~ Remember Us~

I scan over the paper-pages with different printing throughout the days—our family calendar has always seemed busy because of large family—but, on that one day a year everyone is free. It's the one day we all visit mom—November 16th.

Flipping the page down I stare at the month of October—I can't think about my mom's death or the way the house is going to act on that day; I have other things to worry about, like: school and the classes I've missed, the meeting I've been absent from for the student-council, getting Shun ready for the exam I have to persuade the principle and his teacher to give him.

"I'm heading to school!" I call out to my brother's; a few poke their heads through their doors and wave me off, but most don't pay-mind to me.

Buttoning the large-black buttons of my winter-jacket and wrapping the plaid-orange scarf around my neck, I exit the house and scurry down the front-steps. I inhale the cold-morning air and sigh, only to see my breath.

Today I decided to get to school early to catch-up on everything I've missed.

Firstly I have to look over the different sheets that Ruri shoved into my locker for student-council. I know the brunette-nerd has been keeping-up with all the work on her own, but I still need to know the details for the class and Kendo-team, especially if the team is going to be running a booth.

Then, I have to look at the assignments Shu shoved in my locker—I don't really need to but, I like to know where the teacher is at all time—plus, I like to give them to Shun, so he can work on them and still be in the same loop as the rest of the year, even though A-1 is ahead of the rest of the school. But that's a good thing, if Shun uses our paperwork then he'll be about to jump into another class without a problem.

Thirdly, I had to talk to the teachers and principle. Hopefully, I can get my homeroom teacher to come with me to speak with the principle and the F-5 teacher. I know I can be convincing but Sensei knew the facility better than me. She could probably pull-out her brilliant words of wisdom and an essay about the lack of material and efforts given to the students in the F-5 class. Along with the benefits of showing the school-board that there is hope for that certain group of students—concerning Shun is the worst.

Fourth… I get away from all the crazy fan-girls who've missed my presence around the hallways.

I shift my bag slightly over my shoulder—today it's heavier than usual, but that's only because of the large amount of textbooks inside. I had promised Shun I would bring him some studying material that my sister used on me, so I gathered the old books and brought them along. I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to work around his work-schedules since I only know one of the places he works—but, I'll figure something out in time. Actually I could Onodera for this, it seems like he tends to listen to her more than me (most of the time)—plus, Shun would enjoy seeing her more than myself.

My body comes to a halt at a crossing-light as I stare out at the lines of cars filled with people rushing to their jobs early. I used to feel bad for them, but I know (especially in the business world) that the morning-shift is the golden shift. Yes, afternoon seem like a good deal too, but usually you don't get to see your family and eat a decent meal. The night-shift wouldn't be so bad either, except your sleep-schedule is messed up and it can damage relationships quickly.

The crossing-light changes I begin down the street with my head in the clouds, but that isn't unusual for me. I sigh as the thought of other people zoom past my mind and I remind myself of the tasks I have to do for myself—especially the ones' for my entry-exam.

I'm nervous—it's America, they're one of the most intense countries I know of, but they do have the best business-education available. I wonder if the test will be in English or Japanese, either works but Japanese would be easier for me—then again, who likes the easy-route?

"I should just enjoy the rest of this month," I whisper to myself—once November starts I have to begin my prep-school and focus on studying. I guess it's best to say that my grace-period is almost up.

As I reach the next crosswalk I tense for the sight of Shun holding his little sisters hands. "Ohayo (Good morning)," I greet them from behind; both girl look over and smile brightly.

"Morning!" they say in unison; Shun glances over his shoulder slightly—I can tell by the dark-bags under his eyes that he's beyond exhausted.

"…Morn—"Shun yawns widely, "—ing."

I move up beside him and take Komachi's hand to give him a break, "long night?"—he nods tiredly. "How much sleep did you get?"

"None," Shun answers in annoyance and begins to walk; I follow closely.

I reframe from saying anything else to the blonde—from what the information I've managed to gather from his classmates and mother, I know it best to not irritate Shun when he's exhausted, because he becomes very veryviolent. The only time I've actually seen him in an aggressive-manner was when we first met—he was terrifying.

A tug comes from my side and I look down at the long-strawberry-locked girl only to meet two big bright-blue eyes. "Shun-nii is having a bad day," Koma-chan sighs and looks over to her brother and sister. "Don't bug him too much, okay?"—I nod with a chuckle.

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After dropping off the two Matuso-twins I walk next to Shun in silence—I'm not going to bother him with questions about school unless he says something; the last thing I need to is to end-up in the hospital again.

I glance over to the F-5 student—his bright eyes are darkened, blonde-hair messier than usual and a hand rests on the back of his neck. He should be this tired from work since he's used to his schedule, something must've changed. Noticing his fingers tapping the side of his leg I recall Onodera telling me about Shun's strategies to remember things.

"He tap his fingers like he's typing the facts on a key-board"—the timid-brunette excitedly said at my bed-side.

I figured Shun used that method because of his love for writing—when he types things he remembers it better—so, he's tired because he's been studying? "Thanks by the way"—he stops for my voice and looks over with a confused look, "For the balloon," he smirks for the reminder, "you can tell Kosaki-san you were right, but"—I turn with a sharp eye—"I'm not a child."

"Who told you I said that?" Shun sighs with his hands shoved into his pockets.

"No one, I figured you did"—the blonde purses his lips tightly and narrows his eyes.

"I should stop hanging out with you," he emotionlessly states.

I grin for the fact, "You love my company."

"I'm not some psychotic fan-freak."

"Whatever helps you sleep at—"

"I don't sleep," Shun growls with his eyes closed.

I lower my gaze to the sidewalk—this isn't good for him or me (in an academic way)—I need Shun to be at his peak, so: proper sleeping patterns, focused and not stressed out or day-dreaming. But, when I think about it, there nothing I can really do. Shun's doesn't open-up about anything with me—yes I can consider him a friend now, but, I barely know him when I think about the deeper-details.

Tightening my grip on the strap of my backpack, I sigh heavily—there's too many things I have to think about right now. It feels like there's several shades surrounding me, each are constantly telling what to do. I would mute them but they just continue to speak faster and louder than before—it's stress.

Heavy—my chest feels heavy and brain like someone scrambled it with a fork again.

As we make it to the school-gates, I hold back any grim expression and remain straight-faced. I don't want Shun to worry.

I release a wince once I spot short brunette locks and unforgettable silhouette of Onodera; she's standing next to the gate with her eyes look over the street searching for someone. The F-5 student leaves my side and silently makes his way towards the timid-woman.

Leaning against the brick-wall I watch the two interact hoping it'll take the stress away (slightly).

Shun leans down to Onodera's height while she slowly recognizes a presence. "Strawberry," he says in a husky voice; Onodera tenses for his breath on her neck.

The blonde spins her around smoothly, causing her skirt and jacket to flutter slightly in the movement. I smirk for the bright-red blush on the shy-girls cheeks as her eyes lock with his suddenly, "E-Eh—"before Onodera could squeal Shun sweeps down and captures her lips.

"Smooth," I mutter softly as Onodera melts into the kiss and Shun wraps his arms around her waist lifting the shorter-female to his height.

I look away with a slight blush and stare at the sidewalk—I remember those moment, well, they weren't like theirs' since I could never sneak up on Chitoge for the life of me. I tried multiple times but (somehow) she figured out I was there and either block or just embrace me. That vixen was always a step ahead, which kept me on my toes.

"Good memory?"—I look over to meet Chitoge's bright-blue eyes and tender grin; she's a goddess.

Her long blonde hair is like fine spider-silk glowing in the sun—I run my fingers through her locks and grin. "Every memory with you is a good one," her cheeks flush for the comment.

Quickly her embarrassment melts away and she relaxes for the comment with a sweet-smile.

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I sigh tiredly while leaning back in the library-chair, eyes on the stack of paper sitting in front of me with different information—mostly about the Halloween Festival that's being ran next week.

"It's never going to end," I bow my head as I look over the plans for my classroom. "What's the point of this? Most of the senior classes probably want to enjoy the festival since it's their last year"—before the student council mentioned anything about the festivals, most of my classmates kept saying they wanted to walk-around and look at all the classrooms.

The vixen rolls her eyes and scans through the page, "but, it would be nice to go out with a bang."

"Why?" I flip the pen between my fingers and look up to the ceiling in boredom. "We should just enjoy it well we can. It's our last year and who knows when we'll see each other again."

She's silent as her eyes seem to dull slightly and slowly she moves a piece of hair behind her ear. "Yeah…"her voice trails, "it's our last year."

Snatching another paper from the pile I cast my eyes from the blonde—I don't want to think about it, not seeing her and being about to have her near is nerve-wracking. I never thought about it, not thoroughly, I didn't want to think about it so I kept putting it off as long as possible.

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[No…]

When I think about it though, I haven't been around the Chitoge I know and love for almost a year and a half—it won't be that hard; I've been doing alright so far.

But, why do I feel a tug of pain on my heart when I think about leaving her? Could I really do this? Could I really leave this girl? This new Chitoge?

Examining her features I feel the tug once again—it's unpleasant; it's like someone is tugging on the bottom of my heart. I shouldn't worry, she can take care of herself… right? I know the old Chitoge could handle herself in most situations, even though I thought differently back then. She was strong, independent and brave—but this Chitoge, she's different. She's sensitive, easily effected by things and delicate—she's the completely opposite to the woman I knew.

If I leave her here, will she be okay without me? What if I leave before these memories stop occurring? What if she finds someone else that seems to peak her interest?

It's one of my worst nightmares—the idea of Chitoge forgetting about me for someone else; it broke me the first time she forgot about me, but the second time, it would kill me. I don't think I could handle seeing her happy with another guy—I would hate it with every fibre of my soul; I might become murderous or something along those line. Maybe I'm just obsessive or over-protective, but, I wouldn't want to exist in a world where Chitoge threw me away for someone else.

"Are you prepared to leave the one you love half way across the world?"

I don't k—no, I know but I don't want to admit it. Truth be told, I don't want to leave this woman half-way across the world, hoping she will wait for me and still want… whatever we have.

So, the answers: no, I'm not prepared. I don't think I'll ever be prepared for something like that, because… I'm in love with this girl, just like I was before the accident.

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Remember Us

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Leaning down to the silver tap I listen to the different sounds in the hall: girls squealing, boys groaning and moaning about classes, sneakers squeaking on the polished floors and the blurred sound of Shu's voice next to me. I swear the nerd missed me more than the fan-girls, even though he visited me every day I was in the hospital with Ruri. Speaking of the nerd, she's been awfully nice to me since I returned—it's probably because dad and my brother's told them about my condition and the reason behind my hospital-trip.

"Can you believe it, Raku?!" I tense for the shout; he's been going on about the same thing the entire time: class B-2 (Chitoge and Onodera's class) holding a host-club.

Swallowing the water and red-pill in my mouth I stand, look over my best-friend and sheepishly rub the back of my neck. "It's not the best idea to be honest," I admit honestly.

Shu raises a brow for my words, "how? Most of the school's population is female, by using attractive males in their class—"

"That's the problem," I sigh and look over to a group of girls staring my way with a cheerful giggle. "B-2 is mostly girl. There's only three boys."

The perverted-nerd rubs his chin while thinking through his next argument—it'll probably start with: they're still good-looking guys, compared to some of the boys in school; such a comment would make me question his sexuality, but, judging by the scarf and hints of purple bruises around Ruri's neck-area, I know (for a fact) Shu is definitely not gay.

"Plus, our class is hosting a butler café," I cringe for the though—I would refuse but on the paper, in our teachers writing, she wrote: Ichijo Raku will be the main server in the VIP booth. That woman loves using my popularity for her witty-contests with other teachers. It wouldn't surprise me if she made a bet with B-2's homeroom teacher, it would be the only reason both high-classes would want to do something so similar. Also, Chitoge and Ruri told me that our teachers practically choose the booth theme this time.

"Who knows' what'll happen? I mean, they could pull a miracle and invite someone famous to work at the host-club," Shu tries.

"Yeah right," I smirk, "if you think about it our class has everyone that has fan-girls. I mean, the Captain's and sports-scholarship boys, they're all in the high-ranks of the popularity charts. Not to mention, if a girl wants a nice sensible nerd we have Makoto-kun."

Makoto Nasu: he's got a brilliant brain and looks the part. If anything, Shu has taught me about the "sexy-nerd" character is anime—Makoto fits the bill. He wears glasses, his uniform is always wore properly, perfect skin and sounds like a true robotic-gentleman. Not to mention, his fan-club meets in the library to watch him research different world issues.

But, the things that drives him insane is me.

I thought I saw sparks flying from his skull when the ranks came out last year. He sits at number five on the grading chart, right underneath Shu. It drove him mad and when he sees me, in class on a daily basis, day-dreaming and doing nothing I can tell he's slowly breaking every-time by the twitch of his eye-brow. It's priceless but sad at the same time.

"True," Shu sighs, "but what about F-5?"

I raise a brow for the mentioning class, "I'm looking forward to that one."

"Really? Why?"

I smirk, "a haunted house? The F-5 classroom looks like a haunted house already, not to mention most of the students in the school are terrified by them already. I mean, Shinji and his gang could pull-off awesome murderer roles."

A sweat-droplet rolls down his cheek for the thought, "let's not forget the fact Shinji injured Ruri-chan and hates you, and here you are waiting to place him in murderer-role? Are you nuts?"

It seems insane but I'm just look at their personalities and the different roles in a haunted-house. Most guys in my position wouldn't be saying such things, but then again, I'm not most males. "Not yet," I joke.

Shu rolls his orbs as we walk through the hallways—the deafening squeals of girls silence our voices. The fan-girls have been at they're worse today, probably from the days they missed seeing me which is annoying.

The screams die as we round the staircase and the student-numbers thin-out immensely.

"Damn they're annoying," I growl; massaging my temples I take a deep breath. Even though the doctors allowed me to be discharged from the hospital, I still experience headaches and nausea. They prescribed me different medications to help with my headaches, vomiting, nutrient and stress—hence the reason I was drinking from the water-fountain. "What were you trying to say?"

Shu chuckles boyishly for the remark—personally, I know he'll never understand why I hate fan-girl so much, but that's fine because at least I know I have one friend. "I asked: if the medications working for you?" he repeats.

"I don't want to talk it"—it's embarrassing; the fact I couldn't control myself and ended-up burning myself out is shameful. Not to mention how it looks to others in the business world—if my father's business competitors knew about my little slip-up and that I'm the next company-head, they would be insulting me.

I have to be able to look out for others, especially employees with families. It sends a bad message when I can't take care of myself and my well-being.

"You're human," Shu snaps, "shit happens."

I'm getting tired of hearing that same line over-and-over again like a hit-song on the radio. My dad, Kosuke, Chitoge, Ruri, and now Shu—everyone doesn't seem to understand.

"I always thought pretty-boy was just some dick-less robotic-freak"—I feel to hands on my back which push me down the last few steps; I stumble but manage to catch myself which cause the pills to rattle loudly in my pocket.

"Shinji," I raise a brow to the gang of Shun's classmates—all their faces are familiar from the Sport's Festival, especially the male in front with a grim expression standing next to a worried Shu.

"Raku, are you alrig—"Shu leaps down the flight of stairs and rushes to my side.

The perverted-nerd grasps my arm but I pull it away—I haven't seen Shinji since the day I visited him in the hospital, which can only mean one thing: something is up.

"Yeah, are you alright pretty-boy?" Shinji mocks; I curse for the name: pretty-boy—I'm seriously not that pretty to be honest. "Or do you need your little side-bitch to kiss your pride better?"

Anxiety rumbles in my stomach for his words—I want to fight and I don't know why; I don't care about what he's saying, but, just by looking at his smug-face I can see Ruri's pained face and the possible pain Chitoge could've been put through. I seriously want to still kill him.

I sigh deeply and feel relief wash-over my body like a wave, "what is it now, Shinji?" I ask coolly.

The gang smirks as one, "I heard you got Shun one of those fancy test."

"Yeah what about it?"—it took me all morning, a slideshow, charts and arguing with the principal but I convinced the school to allow Shun to retake the final-exam. It was a pain.

The gang-looking male's face twists in displeasure before leaping from the final steps of the staircase. He moves closer to me—chest to chest—he tightens his jaw. I can see the hatred in his eyes, but it's mutual, especially when it comes to someone trying to buff-up to me. My brothers and (especially) my father taught me to never let someone: younger, less knowledgeable and disrespectful dominate you, because you are better.

"You're really something," Shinji hisses—it's not a commitment, it's more so a test to see where I stand.

"You sound like of my fangirls," I mutter; I want him to hear it, just to piss him off even more.

Brushing by him I swipe his shoulder roughly causing Shinji to step-out of his stance. I feel his narrow eyes on my back as I walk away from the F-5 student and head back towards Shu. I don't want to fight today—I can't, especially since I just got back from the hospital and it wasn't long ago that he was in the same one too.

As quickly as I tried to walk-away, I feel his hands on my back delivering a strong shove. My eyes sharpen and I turn, not stumbling from his 'push'—I'm irritation now.

Grabbing his shirt with both hands I slam him into the window making the frame shake and glass to creak slightly. Shinji's face twists in immense fury—something must've really pissed him off, but I don't recall doing shit all to him this morning or to the class for a fact.

"Spit it out," I growl—I have patience, lots, but it's running to a spider-thread line at the moment.

He narrows his eyes in fury and grits his teeth, "what is with people like you always thinking you can push us around—"

"I'm not here to listen to your diary," I interrupt; Shinji growls under his breath. "Why are you bothering me today?"

His dark-colored eyes light with fire as the glass chills his skin through the white-shirt. "First you make an idiot of me in the sports-festival and now you're taking one of my childhood friends?!"—all students in the hallway stop and stare for his shout.

My eyes widen for his words. "What are you talking about?" I roughly released the gang-like student and step back.

"Don't play stupid! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Shinji shouts; I feel Shu's hand grasp my shoulder trying to get me away from the F-5 student. "You've gotten Shun permission to take the final-exam again," he growls.

I narrow my eyes as the puzzle to his anger clicks together in my head. Shinji and Shun have known each other for years, probably since they were kids, like I and Shu. They've probably been through everything together—now, now that Shun could possibly get into another class Shinji feels threatened, especially since he hates change.

"Why aren't you happy for him?" I bitterly ask. I know, if Shu and I were in the same position, I would be upset but happy for him as well.

The reputation of class F-5 is simple—you're a student in that class, you aren't going far. Either they flunk out, live off of society, and work in social-service jobs (restaurants, grocery-store or tele-marketers). Unless they manage to make it big-time and have a star on the Hollywood walk of fame, but that's a one in a million chance.

"You're taking my best-friend away—"

"If you really cared about Shun you would be happy for him," I interrupt, "if, and I repeat: 'if' he get into a high-ranked class, he has a better chance at a good future. Something F-5 can't do—"

"You think you know what good for everything—, "Shinji fights back.

I hold up a hand swiftly stopping the boy, "I don't know everything and I'm well aware of that," I admit. "But, I do know that Shun has two little sisters—one's he want to be a good role-model for—he has dreams of becoming something. Something class F-5 can't give him."

Shun's dream is to became a novelist—English is the only subject he's at a compatible level with B-2 students, even a low-level A-1.

But, to be a novelist he should go for something in English when it comes to Colleges/Universities—it'll give him a wider-range of opportunities around the country. There's absolutely no-way a school is going to take him if he stays in class F-5 and remains the worse student in the school. Any of the other class will give him a chance, from D-4 to C-3, but if he manages to get into a B-2 or my class—then, he get a long glance and a stamp of approval (mostly).

Shinji's silent for once and slides down the wall to the floor in realization—now he understands the truth, and the opportunities the retake-test could open.

"I get it," I sigh; he looks up with dull eyes. "You're afraid he'll forget about you completely because he's in another class, but, Shun seems like one of those guys that doesn't have many friends. The friends he has are the ones' he keeps forever on his side," I tell him for a little hope to lighten his expression. "You should give Shun a little more credit than you do now. He is your childhood best-friend after-all."

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~ Remember Us~

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I can recall many wonderful memories of the library as a kid.

The nostalgic scent of books gathered together on old oak wood shelves, different scents from the pages due to the many people who signed out the piece of writing. I loved the silence since it was different from being at home with my family, where silence meant the worst. Then again, I also enjoyed the different worlds that books brought me to when I needed to escape reality for a little—or a long time.

I haven't hid in a library for many years—probably since I was in Junior High and wanted nothing to do with the girls in my class, and the other students since they all seemed to either misunderstand me or just didn't peak my interest.

I and Shu used to disappear into the library every lunch to do nothing—we'd usually enjoy the others company while reading a book and eating lunch. Back then, it was rare to see us front in the field or eat in the out.

But today, once the lunch bell rang and everyone began to run to their friends, I ran to the library. I didn't want to vanish from reality—well I did, but, there's were things I needed to do still.

My eyes scan the paper laying on the table. The endless marks of pencil scrambled all over the white-surface, along with the multiple different names of guys in my class. According to the write-up that Ruri did for the Butler café, there were only five males on pre-shift. Since she did all the writing and reports for the beginning—I was stuck making the planning chart, assigning shifts and groups to sections, organizing the classroom and making so everyone is involved but has enough time to enjoy themselves still.

So far it wasn't hard, actually it was rather simple work since I've done harder planning for my dad—not to mention, family events require more effort than this.

Then I wanted to look into something—something about memory.

No matter how much I thought about what Chitoge said at my bed side, I couldn't think of a logical reason or theory behind it. I was dependent on the accident memory being the key, but it turns out that it's far from it, so what now?

As I finish the last of the plans for the Halloween Festival I gather the papers, stand from the table and make my way to the front desk.

Walking down the aisle of books I notice that there are barely any students in the library which is weird. I always thought there would be tons of students from my class especially in the silent-domain, but I haven't spotted one since entering.

Glancing up at the signs hanging from the ceiling I follow the arrows telling me where to go. I past the many different genres: history, horror, fantasy, romance, sci-fi—but I didn't see one for science or biology for the matter.

I peak towards the front-desk to see the librarian at her computer with her glasses low and nose deep into the screen. No one had disturbed her and I don't think she's been asked a question in weeks or days.

Bravely I walk towards the woman and stand at the front desk. At first she doesn't notice me, but I clear my throat causing her to look over—I watch as her face twists in surprise as she pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose.

"Hi there," her voice is quiet and sweet; by the looks of the woman she couldn't be over twenty-five. "What can I help you with today?"

"Uh…" I rub my neck nervously; honestly I didn't know whether I should be looking into this. Chitoge never told I could or couldn't—but before she didn't either and I did, so, what's the difference now. "I'm looking for books."

"Well, you're in the right place then," she smirks; I chuckle slightly.

"Preferably books on memory, brain trauma and amnesia"—the woman nods her head before leaving her desk and guiding me towards the section I desired.

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~Remember Us~

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I tap the toe of my shoe against the floor causing it to echo slightly through the cubbies. The silence is deafening, since everyone has gone home and the other members of the student council have fled the scene moments ago.

Glancing over my shoulder I look for the blonde vixen and sigh when her presence is absent before heading out the doors.

The brisk fall air covers my cheeks as the scent of crushed leaves linger. Leaning against the bricked-wall of the corridor door I dig inside my uniform pocket, drop my overly-weighted backpack to the ground and bury my nose into the neck of my jacket.

It seems like the temperature has been dropping more frequently nowadays—it shouldn't be long until snow begins to fall, but it probably won't stick to the ground.

My fingers touch a folded piece of paper, one I bring out into the open and unfold the cresses.

I grin at the content—the frilly but messy handwriting, the dorky drawing of a bean-sprout and a gorilla. It causes my heart to become warm with joy and stomach to flutter slightly—it's cute.

The message reads:


Bean-sprout, meet me at the cubbies after the meeting. I want to talk to you about something.

P.S. don't be late or make me wait!


It's a simple message but, the way she secretly handed it to me was priceless.

We had been sitting in the student council meeting listening to Marika talking about the boundaries and rules for the classroom themes—something she does every time there's a Festival.

I was bored out of my mind—I've heard the same speech for four-years and nothing has changed.

Anyways, Chitoge had kicked me slightly. I went to make a snarky remark but stopped once noticing her eyes on the table; when I looked, underneath her fingers was the note folded neatly and being pushed in my direction.

I don't know what she could possible want to talk about. Maybe it's about the competition between our classes, even about my progress since being discharged from the hospital. Honestly, it could be anything—or maybe… just maybe, she wants to walk home with me.

Folding the paper I glance over to the doors only to catch a quick glimpse of her red-bow in front of her cubby. She most likely had to grab something from her class, homework (more or less), and went to retrieve it after the meeting. Either way, she's lead me to wait for her.

Glancing down to my bulging bag, I sigh.

I can admit that I've gotten quite a few things done today, but yet, it feels like I barely did anything.

Yes, I finished the written and drawn plans for the festival booth. Got everything in order with the Kendo team and the lessons I missed. I've started preparing studying notes for Shun to study-off.

Everything is in line, but there's many more tasks at hand. For one, I want to research more about Chitoge's condition—it would be nice to see what's actually got damaged last year. I have to start studying for my prep-classes that start next month; I don't want to walk in like a fool and not know anything that's going to be taught.

The biggest worry on my mind are the four test required for applying to the states: TOEFL, SAT, GMAT and GRE. Heck—I still have to speak to my teacher about the dates and where the test are taking place. I'm hoping it won't be on the same day—yes, my brain can hold the information, but it would be easier for me to do each one at a time without a rush. But then I'll be stuck waiting on the results—if I don't get a decent grade the universities probably won't even look at me as an option… ugh, damn you future!

"It must be interesting inside your head"—torn from my thoughts I look over to the sweet-voice; the vixen stands near with a smile on her lips, read scarf wrapped around her neck, brown winter-jacket and bag in hand.

"Uh," my cheeks brighten with blush, "I just have a lot to think about."

"Seems like you always do," Chitoge sighs and looks out into the empty school-yard, "just promise me something."

I blink rapidly for her request, "uh… okay? I don't know if I can keep the promise, depending on what it is."

My body tenses for the glitz in her eyes as she looks over her shoulder—her blue orbs shimmer with despair, worry and concern. "Promise me, that you'll share your burdens with me," such a request causes me to step back.

"I-I couldn't possi—"I try but she's adamant.

The sound of her bag dropping to the ground echoes my ears. She stands centimeters in front of me with an innocent gaze in her eyes, hands clenching both my arms as she looks into my orbs on her tip-toes. "Please," Chitoge whispers; I feel her hot breath on my lips.

Her scent tangles with mine—she's so close it makes my heart-race and mind empty all thoughts, leaving only one—to kiss the vixen.

"I couldn't handle visiting you in the hospital… again," my heart-throbs for the sadness dripping from each word, "especially since it's because you always worry about everyone else."

Peering into her worlds with kind eyes, I cup her face with both of my warm bitter but sweet hands causing her to get closer. Inhaling her fragrance (watermelon), I press my forehead against hers, never breaking eye contact. "You're wrong," I softly say; she tenses for my voice, "I don't always worry about everyone. I always worry about you, my gorilla-woman."

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Boo! Surprise! Chapter 23!

I want to apologize for the wait. Actually this month has been a terrible month for me. We just had to put down out dog, due to cancer. Not to mention, I'm working now for some funding for when I go back to college in September. Also, when I get rather negative reviews, especially one's that either tick-me-off or involve one of my characters, I tend to stop writing for a little bit—which leads me to the next topic I want to discuss.

For those who believe, ChitogeXRaku are overrated—do me the favor and don't bother reviewing or continuing to read. This is a ChitogeXRaku fic—I don't know why you're here if you don't like the couple. Honestly, I've met some review thirsty writers who don't care what their fans say, but I'm not here for the reviews. Fanfiction is place for me to empty out my ideas for stories—I can honestly say, I get the idea first and then pick the lucky anime along with the couple that I believe fits the plotting developing in my head.

So—do me the favor and don't bother reviewing if you don't like the couple. For those who are commenting about Shun—don't bother—I made him because, for one, I didn't want to pull some of that bullshit that most writers do with love-triangles. I think everyone gets' enough of that from the bloody-manga; I know I do!

Also, I have loyal and wonderful fans who adore Shun and Onodera. Honestly—at first—I wasn't going to write much about the two, but due to my love for the people who support this story I made the plot work with more scene with them in it. I don't mind changing it for them because they've been here from the start, and quiet honestly, I bring them through emotional hell with Raku and Chitoge. A little fluffy love from my OC and Onodera lightens the mood, which is needed especially during the depressing states.

I apologize to those who are reading this and are loyal supports. I needed to get that off my chest because, somehow, over a span of a week, I managed to get three-bad-reviews at once which really grinded-my-angry-gears.

I will be messaging those personally, who have reviewed to the last chapter with questions regarding: my own personal stories/books. I have an account on WattPad for some of those things—not many, but it's better than nothing.

I want to thank everyone for their patience, loyalty and being completely amazing supporters of Remember Us. You guys are what makes this story great, and I hope you all continue to enjoy it!

Until next time. Love,

~BleachLover2346