As I headed home, Fuji spoke up.

"Hey Echizen…This is where I leave you…My house is just over that way…We'll see ya!" He turned the corner and was out of sight. We continued to walk until Momo left us too. That just left me and Sakuno and we lived kinda close by. I sighed and blushed a bright red at the thought of us being alone. I was even more startled when she interlaced our fingers together. Man, this was awkward…

"Ryoma-kun…I'm so glad you found your sister. I'm glad she is ok" came her soft voice. I looked up at her and nodded.

"Me too…Umm…Uh…T..Thank you for helping me find her…Your help was much appreciated…" I looked down, our fingers were still interlaced. It felt so weird for us to be holding hands…I was only a kid after all…Well…That's what my father and sister always called me anyway. Well, It was weird because it was my first time.

"Ryoma-kun, I didn't see your sister's dog with her, is she always with her usually?" she spoke up. I cleared my throat trying my best to act like my normal self.

"Yeah…That dog is hyper, but she is also mellow when she wants to be. She was probably laying up in the room with her. That dog would stick with my owner till her dying breath. She is such a loyal dog…" I trailed off and then caught myself. Oh crap! I didn't want to sound too emotional about this. That definitely wasn't like me at all!

"You really care about your sister and her dog…You are such a good brother…" she said.

I looked up.

"Yeah…Although sometimes my sister doesn't deserve it. She does the dumbest things and expects us to have sympathy for her. Sometimes it is hard to show that sympathy. I usually think about how dumb that was and how she could have been smarter in the situation, but unfortunately…not everyone has common sense…" I explained, looking back down again.

"Yes, but the fact that you worry about her even when she doesn't deserve it shows you are a good brother…dare I say a doting brother…" she replied. My face grew red again. Good thing I was looking down. It was getting harder and harder to be with Sakuno. Her wisdom and knowledge, dare I say, out-matched my own and that in itself was what made her…appealing. Wait what am I saying? Ignore that stupid Echizen! Get it out of your head! I shook my head, trying to calm my reeling mind. Luckily we came up on her house and she had to leave me.

"This is where I leave you. Thanks for letting me help Ryoma-kun…It was fun and I'm glad your sister was found ok." I looked up and nodded. Just as she was to turn around and go inside, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into an embrace. As we stood there for a few moments, I decided to reveal everything or spill my guts so to speak.

"Sakuno, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping me find her. If it weren't for you, I probably would have gone crazy trying to look for her and then when I did, I probably would have blown up in front of her. Thanks for that. I don't know why, but when you give me advice, It always works. That is why I really like you Sakuno…" I explained, my face turning red. This time I didn't turn away. I had to face her like a man! This was so not like me, but I had to tell her the truth. Leaving someone out in the dark is cold even for me.

"Thank you Ryoma-kun…I…really like you too. Thank you for inviting me to tag along and your welcome for all the advice. I didn't know it affected you so much…" she replied. I quickly, without even thinking which was so unlike me, placed a gentle kiss on her lips. With that I waved goodbye and took off towards home. Man was I going to hear it from dad when I got home.