eyeline. As Shin looked up at him, Shinohara met his gaze, then nodded, as if acknowledging something Shin wasn't quite aware of.

"Would you like to stay here? Or go back to the holding cell?" He asked gently.

"Here." Shin answered as quietly as he could. Shinohara nodded again, then left. He sat for hours with only his own thoughts to keep him company. And they weren't very cheerful. From the way Yankumi left, he couldn't tell if she had decided to never speak to him again, to respect his wishes, or to go storm the government and force them to change laws about minority. He breathed a ghost of a chuckle at the last one. However, after the hours of silence, his mind kept replaying a mixture of the fight he had with his father, Natsumi saying "They haven't changed" and the image of Yankumi's face through the rain over and over.

Suddenly, he heard the door close. Shinohara was back.

"Sawada-kun," He said, and moved to sit in the opposite chair. "You can go now."

Shin looked at him in confusion. Why were they letting him go? "Eh?" was all he could get out.

Shinohara-san's serious face suddenly lit up with a smile. "Someone's here to get you."

More confused than ever, he followed Kashiwagi and Shinohara out. As he stepped into the sun and took a breath of fresh air, he turned and bowed to both men, knowing that they had treated him much better than they had to.

He took a few steps forward, then froze in surprise. His father, Senator Sawada, was there. The father who hated him, saw him as a disappointment, refused to pick him up when he was expelled, and had declared him unworthy of the Sawada name, had come to a police station to release his son.

His father met his gaze with a look of his own, that for the first time in a long while, was not angry or disappointed. It was… thoughtful, almost wistful. The senator got into his car and was driven away, followed by a completely bewildered stare from his son.

Shin would had thought that not even a miracle would bring his father to acknowledge his son, especially not at a police station. Trying to shake off the feeling he was in an alternate universe, he kept walking, wondering how he was going to get home.

"Yo." Came a familiar voice from his left. Come to think of it, if anyone could pull off a miracle, it would be Yankumi. He turned and saw her standing in the middle of his friends.

"You guys…" He started, but couldn't think of what to say.

"Yo Shin!" Uchi called out, as the rest of the guys grinned at him.

"Shin-chan!" Minami said, knowing Shin hated that endearment.

Noda added, "You kept us waiting too long!"

Kuma just smiled wider. As Shin tried to figure out what they were doing here, and what they had to do with him getting out, they all strolled towards him, looking very pleased with themselves.

"Don't burden yourself with everything," Yankumi chastised him. "When it gets tough, lean on others. Ask for help from your friends."

Shin moved his gaze over to the ground. Maybe he had been a bit proud in not asking for help, but he wasn't really used to having people he could trust, that cared about him.

"You have friends who would run all over the place all night for you," Yankumi informed him. He stared at Yankumi, surprised at this new information. He hadn't even thought about how they all knew where he was, or why they were all downtown in the middle of the night. "Friends who would bow down to your dad for your sake." His stare turned into a gape. They had all bowed to his father? They had convinced him to come?

"It's okay to show some signs of weakness," Yankumi continued with a smile. "They're all determined to keep you company, anyway. Right?" She asked the guys, who all grinned their agreement.

As Shin struggled to deal with the fact that he did not deserve friends who cared about him so much, and a teacher who had taught them how to care, he could feel his eyes burning with unshed tears.

"Sorry," he said in a choked voice, "for causing you trouble."

"Don't mention it," Uchi declared, bumping his shoulder.

Minami leaned forward. "It wasn't any trouble to us."

"I did it for my own enjoyment." Noda told him.

"That's right!" Kuma affirmed loudly.

And before he had figured out what to say that would sound like he didn't care but relayed the fact that he was deeply grateful to them, he saw Natsumi walking towards him. The guys smirked a bit, then gave the siblings some privacy.

"Natsumi," Shin said aloud. What the hell are you doing here?

"I'm sorry," she told him contritely. "Onii-chan."

Unlike with his friends, he knew exactly how to act with Natsumi. He tried to stifle a smile, then stepped forward and tapped the back of her head as a loving rebuke.

"Baka," he told her, unable to hide his happiness that she was okay. She smiled back, and Yankumi joined them again.

"By the way, Sawada," Yankumi spoke in her mock-serious tone. "If you're tardy again tomorrow, the penalty will be cleaning the toilets."

It took a moment for what she was really telling him to sink in. "What're you sayin'?" He demanded, unsure if she was teasing him or not. "I'm already-"

"Your expulsion has been retracted. It was to help someone." She told him matter-of-factly, then turned towards the police station and added, "Shinohara-san spoke to the Head Teacher for you. Head Teacher made quite a sour face."

Shin also turned in time to see Shinohara smile and walk back inside. There was a mixture of surprise, gratitude, and the random thought of Damnit! He's tough competition (which was weird, since he wasn't competing with Shinohara. At all. For anything) running through his mind until Yankumi spoke again.

"I am, until the day you graduate," And she turned to him with a resolute face, "your teacher."

And all he could think was Damnit! again, because the way she said that churned his insides in a very unusual manner, which he decided firmly was a result of jail food.

"Let's go home!" Yankumi declared, and led them all in a general march. Natsumi hung back until she was next to Shin and looked at him with a suspicious glint in her eye.

"Who is she?" She asked, bobbing her head towards his teacher, who was trying to convince his friends to skip on the sidewalk.

"Huh?" Shin responded, wanting to know why Natsumi was interested.

"You should have seen her, Onii-chan! She came to the house to talk to Dad, and at first she was all nice and polite and reasonable, and then when Dad started talking bad about you and your school, she jumped up and started talking like a thug from tv! She cussed at Dad! She told him off for not believing in you, and not understanding you, and told him that he wasn't acting like a real parent! And she wasn't afraid or anything! I'd never seen anything like it!"

Shin breathed a shaky laugh. Yankumi had cursed at his father the Senator for not believing in his drop-out son. What he would have paid to seen that.

He glanced at Yankumi up ahead, and asked Natsumi, "Was she wearing glasses?"

"What? I, I don't think so."

He covered his mouth to hide his smile of admiration. Yankumi had gone to face his father in her yakuza warrior mode. Good God he lo-…respected her. Yes. That was it. Respect.

Natsumi narrowed her eyes at her brother and repeated, "Onii-chan, who is she?"

Staring after his crazy yakuza teacher and his loyal idiot friends, all Shin could come up with was, "She's…Yankumi," shrugging helplessly.

His sister looked at him curiously, then followed his gaze up to the front of the group, then glanced back at him with a mischievous smile.

"Ah." Natsumi spoke in a satisfied tone.

Shin looked back at her sharply. "What?" He asked suspiciously.

She gave him an infuriating smile. "Oh, nothing." And she refused to say anything else.

The next morning, Shin arrived to find Yankumi waiting for him outside the classroom. As they walked down the stairs, she grinned widely and bumped his arm. You'd think she was the one returning from expulsion.

"Hey, what's your first words gonna be?" She asked conspiratorially, "You wanna go comical?" And then she did the worst imitation he had ever heard, "Sawada Shin is here to stay." He looked to the side to hide his small chuckle.

"You do that on your own," he told her.

"Hey, where's your smile?" She asked, then, clearly unhappy with his less-than-thrilled expression, pushed his cheeks up to force a smile.

"Say 'cheese'!" She demanded, still trying to get a real smile while she forced a fake one. "Cheese!"

He stared at her, mentally shaking his head at how weird she was. "I can't." He mumbled the obvious.

Yankumi finally released his face and they both stepped into the class expecting some reaction, though Shin was willing to bet her expectations were much higher than his. However, both were disappointed and confused when they saw an entirely empty classroom. Before Shin could ask where everyone had gone, a ball filled with confetti opened above them, dousing them in colored paper, and all of 3-D leapt out from behind the upstairs divider, through the front door, and out of lockers. They had made a giant sign that said "Congratulations on a Retracted Expulsion!" (Who made signs like that besides 3-D?), and kept shouting and throwing streamers and confetti at him.

Although he thought they were being ridiculous and overreacting, since he had only been gone one day and his expulsion really only lasted a few hours, he was overwhelmed to see how much they had worried about him, and how happy they were to see him.

Then, without any warning, they swept Shin up on Kuma's shoulders and paraded him around the classroom like he had won a contest or something. Rather than trying to conceal his happiness, as he usually did, instead, he grinned like an idiot as ever more confetti landed on him.

"Hey!" Yankumi had to shout to be heard. "You're smiling really big now!"

Shin, still smiling, shouted back, "Shut up."

"It's not so bad once in a while!" She teased.

And since he only really smiled when she was involved somehow, he couldn't help but agree.