Holding On

by Enigma2187

MC befriended Sayori early in his childhood, but what if Monika took her role as his childhood friend? How would things be different between the two? Will they fall in love or will they be each other's "dearest friend"? Even if they wanted to be together, an outside force will interfere with their relationship, testing their bonds to its limits. (Art by Gazz Hori, Complete 9/2/19)

38. Natsuki After: Dear

8/5/20 AN: The after stories are up. Each of these stories is 50k long, so Natsuki has a 50k word long story, and Yuri has a 50k. However, 15k for Monika, since she was the main focus of the entire story. There is strong sexual content in all three chapters, so please be advised. Thanks for reading.

---

Natsuki After Story

It's been a couple of months after Natsuki, and I have started dating.

Needless to say, I have been happier ever since I reunited with my first childhood sweetheart.

I stretched upwards.

"What a long day..."

Right now, I was walking down the usual path home, albeit a little confused.

The reason why I was confused is why my girlfriend was distant to me today.

Communication is vital to any relationship.

Without communication, it will always be subjected to misunderstandings.

Misunderstandings such as Monika and I never meeting up to confront his dad.

In retrospect, now that I think about it... his dad probably wouldn't have taken me seriously.

After all, I was only a teenager and wasn't feeling confident talking down a development studio's CEO.

But then again, this is a Schrodinger's cat scenario, so I will never know how it would have turned out, unless if I did go to the meet up in time.

As my thoughts wandered towards Monika, I felt a bittersweet smile creep onto my lips.

Yeah, after Monika calmed down from finding out that I was dating Natsuki, we finally got to talk about what happened on that day.

A bunch of strange signals blocked our cellphones from connecting to each other.

That's our official reason, but I still have a hunch that something else must have happened in the shadows.

We made up and finally went back to being friends again.

But the strange thing is... Monika still loves me despite being in a relationship with Natsuki.

"Val, I know you're dating Natsuki. But I still love you. I will always consider you to be my soulmate and lover, no matter what. And if I do truly love you, then I will support your decision to be with Natsuki. My happiness is still based around yours."

I still feel pretty conflicted as to how I should think about this whole ordeal, honestly.

Sure, the part about her supporting me no matter what is the right choice, but saying that she still sees me as her soulmate is...

Well, in layman terms, pretty awkward. And that's putting it lightly.

I let out a small sigh from my depressing and confusing thoughts.

"She always was a strange girl," I muttered to no-one in particular.

To help combat this peculiar feeling coating me, I decided to refocus my efforts on what happened to Cupcake.

Hmm, she was distant for no real good reason.

I am sure our last date went spectacularly too, and she was thrilled at the end of the day.

That was yesterday. So maybe it must be because of today, I suppose.

But what went wrong today?

Put simply, we actually didn't talk much at all today.

Maybe I should try approaching this at a different angle.

People tend to be distant if they are hiding something.

So that must mean that she be hiding something from me?

OK, but what is hiding from me?

A surprise, maybe?

Argh, I'll just have to ask her later.

Right now, I am going to wash up and do some homework for the weekend.

With that, I approached my door and took out my keys.

To my right, I saw Monika coming up to her building, apparently just done walking with Sayori.

It's good to see her with her friends.

After all, I always want what's best for her.

Even if I am not in love with her.

The green-eyed vixen was smiling as she approached the door and looked to her left to see me.

In an instant, her smile brightened, and she waved at me.

"Hey, Val!"

I smiled back and waved back.

"Hello. Long day, right?"

For some reason, she snickered at me.

"Yeah, it seems like it. You should expect it to be even longer."

Huh?

I gave her a confused look to which she giggled.

"Oh! You have no idea, do you? That just makes things even better! Just saying, I am going to miss you."

No idea...?

About what?

Miss me?

I am not going anywhere, right?

My gut feeling is practically yelling at me that something might wrong at home or anywhere near here.

But before I can even ask a single thing, Monika bolted into her home.

"Don't worry! You'll find out soon enough! Hehe! See you at school!"

"Wait! Monika! Hold on, just a sec-!"

* BAM*

Ah, shit.

This is going to end in me being completely taken off-guard, huh?

I directed my eyes towards the door as if it awaited me.

Well, this isn't going to open itself.

Here goes!

I forcibly opened the door and jumped in a combat-ready pose.

Or at least the best I can muster while facing an unknown danger.

Alright!

Nothing wrong here!

And...

I looked around to notice the house was completely deserted.

What the...?

I thought Mom and Dad would be here.

Also, where's Mike?

I scanned the living room and kitchen a little before closing the door.

On the door, I saw a note left by my parents.

This wasn't here when I went to school, so they put this on the right after I left.

I pulled the note out and examined it.

"Dear Vally."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes from the nickname they use to tease me about something.

"Your father and I decided to go on a date early this morning, so we will be home much later than expected. Not that matters, of course. Although you aren't going to be with us anymore, we think this was the best option. Not only that, but your father also owed a certain someone a favor, and he granted it. In any case, we are going to miss you. Come visit whenever you can. You're still our eldest son, after all.

-Mom"

...

The fuck?

Those were the only thoughts in my head after reading this note.

I tightened my gaze on the strange note and re-read it multiple times.

But what this accomplished was to only confuse me even more.

Why are they going to miss me?

My dad owed someone a favor?

I should visit them whenever I have the chance?

This is my best option?

What?!

I feel like I am being trafficked over here!

What the hell!

I crumpled up the paper and threw it to some indiscernible corner.

From there, I pulled out my phone and texted Michael.

"..."

"Mike"

"Mike is typing..."

"Yeah?"

"..."

"What the hell is going on?"

"Mike is typing..."

"You're going to have to be a little more specific on that, bro."

I rolled my eyes.

"..."

"Uh, am I being sold to anyone?"

"Mike is typing...?

"No? Aren't you at a new home right now?"

"..."

"What are you talking about? Hey, get home right now. This is serious."

"Mike is typing..."

"Sorry, Bro. I am hanging out with Haru at her house. She wouldn't stop bugging me all day. Don't worry, I'm sure you're gonna like it."

I put my phone down, sighed heavily, and worried about what was going to happen to me.

But my phone buzzed again, meaning Mike texted me back.

"I promise. Don't panic, OK?"

I took a deep breath and texted back.

"..."

"OK, I trust you. In any case, have fun in Haru's house."

With a smirk, I put my phone away.

If Mike says it's nothing to worry about, then it shouldn't be all that bad.

Right...?

From there, I sprinted up the stairs and to my room.

Once I got there, I opened the door.

Like clockwork, I threw my bag onto the bed and unbuttoned my uniform's shirt.

I failed to notice that my bag fell with a heavy thud, instead of landing on my bed.

"Alright, time to take a show- What the fuck?!" I yelled.

My eyes widened at my surroundings.

No...

Where...

WHERE IS EVERYTHING?!

My room was completely and utterly devoid of anything and everything.

I leaned my back against the doorframe in complete shock.

My bed...

My closet...

My computer...

My desk...

Everything is GONE!

Is this some sort of cruel joke?!

I balled my fists and looked around once more in complete disbelief.

Wait...

Wait.

Take a deep breath, Val.

I need to calm down and think.

Panicking and losing to my emotions is the worse possible way to solve this whole situation.

The best way to deal with this is to stay calm and think.

Even though everything is gone.

With a couple of deep breathes, I managed to calm myself down.

Somewhat.

OK, let's put all the clues together.

First, Natsuki was strangely distant towards me for some reason.

Next, Monika was hinting at something happening to me, making for a long day.

After that, the note saying that this was the best option for me, and my dad owed a favor, and to visit them wherever I can.

And finally, Michael saying that I am going like this and there no need to panic.

...

Hmm.

The best thing I can come up with is me moving...

Without my permission?!

Hey, what gives?!

I like my room and the way it is organized!

Argh! I never agreed to this!

Where did everything I have to go, anyway?!

In the middle of my tirade, my phone buzzed.

I pulled out to see that it was my girlfriend.

"Hello? Nat?" I answered.

There was a cute giggle in the background, which obviously Natsuki.

"Hehehe! Hey, Val. How is it going? Is everything OK on your side?"

Huh?

Why is she asking that?

My mind finally clicked on what was happening.

Wait...

Wait.

Wait!

I-I think I get it now!

It's a bit of a stretch, but it doesn't hurt to try!

"Everything's missing. Everything! Who took my stuff?!" I ranted, hoping to get something out of Natsuki.

The girl's giggling turned to full-blown laughter.

"Hehe... Hahaha! Oh, that's so unfortunate! It really is! But I got the thing to cheer you up! Come down here!"

She's laughing at my misfortune.

This is almost all the evidence I need.

"Cupcake, as much I want to come down, I think my belongings is a priority. After all, everything I ever owned was taken!"

I get it now...

Very sneaky all of you, but I got the gist of what's going on.

"Ah, just come down here, Baka. I swear you'll be relieved when you get here! Come, onnnnn~!" She teased.

Heh, I can't wait for this backfire on you.

It's a small price to pay for revenge.

Hey, I am not usually a vengeful person...

Wait, I might be, but I learn when to forgive too.

Point is, this is going to a hell of a ride.

"Fine, fine. I am coming down. This better is good." I spat with faux irritation.

With that, I hanged up my phone and went downstairs to confront the pinkette.

I opened the door to see the girl barely keeping her laughter in.

Heh, I wanna see how long you can keep that up for.

Especially now that I know what's up.

Cupcake looked up to me with her usual vibrant, and toothy smile.

"There you are, Dear. I know a little shaken up, but don't worry. Just come with me home." She cheerily said while clinging onto my arm.

I hid my actual reaction to her words, as it all it did was reinforce my theory on the events that have transpired.

"Tch... This, well, everything, better be good, Nat. I am still anxious about my stuff." I stated with a small glare.

Hehe, maybe I should make her worry a little.

"One of those things that went missing is something significant, you know," I muttered while looking away mournfully.

Her grip on my arm tensed up, but I can tell she was trying to loosen up a little.

"H-How important was it to you...?" She muttered while keeping an unsteady gaze on me.

Fool me once, eh?

"Very important, Cupcake. If it went missing, it would be irreplaceable. And it would... really suck." I woefully said.

It's true.

I do have something to give to her.

It's something that Cupcake and I got during one of our dates.

But she has no idea that I got during that time.

I remember seeing it with awe-struck eyes but, I couldn't afford it at the time.

Natsuki literally had her face against the glass to look at the object I wanted to show her, so I did something about it.

Thanks to my allowance that my parents and some cash from working odd-jobs during the summer, I bought it.

But she doesn't know that yet.

"O-Oh... T-T-That wou-would be bad! Yeah! I swear, Val! It's nothing to worry about! Just come with me to my house, alright?! I know it's safe somewhere!" Natsuki claimed with a great deal of reluctance.

I am not to show it to the gift yet, but I do want to make her aware of it.

That gift has to be given at the proper time...

Most ideally, on our first anniversary, when we first dated.

Hehe...

It's the perfect gift.

"Fine, whatever you say, Cupcake. I trust you and your gut feeling, alright?" I declared while smiling.

The pinkette looked up to me with an unsure frown but gave me her toothy smile.

"Thanks, Dear! Those are the words that I want to hear!" She cheered while pulling me to the direction of her home.

From there, we were starting walking at our own pace, with Cupcake on my arm.

Sure, it was a little unorthodox for a girl to be so "lovey-dovey" out in public, especially in this country, but we couldn't care less.

It's the little things that count in our relationship.

If a few odd glances here and there was the cost of us showing affection, then that's a bargain.

While walking to Natsuki's bakery, she looked up to me.

"Dear?"

I looked down at her.

"Hmm? Yeah?"

For some reason, her cheeks flushed a little.

And that always makes my heart soar.

I always loved it when she is timid like this.

"A-Aren't you going to ask why I was doing the distant act thing...?"

Oh, that's right!

I totally forgot to ask her about that!

Also, I should mention I am doing a damn excellent job hiding my true feelings on all this.

Hiding anything from this girl is nigh-impossible.

She has a sharp eye for details, something she inherited from both her mother and father.

Her dad's an accomplished S.A.T sniper, known for taking down crowds of mobsters in just a few bullets.

And her mom can pick out on people's body language and facial expressions.

The fact that she hasn't caught on is impressive.

So that means I am doing a great job of hiding my body language and everything, right?

Alright!

Let's keep this up!

"Right... that. I thought you were thinking about something or mad at me for some reason. Am I wrong?" I asked innocently.

The pinkette shook her head at me.

"No... no, I wasn't angry at you, Baka! I was thinking about something!" She answered.

I raised an eyebrow.

"Uh... so you were worried about something, huh? Do you want to tell me what it is and why it's been bothering you?"

For some reason, when I asked her this question, Cupcake looked ahead with a rather dead expression.

Oh, dear.

I think she's probably thinking about the whole situation.

Don't what in particular is bothering her, but I hope it fixes up when we get there.

After a couple of minutes of being a shell, I decided to wake her up.

"Nat... Nat... Natty? Cupcake?" I called, hoping to get her attention.

All the girl did was hold onto my arm tightly and walk with me.

Then I saw her put on a somewhat perverted expression.

OK, that definitely is going to give us even weirder looks from any passerby.

To wake the seemingly asleep girl, I pinched her hip, which glued to my hand.

The girl gave a cute "Fweh?!" and looked around frantically.

"Hey! That hurt! What was that for?!" She whined while rubbing her pinched hip.

I gave her a laid-back look and shrugged.

"Hmm, I don't know. Why were you looking at the street pole so perversely?" I fired.

The pinkette's cheeks flared up in response, springing to life compared to how it was earlier.

"I-I-I wasn't looking at anything perverted, pervert! I-I was a bit... sleepy!" She fired back.

My eyes deadpanned at the girl's response to my claim.

"Uh-huh, then for lack of a better analogy, why are your cheeks redder than Rudolph's nose?" I teased.

Cupcake's eyes widened and darted all across my face before closing up.

She puffed out her cheeks and pulled my arm down with her body weight.

Unfortunately, I didn't anticipate that she would do such a thing, so I nearly doubled over from her pull.

"Shaddap, shaddap, shaddap! I am not red! You're red!" She cutely yelled.

Even though I almost fell, it was worth seeing the pinkette's flustered state.

After all, it's one of the reasons why I fell in love with her.

"Yes, yes. I suppose I am red. Come on, Nat. Let's get moving already. Some people might stare at us." I slyly said.

In response to my teasing, Natsuki whined again.

"Auuuuu! You like teasing me, don't you?! You... you... sadist!"

I couldn't help but cover my evergrowing smile.

"Now, now, no need to call each other names. Calm down, will ya?" I retorted.

She puffed out her cheeks and held my arm again.

"Fine."

Goodness, she is so cute.

And teasing her never gets old.

We picked up the pace and got to the Cupcake's bakery.

But for some reason, before we got close to the door, Natsuki put her hand against her chest.

I turned to her.

Her typically vivid eyes turned lifeless.

"Nat? Is there something wrong?"

She shook her head and gave me a reassuring smile.

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it."

With that, we opened the door.

...

Weird.

I never saw her do that before.

The distinctive chime that rang whenever we entered always provoke a period of nostalgia in me.

And I always welcomed it.

The store didn't have many customers at the moment, but they were all starting to leave to prepare dinner.

Natsuki's mom was at the register while her dad was handling giving out the baked goods.

The two saw us and smirked at us, as if aware of the situation with my room and belongings.

Yep.

That's all the proof I am going to need.

But why here...?

"Well, well, well. Look's what the storm's brought in." Yamato teased.

Tch.

I have a good feeling that you were the one that my dad owed a favor to.

My gut feeling is seriously going haywire right now!

"Val, a little birdie told me that you were going through a... personal crisis." Sakura tag-teamed, showing off the same fang Natsuki has.

Cupcake got off my arm and put her arms on her hips, looking proudly up at me.

"Hehe! Dear here said all his stuff was missing and he doesn't have a clue why! So we all decided to help you!" She declared with a boisterous smirk.

I can taste how sweet revenge is going to be.

Just you wait.

"Really? You guys are going to help me?" I asked jumpily, hoping to mimic a genuine reaction.

The married pair looked at each other with a knowing look and nodded at me.

Time to strike!

Before they could say another word, I stole the spotlight.

"OK, OK! That's enough of the shenanigans. Now let's get down to brass tacks. Where is my stuff? Where did you guys even have the space to put all my stuff away?" I asked with a mock glare.

...

...

...

"EHHHH?!"

I couldn't suppress the smirk on my face, silently relishing how I could deduce everything.

The Natsuki family was taken completely off-guard by my bold claim.

"How in the-"

"World did you-"

"Know that everything's here?!" Natsuki yelled in complete disbelief.

I can only scratch the side of my cheek in fake embarrassment.

"Well... it all sort of adds up. I had a feeling that you guys were planning something. I pieced together all the evidence that was given to me. Everything from Natsuki not really interacting with me in class, my parents leaving me a goodbye note, and the conveniently timed phone call... It was a bit of a stretch, sure. But it looks like it all comes together to the end. The question is... Why?"

Yamato was the first to break out of the family-shared shock and gave me a small glare.

"Kh...! You brat. I didn't expect that my girl would bring someone like you in my home!" He grumbled while crossing his arms.

As usual, Sakura didn't take kindly to his husband's tsun behavior.

"Yamato-san, treat him with respect. Ya hear?" She warned while cracking her knuckles.

And like so, his husband backed off, as his usual henpecked routine.

"A-Alright! It just... I thought you would panic while Natsuki dragged you from your house, worrying about your belongings. But it looks like you aren't like that, are you?" He bemused.

I couldn't help but smile at the astounded veteran.

"All I did was calm down and tried to piece the evidence together so I can stop my head imploding from the stress. After all, it wouldn't make sense to have my things moved like that."

The disgruntled sniper finally sighed and rested leaned against the counter.

"Impressive. One of the things they drilled into you in the SAT was to stay calm and think your actions carefully. But in any case, you want to know why all your stuff is here, isn't that right?"

I nodded, ready to hear his explanation.

His stern facial expression finally mellowed out, and he smiled.

"Well, didn't I tell you that your dad and I were close buddies?" He asked, hoping to jog my memory.

He did say that, but all I know is that my dad was a police officer of some sort before getting a desk job at a corporation...

"He and I hung out in a long time once you and Natsuki became a couple. And since he owed me a favor, I asked that he moved everything that you had into our new guest room. Since you're going to be my future son-in-law, I want to shape you up to be a worthy man for my girl." He explained.

I looked to Natsuki, who was looking down on the floor with an utterly scarlet face.

...

Wait, what?!

Son-in-law?!

"S-Son-in-law? You mean..."

The sniper smirked at my stupefied expression.

"Hmph, we'll see about that. That we'll leave for the future. In any case, I want my little girl to be happy, so this is one of the unorthodox options I had in mind. Anyway, the reason why your dad agreed to all this is that what you also wanted?"

Now it was my turn for my cheeks to burn bright.

"W-What?! H-How did you..."

Sakura laughed at my red face.

"Oh, Val. I overheard you telling Natsuki that you liked our home and wished you could live here. Isn't that right?"

I facepalmed from what I said at that time.

"You know, Cupcake... If I had the chance to be closer to you, the first thing I would try to live closer to you. Hey, this place isn't half-bad to live in, don't you think?"

I groaned from that resurfaced memory.

"Ugh, yeah. I guess you're right. But isn't it a bit of stretch to even do this?"

Yamato nodded slowly at my words.

"Yes, it is. But knowing you, you wouldn't object now, would you? And it's not like we wouldn't want you here or anything!"

...

...

...

Did Natsuki's dad give the usual tsundere routine?

I looked at Natsuki again, who was staring at me with timid eyes.

Might as well tell the truth.

"Again, you're right. But could at least know why my dad owed you a favor?" I asked

The veteran smiled as he reminisced in his memories.

"Of course. It's mainly because I saved his life once. He was investigating a gun trafficking ring here, but one of the goons caught him at gunpoint. Luckily, I had my sights on him at the time and took out the goon. The rest is history. "

My eyes widened at this.

"What?! My dad nearly died...?! How come he never told Ma about this?! Or... me?"

He waved his hand.

"I don't think he wanted to tell his wife that he was at death's doorstep. And this happened a long time ago, there's nothing to worry about. What happened in the past stays in the past."

I frowned but nodded at his words, knowing there was no point in arguing back.

What happened in the past stays in the past.

The same applies to what happened to Monika and me.

With that thought, I smiled at the family that accepted me with open arms.

"In any case, Yamato and Sakura. Thanks for taking me in. I'll be in your care." I genuinely thanked while bowing.

Yamato put his hand on my shoulder.

"You're family from now on. So I am gonna treat you like the son I never had."

Uh...

What does that mean?

Is he finally going to stop this act of calling me a brat and glaring at me whenever I am with Natsuki?

"And just so you know, I am going to very tough on you, brat. You're gonna be a man when I am done with you." He said with a frown.

Right on cue, that statement earned him a good smack on the back of his head.

"Yamato-san. Stop calling him a brat! And he doesn't have to pass any test to be with Natsuki. He's in love with our daughter and is a worthy man!" She glared at the henpecked husband.

Test?

What test?

"Uh... what test are you guys talking about?" I asked. "Just a little curious."

Yamato hissed in pain as he rubbed his nape.

"Well, in tradition, I married my beautiful, strong wife by fighting her father. So, in turn, I expect that you fight back. But unlike her father, I am going to train you so you can have an even match."

An even match...?

To be frank, I think I wouldn't be able to beat Yamato in a fight.

He is older sure, but he is a trained SAT sniper and still in his prime.

And all I know is some boxing.

Some training would be excellent.

And...

I looked at my girlfriend, who was looking at her family with a smile.

For some reason, I wanted to protect her and her smile.

If I am just a pushover when push comes to shove, then I don't deserve her.

Even though this tradition is a little dated, I still want to be seen as worthy in Yamato's eyes.

So I can protect Natsuki.

With a deep breath, I looked at Yamato in the eyes.

"You know what? I think I want to do this test of yours." I declared.

Sakura shook her head in disapproval.

"Val, I know you what you're thinking. You are no pushover. You proved time and time again, you're a capable man. But if you are going to go through with this, then I won't stop you."

Natsuki gripped my hand with a small frown.

"Yeah, you don't have to do this test, ya know. Even if my dad doesn't show it, he still likes you. And..."

She blushed a scarlet red.

"I don't think anyone would object to it."

By 'it,' she's talking about marriage.

...

I do plan on marrying Natsuki in the future, given how smoothly our relationship has been going.

But even then, I still want to feel like I earned the right to do that.

Just having it be given on a silver platter isn't enough for me.

"Even then, this doesn't feel right to me. I want to... do all that in my own terms. I want to feel like I accomplished something. If I earned that right by being with you for a long time, that's not enough for me. And I need to push myself to improve more and more."

Yamato grunted in approval.

"Heh! That's the spirit, kid. I felt the same way as you did when I was younger, but it took a lot of tries to get Sakura's hand. Also, I should warn you, there's no going back after this. Once you're in this test, there's no going back. But you got potential, I know you can do it."

I smirked and pumped my arms.

"Alright! I accept your test, Yamato! I want to be a man! And I am definitely not backing down from my word!" I exclaimed, hyped for the road ahead.

Sakura and Natsuki sighed at us.

"Boys will be boys... I'll support you. Goodluck, Val. You're gonna need it." She said with a smile.

Natsuki crossed her arms and looked away.

"Even though I don't exactly like this tradition, I..."

She looked with a small smile and hopeful eyes.

"I will support you, too! It's my job as your girlfriend!"

Because of her words, I couldn't help stop a grin from spreading across my face.

"Your training is will start tomorrow in the afternoon, Kid. I'll be pushing you to your limits!"

Kid?

That's my new nickname?

For some reason, I saluted Yamato, reminding me of the late Mr. Bisenberg.

"Are you two done? We have to ready dinner, especially since we have another mouth to feed." Sakura remarked, smirking at me. "Natsuki, show Val to his new room, will you?"

Just like that, the realization that I am apart of their affairs finally hit me.

My face burned at her words.

"Yeah... I am done. Let's go, Natsuki."

The girl took my hand and dragged me away from the counter.

---

Argh!

Stupid Val!

He has no idea what he's gotten himself into!

But there's no point of getting ticked off over this.

There was no way of convincing once he's made his mind.

The guy will look for ways to improve as much as he can.

He always so stubborn, and he will fight with everything he's got.

That's what I love about him.

"Gah! Slow down, Nat! I feel like my arm's gonna be torn off by how hard you're pulling me!" He groaned.

Even though he is confident and I am going support him with everything I got...

I'm still scared.

What if he can't meet my dad's expectations?

What if he can't beat my dad, no matter how hard he tries?

And I know how scary my dad can get to.

Those eyes told me that he isn't planning on giving him any leeway since I am his girlfriend.

...

No.

I have to stop thinking like this.

Val depends on me, and being doubtful about will make things worse.

Suddenly, I felt the weight on Dear's arm shift as he swung me towards him.

He caught me in his arms and leaned in for a kiss.

As always, I loved it if he was the one to start it.

"Mm..."

Once he was done, he pulled away.

"I had a feeling that you needed that, Cupcake."

Wow...

He's gotten really good at reading my head.

But I hope he knows that I will support him with everything I got.

"A little, yeah. Like I said before, even though this is all pointless, you can count on me! If I keep thinking that you might lose, then I wouldn't be my job as your girlfriend."

Dear's cheeks burned a little from my affirmation.

"Thanks, Nat. I really appreciate it. I am gonna do everything I can to make you my bride!"

And now it's my turn to burn up.

B-Bride...?

I like the sound of that.

We continued to walk to the new guest room where Dear is going to be living from now on.

Once we made it to the door, I put my hand on it.

"So um... before you go in. We tried to keep the layout of your room as close to the original as possible. You can probably tell that the guest room is smaller than your room, right?"

Dear nodded understanding.

"Hey, as long as everything's there. Then there is nothing to worry about."

Ah!

That reminds me, what is that so important he couldn't replace?

I hope he tells me that it isn't lost and what it is.

With that, I pushed the door for him to see.

...

I hope he likes his new room.

"Ta-da! How is it?!" I asked with faux confidence.

Please like it...

Please like it...

Please like it...

Dear's eyes looked at every nook and cranny of the room, amazed by how organized it was.

To make sure everything was in place, he checked his closet and drawers.

He kept a neutral expression the whole time he examined, so it was difficult to tell if he liked it.

My gut feeling told me that he isn't going to like it.

But my heart told me that he is going to like it no matter what.

Dear's eyes looked back at me once he reached a consensus.

"Well, everything's here. So it's all good." He replied.

...

Huh?

"That's good and all, but what about the aesthetics and stuff?"

He looked puzzled for a second but regained his composure.

"Oh, I don't mind. It's a bit different, sure. But it's the change of pace that got me hooked."

My eyes narrowed at his words, to which he raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong-?"

I shook my head.

"N-Nothing! It's just that I didn't expect you to say that..."

So, my gut feeling was wrong again?

I never thought my heart was right about this sort of thing.

Then again, using my gut in this relationship isn't the best option in the first place.

Dear walked down on his bed and sat down at it.

"Nat, I don't mind the aesthetics of the place, believe it or not. If everything's here, then don't have to worry about anything."

I let out a relieved sigh.

"That so...? Thank goodness."

Wait a minute. That means the thing that is so important is still here, right?

I should ask him about it!

"Hey, Dear. What happened to the thing you were keeping? You know the super important one?"

Dear was startled by the question at first.

"A-Ah! R-Right that! Don't worry, it's still there."

But before I ask what it is, he stopped me.

"Sorry, Cupcake. I'm keeping that thing a secret from you for the time being. I'll show it to you later."

Why is he so secretive about all this?

He should know that keeping secrets like this is wrong since he was the first to lecture me about that.

Wait...!

It's not-

"And no, it's not porn, alright? I don't have of those books in my room in the first place. Never really touched it in the first place."

Good.

I'm glad.

Especially when he said that my...

Well... he was satisfied with my body.

He noticed that my cheeks were being with color.

Because of that, my face started to exhibit the same color.

"Uh... Nat? What's wrong?"

I shook my head to stop him from investigating any further.

"It's nothing, don't worry! Let's just change the subject, alright?! Aren't you curious about how my family and I managed to pull this off?!"

I jumped into Dear's lap and snuggled against him, with my manga in hand.

"Whoa, hey! You startled me there! What's your deal, Nat?"

Since I was sitting against him, I moved around to disorient him further.

"Nothing! I just really love you!"

Those words were the trigger for him to be wary.

"Oh no...!"

I immediately turned to his neck and bit into it.

"Gah!" He gasped as I nibbled on him.

Ever since we became a couple, I started giving more and more hickies, much to his dismay.

He always complained about the lovebites, on how his friends and my friends tease him about marks.

But his complaints didn't slow my bites.

I always made that I made my mark with my fang.

"Mmh..." I hummed as I bit into him.

Dear was breathing unsteadily from me latching onto his neck, so I decided to lap my tongue on the bitemark.

"Hah... Hah..." He breathed, trying to get calm down.

I pulled away, leaving a dark red spot.

"Now that'll leave a mark! Hehehe!" I remarked, marveling at my handiwork.

As usual, he would try to rub it off, only for it come back as red as ever.

"Oh, man... Nat, you know how much your mom teases me on this! And not only that, your dad gets into a foul mood whenever he sees this!"

My small giggles turned into laughter from his misfortune.

"Hahaha! Come on, Dear! I love to give ya these bites! It's not my fault how fun it is!" I teased while reading manga on his lap.

He continued to rub it to no avail.

"Fun, huh? I remember the first hickey you gave me when we had our first time. That mark took weeks to get off! And it was right here!"

Dear pointed at the right side of his neck.

"Oh, ~! So you remember, huh? Let me give you another in that spot so you'll never forget!"

I turned my head and dove in again.

"Huh?! Wait!"

But it was too late.

I pounced on him and bit down in the same spot where we had our first time.

Having our first time was definitely not something to dismiss as 'nothing.'

It really opened my heart to how Val was feeling.

And how he felt about me...

---

The festival is today!

And I definitely can't wait to spend it with my boyfriend!

It's been a month since we have gotten together, and we go on a date.

Since they had to cancel the school's summer festival because of the gas leak and safety concerns, we had to wait a month for the city's summer festival.

Well, sure, it's bigger than the school festival, but I...

I really wanted to show off that I got Dear as my boyfriend.

To my surprise, Dear is actually pretty popular in his school, but he has no clue about his reputation.

...

Seriously, how dense do you have to be to not understand your own standing in your school?!

Ugh, that's probably a blessing since he wouldn't have to worry about how his every action will change how he will be seen...

Especially since he does the same old, same old anyway.

But worst of all, this is all a burden!

I mean seriously, the girls of Dokisai just loovvvve gossiping and fantasizing about him behind his backs!

And that pisses me off so much!

Hell, some of those girls wanted to make an appreciation club about him!

Grrr...

It's a good thing the student council shut that request immediately.

Otherwise, I would've lost it.

The strange thing is that no one has confessed to him just yet, despite being on our final years here.

I guess everyone just likes to admire him from afar.

Or someone is working the shadows to prevent anyone from confessing to him.

...

OK, well, I don't know why, but I should just be thankful for the case.

My phone buzzed, cutting my line of thought off.

Oooh!

It has to be Dear!

...

Nope, it's from Sayori in the group chat.

"Hey, are we going to the festival together?"

"Yuri is typing..."

"That's surprising. Aren't you going with Thomas? I'll be going with Haru and my mother."

I wonder what Monika is going to type.

"I'll be going with my parents on this one. What about you, Natsuki?"

The way Monika called me out was surprising, apparently aware that I was watching the chat.

But I welcomed how she teased me like this.

Monika didn't go to a lot of the summer classes when Dear told her the truth.

It hurt her a lot since she became a recluse for a week before coming up with an epiphany.

One day, she told me to meet up with her in the park so we could talk.

"Natsuki... I am going to support you and Val the best I can. We are best friends, aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are. You're my best friend too, ya know?"

"Thanks. Also... I have to come clean."

"Huh? What are you talking about, Monika?"

"Well... no matter how hard I try... I can't get over Val. I still love him. And I think I will always love him. But, I will use my love for him to make him happy. If he's happy to be with you and you're happy to be with him, I will make sure that this relationship will succeed! You can count on me!"

It kind of bothers me that Monika still hasn't gotten over him. Again, she promised me that she will never do anything that will ruin our relationship.

"Also... please don't ever bring this up to Val. You should know how he is... He likes to overthink things like this, and he will be clueless on how to handle this. I made sure he wouldn't bring this up either. OK?"

Even though it is just words, she is stringing it all up by, I believe her.

Monika never backs down on oaths like this.

"..."

"I'm going with Val on this one. It's going to be our first festival together!"

Right now, I would put some emojis here and there, but I am waaaaay too nervous to any of that.

"Cinnamonfun is typing..."

"Sameeeee! I am about to do the same with Tommy!"

"Yuri is typing..."

"I hope it goes well for both of you."

Yuri didn't have any lingering feelings, as Monika does.

After all, she had a crush on him.

We all texted for a bit longer before we all got ready to go to the festival.

I put on a simple pink yukata, with some floral designs here and there.

When I went up the mirror, I frowned.

This is the best yukata I have that doesn't look childish or too tacky.

And it isn't even good enough.

I bet everyone's gonna have better-looking yukatas than me.

And not only that, better-looking bodies...

Sayori, Monika, and Yuri all have bigger chests than me.

Not only that, but their bodies are also all so much curvier than mine.

...

It's not fair!

Why do I get the short end of the stick with my body?!

Val did say he isn't into the chest as much as other guys.

But he is into my butt.

Thing is, I doubt my butt is even that showcase-able in this yukata.

As I continued to berate myself, I saw my door open.

My mom walked in with her pink yukata, which matched her hair and eyes.

But the thing is about mom was that she was drop-dead beautiful.

Her chest and body is average sure, but-

My mother sighed as if knowing what I was thinking.

"Natsuki... how many times do I have to tell you this?"

She walked up to me and hugged me tightly, staring at me through the mirror.

"You're a beautiful girl. And I am not exaggerating a single bit. The yukata really showcases your beauty."

I gave my mom a bittersweet smile.

"Yeah, but I am not curvy as you are..."

She giggled at my anxious thoughts.

"Hehehe! You know, I thought the same too. I was just like you, thinking about all sorts of things you are thinking right now. But since you really need it, I'll let you in on a little secret."

My mom moved up to my ear and whispered.

"We are late bloomers, believe it or not. When we have a man around us, he can help us speed things up. It happened to your grandmother too."

I blinked a couple of times before turning to my mom.

"Eh? How can Val help me grow?"

She let go of me and walked near the door.

"It's easy. Show yourself off a little in the... alluring direction. He'll know exactly what to do."

With that, she left the room.

An alluring direction?

Like...

Seduction?!

W-What?!

How am I going to seduce a guy like Dear?!

The guy's hormones are practically dead!

...

What the hell, me?!

Am I seriously thinking about that instead of the bigger problem at hand?!

Like seducing a guy?!

How does seducing him speed things up?

I touched my chest, trying to understand what that means.

By touching me...?

Is that how it works?

Mom did say we are late bloomers, so...

Argh!

I'll find another way to make myself attractive!

---

Steady breathes me.

Slow and steady me.

Slow and steady.

This is my first time taking a girl that I have a romantic interest in at any festival.

And that girl is Natsuki.

Damn it!

Whether she knows it or not, Natsuki gets a lot of talk throughout the school.

Seriously, I am glad that she isn't really aware of her reputation.

But at the same time, it would make a great motivation booster to her.

The girl has low self-esteem, and having to reassure is a bit of a pain.

But hey, I love her, and I will try my best to teach her to love herself a little more.

I guess it's in my nature to help others out like her.

In any case, Natsuki really is unaware of how beautiful she really is.

Her fair skin, vibrant smile, the cute fang of hers, and now-longer pink hair glide through the wind...

Argh!

I am daydreaming again!

But it's so hard not to resist thinking about her!

I was at Natsuki's bakery, waiting for the girl to come out of the entrance to her home.

The bakery was relatively quiet since there were no customers around.

Everyone's getting ready for the festival, and because of that, the bakery had a massive surge of customers yesterday.

I came to help out, but my goodness, I never thought there were so many customers to this place!

At the end of the day, Yamato forced me to cut the revenue generated because I came in short notice.

But when I told him I didn't want a reward since he was Natsuki's father, he got annoyed.

Not the usual annoyed but another form of it that I couldn't place a finger on.

"Punk."

Out of the curtains came my girlfriend, who was wearing a pink yukata with white floral accents around.

It was simple, and that is what I loved about it.

Simplicity and to the point, definitely her style.

I like it.

Natsuki's long hair was in a neat little knot, something that bothered me a little.

And for a while now, I couldn't stop myself from gazing at Cupcake's appearance.

"Well...?! Ain't ya gonna tell me how I look?! Yer leaving a girl in da dust here!" She spat, her dialect now coming loose.

I shook myself awake and straightened myself out.

"Y-Yeah! My bad! You look amazing, Nat! Everything about your yukata helps you stand out!" I complimented.

Natsuki smiled a little and looked relatively distracted.

"I-Is that so... huh."

She shook herself awake and looked at me.

"Looks like I am rubbing off on ya, aren't I? The fact you're wearing a dark blue yukata with no designs helps show off I am an influence!"

I rubbed the back of my head, sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess you are. Sometimes less is more, right? Anyway, let's get moving. Come on!"

In a mirror to our first date after confessing our love for each other, I pulled Natsuki by her hand, and we went outside.

The girl almost staggered with my surprise pull and vigor for the date.

"Waaah! Hey! You kinda scared me a little back there! Are you that excited about the festival?"

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Hah! You bet I am. I mean, why wouldn't I? I am going to the festival with you, Natsuki. Of course, I am going to be excited!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah... with just me, huh?" I heard her mutter.

...

That's no good.

She's feeling insecure about all this.

But I am going to try my best to make her feel loved.

It's my job as her boyfriend to do that.

Don't worry, Nat.

I will do my best to love you.

We arrived at the festival without much delay, thanks to how close Natsuki's bakery was to the main street.

The festival was bustling, with everyone enjoying their time playing games, spending time, and having fun with their loved ones.

I squeezed Natsuki's hand and looked at her.

"Are you ready, Cupcake?"

She looked unsure at first, but when she saw me, her expression changed.

"Y-Yeah! Let's have fun, Dear!"

To start the festival off, we went straight to the games on each stand.

As we walked there, I had an idea.

"Hey, Nat. I was thinking of something."

She looked at me, curiously.

"Ooh? What are ya thinking?"

I stroked my chin as I thought.

"Well, maybe we can do a penalty game of some sort. You know, make things a little interesting."

At first, Natsuki's eyes dimmed at the challenge, but once I squeezed her hand, her eyes sparkled like stars.

"Heh! You're on, American! I'm pretty good when it comes to games!"

I playfully rolled my eyes from her claim.

"Yeah, uh-huh. You forget that I lived here ever since I was 7. I have had more than a decade to get good at these festival games!"

She smirked at me.

"Pff, whatever you say, American. You're no match for a native-born winner like me! Loser has to buy bean pastries and all the other snacks!"

What, wha-

"Hey! I thought I was going to decide on what the penalty was!"

She blew me a raspberry.

"Keep up with me first! Can't you see that if you snooze you lose? You should have put the penalty up as soon as I wanted to play! Seriously, guys are so slow." The pinkette taunted.

Argh...

I can't say that I am not enjoying this; I am loving how competitive things have gotten.

But also that last part kind of hurt my male ego.

"We'll see about that." I simply said.

And with each game, I made sure to make Natsuki have the advantage, despite the competitive air between us.

One such game was the famed goldfish-scooping contest.

Cupcake gasped at the stand and pulled my arm while pointing at it.

"Oh, oh, oh! Can we do the goldfish first? Can we can we?!" She asked excitedly.

I smiled at her enthusiastic vibe.

"Sure, I got the feeling you know what to do," I remarked while making our way there.

Once we were there, she giggled freely.

"Hey, I love this game! I used to catch a bunch of these when I was younger! It's super easy once you know the trick to it! What you gotta do is-"

While the goldfish scooping connoisseur told me the strategies, the stand owner looked nervously at her. Still, I shot him with a reassuring look.

"Uh, are you going to keep the goldfish with you once you're done?"

She shook her head.

"Nope. I don't want to ruin the fun for others if I get a lot of fish in a scoop. I saw it happen before, ya know?"

All I could do was nod slowly.

I got into position with her and held my scoop tightly in my hands.

Cupcake glimpsed at me and how I held my tool, only for her to scoff.

Kh...!

I'll show you!

"Go!" The owner boomed.

From there, we started scooping up all the goldfish from the small tank.

I couldn't help marvel at how quickly Natsuki was scooping up the goldfish.

Her pink eyes darted between her tool, the fish, and the water.

Wow...

Her focus is razor-sharp, isn't it?

The owner coughed a little to get my attention.

"Are you sure she isn't going to take all my fish?"

I shot him another reassuring look.

"Yes, don't worry. I'll make sure of it."

After that was over with, I started to scoop some fish...

Only for it to break my plastic tool.

Ah, crap.

Natsuki instantly saw and laughed at me.

"Hahahaha! I thought you said you had a decade to work on your skills, Baka!"

I frowned at her insult.

"Y-Yeah, I did! I'm just a little rusty!"

As my eyes wandered to her batch and I was taken aback by it.

Wait, what the hell?!

The goldfish were cramped in the plastic bag they were kept in, unable to properly swim around from the sheer density of their brethren.

"Told ya I was good." She proudly remarked as she dumped all the goldfish back into the tank.

The stand-owner sighed in relief and went back to his post.

I clicked my tongue at my terrible luck and crossed my arms.

"Whatever, goldfish scooping is dumb anyway." I childishly muttered.

Natsuki giggled again and ran up to grab my hand.

As always, her joyful laughter is what gets my heart racing.

I can't help but feel happy whenever she laughs for whatever reason.

"Yeah, yeah. I knew an American like you would say something like that. Come on, American, can you at least show me how you can do with a bit of shooting?"

When I realized there were shooting galleries at the festival, I immediately woke up.

I'm good at this, especially since I have some experience with shooting firearms.

Grandpa was kind enough to let me shoot some of his antique lever-action rifles and revolvers back home.

This should be a cinch!

"Hehehe..." I chuckled to myself.

Natsuki turned to me with a confused look.

"Eh? Why are you laughing?"

I looked at her with a haughty look and smirk.

"I'm good at this." I simply said.

She rolled her eyes.

"Is that so? So that must mean that you're bad at this too. Since you were so 'good' at goldfish scooping."

Yep, she is in for a surprise.

She has no idea.

Unless she has some experience.

"OK, then. Are you good at the shooting gallery?"

Cupcake smirked back at me.

"You think? Do you think I am the daughter of an SAT sniper just for a show? I have some experience with firearms!"

Oh?

Is that so?

Well, I can use a challenge!

This could be a legendary battle, indeed.

We stepped right up to the shooting gallery and called over the host.

"Mister! We are here for a turn!"

He handed us both a lever-action rifle and BBs to load in.

The first thing I did was get a feel for the weapon's ergonomics and weight in my hands.

Hmm, this rifle is modified to fire BBs, but it still has some of its original weight if I am right.

I looked over to Natsuki to see how she was doing.

To my pleasant surprise, she was doing the same thing I was doing.

Good...

She knows what's up.

We both loaded our BBs and got ready to fire at the targets.

"Heh, good luck American. You're gonna need it!" Cupcake taunted.

I only smirked at her and got back to making any last adjustments to my stance.

As soon as the targets popped up, I fired my weapon.

*CLANG*

The BB obviously had no recoil I had to account for, so I cycled the next BB and snapped the next target.

*CLANG*

I flicked the lever down and up again, moving onto the next target.

*CLANG*

With that, the round was done.

I turned to my right and saw Nat fired her last BB.

The BB narrowly missed the target, hitting the back of the booth instead.

"Argh! This rifle sucks!" She whined as she put the rifle down.

I walked up to her and put my arm around her.

"Don't feel bad, you can do better next time." I snidely taunted.

She bit my sleeve out of spite.

The host waited for me so I can choose my prize.

I pointed at the cat plushie, which fit the girl biting my arm.

"Here you are. Can you stop biting me now?" I asked while offering the plushie.

"Hah?"

In an instant, she let out a cute sound at the plushie and grabbed it from me, crushing it with her arms.

"It's so cute! It's soooo cuteeee!" She squealed.

She hummed in delight as she hugged the cat plushie.

"Hmm~! Hmm~! Hmm~!"

Natsuki's blissful smile made my day.

I want to see her smile like that every day.

Once she stopped hugging me, the girl pulled a fast one and pecked me on the lips.

Uh?!

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I love this cat plush, soooo muccch!"

I patted her hot pink hair as she went back to crushing the poor thing.

Natsuki is like a cat.

That's what makes so cute and exciting in my eyes.

"Anything for my girlfriend. Come on, let's play more games. We got a lot of time to burn."

With that, we went around playing most of the festival games here.

Because of my original objective, I decided to go easy on her instead of seriously taking some of the games to boost her confidence.

As a result, I had to buy her bean-pastries and other snacks she wanted while we were here.

"Mmm! This pastry hits the spot! Don't you think?" She gleefully asked.

I nodded at her words.

"Yep, festival pastries like these are amazing. Too bad they are available only once a year. I wouldn't mind if they sold at a convenience store somewhere."

The pinkette not soon after pointed at another stand selling food.

"Dear! Dear! I want to get some Taiyaki! The custard one sounds delicious!" She cheered.

And like so I bought her the food.

Not missing a beat, she bit down on the head of the pastry and moaned in ecstasy.

"Soooo goood~!"

Watching Natsuki like this made me glad to be alive.

"Nat, you're drooling a little."

I went up to her and wiped the drool off her lips.

"Jeez, you really like to eat these pastries, don't you?"

She responded with an affirmative grunt before biting down on it again.

I took a bite out of my own, which was filled with sweet potato.

Mmm. Now that's some good stuff!

Cupcake looked at me expectantly.

Let me guess...

"You want a bite?" I asked.

She nodded her enthusiastically.

"Aahh..."

I felt my face burn up a little with how forward she was being.

She bit down on my pastry and munched away.

"Hamh... Hamh... Mmm~! This is so good too!"

I can only stare at her with deadpan eyes.

Uh...

Isn't this one of those indirect kisses that manga troupes love to deal with?

Her face lit up like a Christmas tree once that was done.

Yep, there it is.

"W-We just had a-an..."

"An indirect kiss?"

She nodded meekly.

"Yeah... I never thought it would be this embarrassing, especially since we kissed before."

I patted her head from how cute she was, despite my own red face.

"Heh. Strange ain't it? Come on, let's buy some more food."

---

We finished up on eating snacks and were now walking around to burn the calories we accumulated.

Dear was holding onto my hand tightly.

That always makes me feel safe.

Like no one's ever going to tear him away from me again.

Fate tore us apart once, but we got back stronger than ever!

...

I hope.

As we walked a rather deserted part of the festival, there was a group of girls to our left, walking at the same pace.

What's their deal?

"Let's take a break, Nat. We have been walking for a while, and there's still two hours until the fireworks go live."

I only gave him a nod as we walked, feeling a strange sense of dread come over me.

What's with my gut feeling all of a sudden?

Why is it going haywire?!

There were some benches nearby, so we sat down and rested our aching feet.

And for some reason, the girls walking with us slowed near our vicinity, chit-chatting about something.

This time, Dear knew something was up.

I moved up to his ear.

"They are watching us... Any idea why?"

He only shook his head.

Once our eyes met theirs, they smiled nervously.

A blue-haired girl smiled at us.

"Uhm... hello!" She nervously greeted.

We greeted back.

Now, Dear decided to hatch a plan for this peculiar encounter.

"Let's go to another bench around the corner and see if they follow us. This just has to be a weird coincidence." He reassured.

With that, we stood up and started to walk.

And immediately after that, the group started to follow us.

I squeezed his hand, and he pressed back.

This is getting a little scary...

Once we rounded the corner, we walked towards another set of benches and sat down on them.

Again, the girls were talking to each other without a care about the world.

This can't be a coincidence.

I have a feeling they are only talking put up a smokescreen, and follow us.

But why?

My patience was wearing thin, so I decided to do something about it.

"Dear, I am gonna deal with this. It's obvious they are following us."

But before he can retort, I slipped from his grasp and walked towards the girls.

They saw me and gave me the same nervous smiles as before.

Argh.

They are so fake!

"Hey, can you guys stop following us?" I asked with a bit of irritation in my voice.

In an instant, they knew the jig was up and glared at me.

The collective glare of a couple of girls was terrifying, but I stood my ground.

"I don't know, why don't you stop orbiting your so-called boyfriend?" The blue-haired girl spat with venom.

W-What...?

Dear walked up to me once he saw the commotion.

"Hey, hey, what's going on here?" He asked, obviously a little ticked off.

A green-haired girl stepped out of the group.

"Nothing's wrong, Val. It's just this middle schooler is probably trying to catch you a case. You aren't her girlfriend or anything, are you?"

M-M-Middle schooler...?

Do I really look like a middle schooler?

"I am," Dear said with a glare, realizing the girls' malicious intent. "Why are you two following us? I am trying to have a date with my girlfriend! How do you guys know my name anyway?!"

Even though Dear was defending me, I couldn't focus at all.

I'm helping him catch a case...?

But I am not a kid!

Now an orange-haired girl stepped out the group.

"We got to your school, Val. You are actually more popular than you think you are." She explained while giving me the stink eye.

He was dumbfounded by her words.

"W-What? Me... popular? I am not popular. I think I am a pretty generic student. But that doesn't explain your behavior towards Natsuki!"

The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes.

"You really underestimate how popular you are. You are very above-average looking believe it or not. And we are used to admiring you from afar. But when we realized that this short stack has gotten you as her boyfriend. I mean, you obviously didn't fall for her, right? Something must be up. And we want to help!"

Short stack...?

...

So I really am unattractive.

...

That angered Dear much.

"You idiots!" He yelled, causing the three girls to jump. "She is the same age as I am and is in the same year as me! Her name's Natsuki, and she is my girlfriend! I... I love her, and there wasn't anything incriminating involved in this relationship!"

He loves me...

The way he got angry and proclaiming his love for me...

It's so hot.

The group of girls was all shaken by his angered state.

"O-Oh yeah...? Then why did you go for a girl so... flat and short? I mean, have you seen her smile?" The orange-haired girl pathetically retorted.

M-My smile?

...

When I was younger, kids used to tell me that my smile was weird.

And that's when I stopped smiling like I used to.

It was only in Ainu, where I started smiling more.

And it was because of Dear is why I smiled whenever I was happy.

He glared at them with disgust.

"I don't care about how flat-chested a girl is! She's beautiful in my eyes! All that matters is her personality and heart! Tch! I wasting my breath! You are all shallow! Come on, Natsuki. We are leaving!"

Dear forcibly grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the scene.

As we walked away from the area, I felt conflicted about myself.

But when Dear defended me, I felt my body be flooded with warmth.

Once we were a safe distance away, he pulled me to an alley.

"Natsuki..." He muttered while looking at the distance. "Don't you let those girls' words get to you. You are not unattractive at all. I will always tell you are plenty attractive, especially now with your pink yukata. It's one of the many reasons why I fell in love with you."

...

He finds me attractive...?

...

Of course, he does.

Why would I ever doubt him and his words?

Dear looked me in the eye.

"I love you, don't ever forget that."

I felt my eyes burn when he told me those fated words.

Tears started free-falling down my cheek as I tried to keep them in.

"Val...!"

I buried my face into his chest.

---

Natsuki sobbed into my chest, letting all emotions she was holding in finally let go.

And because of that, I hugged her tightly.

I let her cry out herself before she finally calmed down.

When she looked up to me, I looked down at her with warm eyes.

"Val... can you tell me how beautiful I am? Can you... prove it to me?"

...

Prove it to her?

That means...

"Natsuki, what do you mean?" I asked softly, hoping she would elaborate.

She smiled and looked straight at me with her pink upturned eyes.

"I want you to love me. I want to feel your love."

I had a feeling that is what she wanted.

Despite wanting this for a while, I looked away hesitantly.

She tugged at my yukata and frowned.

"Please...?" Natsuki weakly begged.

I sighed.

"Alright. Let's find a good place for all this. You're kinda making me nervous, Nat." I remarked with a nervous smile.

She smiled back and crushed me in a hug.

From there, we entered the nearby red-light district and went into one of the hotels there.

In the red-light districts, one of the hotel's purpose is to help us with our objective.

The building was a bit sleazy, possibly fitting very well into its overall purpose, but we pressed on.

I paid for the room, and we got our keys.

As we went up the elevator, I squeezed Natsuki's hand tight.

She squeezed back just as tight.

We were both obviously nervous about what was going to happen next as we opened the door.

There lay a luxurious king-sized bed, a T.V, some cabinets with some household items out, and a bathroom.

"Natsuki, do you want to take a shower bef-"

I felt her hug me behind me.

"No... I don't want you to go anywhere. I'm so nervous that if you leave me for even a second, I might... cry again." She whispered.

I gulped and obliged her.

"O-Okay, if you say so. S-Shall we get started then? OH! I almost forgot, do we need condoms or..."

I felt her hug me even tighter.

"You... You are so caring that I might really lose it. No, I am on a pill." She meekly said. "So take me now... I don't think I can wait any longer."

Ever since I dragged out that scene, she has been reticent.

She is a susceptible state mind, and I have to be very careful with how I approach this.

I hope I can fix that.

"OK. Let's go."

I pulled her arms off me and carried her bridal style.

Her body went limp as soon as I did that, but she showed no signs of disliking.

As I put her down on the bed, she went up to her hair and loosened it, now letting her long pink hair-free.

Yep...

I definitely have a thing for long hair.

Her hair was scented with strawberries and sugar, something I couldn't get enough of.

I removed her sash and loosened her yukata.

And for the first time, I saw Natsuki's partially naked body.

My eyes scanned every nook of the girl I loved.

"Kiss me... I'm getting too nervous." She asked while tugging against my sleeve.

I obliged her.

"Mmh... nh..."

I pulled away, only for her tug at me again.

"Again... Please..."

I kissed her again.

"Nh... Mmm... chu."

I pulled away again, and she gave me the go-ahead.

From there, I loosened her yukata and took it off her.

She covered herself up.

"Val, take off yours."

I nodded and took mine off.

Take the initiative me.

And so, I pulled her hands off her covered parts.

Now, I got a clear view of how beautiful she looked.

Her fair skin, small but reasonable chest, and supple bottom...

Wow...

This is the first time I have seen her naked, and my heart won't stop pounding against my chest!

And it made me aroused.

Her pink eyes scanned every nook and cranny of my body before she finally ventured down.

"W-Wow... t-t-that's going inside of me...?" She asked.

I nodded nervously as she gawked at my member.

...

The way she said means it's... big.

But I know I am pretty average.

Either way, that really boosts my self-confidence up!

To relieve some tension, I returned the favor by looking down on her.

There I saw her womanhood.

But I knew something was off.

"Natsuki, you're too nervous. If I put myself inside, it's going to be too painful."

She frowned and looked away.

"B-But, what can I do? Of course, I am gonna be nervous... The man of my dreams is finally taking my first time away. What's there not to be nervous about?"

Hmm, yeah...

She is way too nervous.

To the point that she is a bit too formal.

I need to loosen her up a little.

And so I went for lips for a kiss.

"Mmh~! Nh... Fhhh..."

To stimulate her is to heat up this kiss.

I hope I am right about this.

"Natsuki, open your mouth a little. OK?" I asked gently.

She nodded and let me retake her lips.

From there, I let my tongue inside her mouth, and we intensified our kissing.

"Mmhhh! Nggh!"

As our tongues battled, I let my fingers travel down her body to help her loosen up.

This is going to be my first time touching her...

I sure hope I don't mess up somehow...!

Slowly but surely, I entered one of my fingers in.

And in an instant, she tightened around them.

Yep, I think she needs to relax.

"Auuh! W-Wait, you didn't tell that you would put your fingers in!"

I gave her a small smile.

"Nat, I told you. You're too nervous. To loosen you up, I have to turn you on. This is one of the ways to do all that, don't you think?"

The Pinkette looked away nervously.

"Y-Yeah... I guess. Please be gentle, OK?"

All I can give was a nod.

I slowly thrust my fingers in and out of her.

"Aggh...! Aaah... Haaah...!"

Natsuki's sweet moans kept hounding at my stable state of mind.

But I made sure to suppress the more lustful thoughts for the sake of my girlfriend.

To better stimulate her, I hovered my hands on her chest.

"Nat, can I touch you here?" I asked.

I have a feeling I would take whatever I can when I am entirely in the mood.

But again, her state of mind is very finicky now.

She looked me in the eyes and nodded at me.

"I-If, want to touch my small chest, then go ahead..."

I'll show you.

I'll show you that your chest isn't something to be embarrassed about.

With her permission, I gave her chest a soft caress.

In an instant, I felt her back arch slightly with her insides tightening once again.

"Aaack!"

I smirked at her.

"Heh. I didn't realize how sensitive you are, Cupcake. I'll keep that mind."

She frowned at me.

"S-Since, when were you such a bully...?"

I answered with a kiss.

This time her tongue entered my mouth.

From there, I gently my hand back on her chest as we fought with our tongues.

Thankfully, she didn't react as intensely, now that I already touched her once.

So this time I decided to switch things up a little.

Now I decided to rub her chest with the palm of my hand.

With that, she overreacted again.

"Nnnnnhhh! Mmh... Mmm..." She moaned into my mouth.

That sort of touch made her react differently.

She really is sensitive with her chest, huh?

The way she moans through her mouth is really getting to me.

I don't know how long I can keep this up...

"Nat, this might tingle a little."

I massaged the entirety of her breast and pressed hard against her pink nipple with my thumb.

"Nnnnrghhh! Mmmmfh!"

The pinkette tensed up with her insides contracting again.

She pulled away, her chest heaving heavily.

"T-That spot... it sent shocks through m-my spine..."

I grinned at her reaction.

"Did you like it?"

She puffed her cheeks out.

"You're such a bully! Y-Yeah! I did... Do it again..."

With a nod, I thrust my fingers in and out once more, while massaging her chest.

The more and more I moved my fingers, the more she was getting stimulated.

In fact, my fingers were starting to soak with her juices.

"Ah... Ah... I-I really like this, Val. My body feels really good." She commented.

With her comment, I ground my thumb against her sensitive spot again.

"G-Ggaaah!"

Her back arched again.

With that reaction, I started upping the tempo of my fingers.

I made sure to knead her clitoris with the thickness of my finger.

"Nh... Fh~! Aah!"

Her movements reacted with my touch, and I continued to thrust into her.

"Hah... hah... V-Val... S-Something is...!

She must be climaxing soon.

And so, I pinched her clitoris and her nipple.

Her eyes widened as she gripped the bedsheets for dear life.

"Uuuwaaa! Uuuh! Aaaagh!"

There came her climax, finally drenching my hand completely.

Natsuki continued to tremble and quiver as her orgasm rocked her body.

Her body calmed as her eyebrows came together to form a cute frown as she went limp.

"Hah, hah... Y-You're such a bully...! I-I hate you..."

I tried my hardest to not laugh from how cute she was.

"It's one of my ways to show how much I love and care for you, Cupcake. From the way it looks... you like being bullied. Is this the start of something new?"

She whined at my intuition.

"Shaddap! Shaddap! I'll show you! Watch! Give me your love!"

I raised an amused eyebrow but smiled.

"Alright, we'll see. You might want to hold on."

Natsuki nodded as I held my neck.

Goodness!

Her grip is incredible!

She might pull me down with her if I am careful.

I positioned myself between Natsuki's legs.

"OK, I am about to enter."

The pinkette's breath on my neck was unusually hot.

It was killing me.

I placed my tip against her wet lower lips.

"Wow... you're pretty big." She whispered.

...

What?!

I nervously chuckled.

Well, maybe it's because you're so small.

The perspective of things can change how things may seem.

"Should I stop?"

The grip on my neck tightened.

"No! Don't ya dare wuss out on this!" She barked.

I winced at her, yelling.

"Sheesh! Alright, alright! I'm going right now..."

Because of that, Natsuki smiled at me.

That meant it was reassuring to see her smile, and because of that, she was more precious than ever before.

With a thrust, I pushed through her narrow walls.

"Hck... Ghhh...!"

It pained me to see Natsuki in pain.

She was still a little nervous, sure, but it wasn't as bad as before.

I can at least manage to fit my tip inside her at this rate.

As I continued pushing through, Natsuki bit down onto my neck.

My eyes widened for a moment before realizing that it was a way to cope with the pain.

Natsuki spread her legs wider so I can allow more myself inside of her.

"You're doing great, Cupcake. I am almost there. OK?"

She responded by licking my neck with her biting.

With a little more pushing, I finally managed to put the tip inside.

Her insides were squeezing painfully tight around my head.

"Gah! Arggh..." I groaned as she contracted around me.

Natsuki pulled away once I was in, and she was back to her timid self.

"Auuuh... Val... Please keep going. I want to become one with you. Don't stop, no matter what you want!"

I gave her a nod as she took deep breathes to relax.

Her spirit is there, even when she is a tight spot.

That's what I love about her.

Once she was done, I pushed forward with my hips, hoping that I can get in all the way inside her.

Cupcake again attacked the same spot with her fang as I pushed inwards.

With a little more resistance, I finally managed to enter her completely.

Once it was all clear, she pulled away and took a couple of deep breathes.

"Are you OK, Natsuki?"

She nodded slowly.

"Y-Y-Yeah... I can feel my insides hurting, but I can bear with it. Don't worry...!"

There was a rivulet of blood mixing with her juices from before.

Since she is secreting more fluid, maybe her body gotten used to this now that she's taken me in my entirety.

I moved in again, surprised how smoothly I was able to move inside her to an extent, despite how tight she was wrapping me.

"Alright, then. I will move a little more."

I pulled in and out in a slow, lethargic rhythm, trying to limit some of the pain.

Her face wasn't contorting into pain whenever I thrust, which was kind of course.

She's ridiculously tight, and that isn't helping me.

My stamina is going to be severely diminished if this keeps up.

Natsuki gave small moans of ecstasy as I thrust in and out of her.

"Nnh... Aaah... Haaah...!"

I can tell she is feeling something else other than pain.

"Does it still hurt a lot, Nat?"

She shook her head.

"It's starting to feel a little better. It feels dull."

Hmm...

Maybe I can play with her clitoris?

I aimed there and started harassing it.

Without missing a beat, her back arched slightly.

"Aaah! T-That felt good!"

Alright, I think this will do the trick.

I slowly toyed with her clitoris and placed my hand on her chest once more.

Like before, I massaged her chest, but this time with both hands.

"W-Wait... you're using t-two hands?! Nnh! Auuh!"

I laughed at the Cupcake.

"Of course. I think this is a good way to bully you."

My tip grazed her clitoris, with my hands eating her nipples.

She bit her lips to stifle a moan, trying to get me back from bullying her.

That didn't last long as I leaned in to kiss her.

Natsuki immediately accepted the kiss and started to let out her moans.

"Aah...! Nh...! Mmfh!"

Maybe I can kick things up a notch.

I deviated away from her clitoris and started moving in more and more.

Just as I thought, her walls were tightening around me, but I pressed on.

Her sweet moans were starting to become more and more lustful.

"Aah~! Haah! Uuuah!"

I allowed more of myself into in, moving my hips in conjunction.

The grip on my neck tightened exponentially.

I made sure to graze her nipples for that, causing her to widen her eyes and pull away.

"Aaaah! I-I-I f-felt my spine tingle again!" She shuddered.

Natsuki is finally starting to get into like I am.

She's starting to feel good.

"Kh... the fact you're still so tight..." I mumbled as I put more and more pressure into her.

My tip was hitting the roof of something, which caused Natsuki to lock her legs onto my hips.

"Fh...! Uhhh! Aaah! Y-Y-You're hitting... Eyaaah!"

Wait, this is her...!

I started moving my hips faster all at once, focusing on rewarding her for her hard work.

Her breathing became more and more unsteady.

"Val! Val! My b-body's on fire! Aaaagh!"

I grit my teeth from how much pressure her walls were exerting onto me.

"Hrk! You're c-clamping onto me so much!"

She dug her nails onto my back.

"Y-Yeah! I don't want you, aah! I don't want you to go anywhere! I want you here with me!"

Those words made me go ballistic.

All of the self-control I had was almost crushed by cutely she said those words.

I moved my hips more vigorously, intent on punishing her for losing control.

Her eyes closed up from how intense I was.

"W-Whaaa! Y-You're so intense, Dear! Aggh!"

When she called me with my childhood pet name, I leaned in and bit one of her nipples.

Natsuki rolled her eyes upwards with my move.

Her legs spread out entirely from my bite.

"AAAAGH! Aaaah! Haaah!

I made sure her other nipple had similar treatment as I ground my thumb against it.

The pain must be mostly gone at this point, right?

So I can go a little bit more...

"Arrrgh!" I growled.

I pulled my hips up, making sure she was still latched on.

From there, I thrust deep into her, the new position switching things up a little.

Her sensitive body reflected my pressure against her.

"Nhhh! HAAAH! AAAH! GAAAH!"

The moans she was letting out were loud, reverberating the hotel walls around us.

My goal was to make her feel loved.

And I will do whatever it takes.

I pulled away from her nipple.

"Haah... Nat... Do you like this?"

When we made eye contact, I knew that was an affirmative.

Her eyes were completely taken over by lust, now that she finally turned on.

The thrust my hips provided caused the bed and her body to rock.

I felt her walls starting to clamp on and off me, which meant she was about to let loose.

"VAL! I-I c-c-can't hold on...! AAGH!"

I knew what she was going to say.

Her tight walls were pushing me to the brink of stamina.

"Y-Yeah! Krgh! Arrgh... we'll do it together!" I proclaimed.

I leaned kissed my girlfriend as I continued to my assault against her.

The room she gave me with her leg-lock forced me to continually hit her.

It was there that I grazed her g-spot more and more.

The digging on my back grew worse, and I continued my efforts there.

She pulled away and arched her back, holding for her to meet my front.

"AAAGH! HAAAH! AAAAH!"

I held her tight, and I kept attacking her there.

"I... I p-promised to make you feel loved! I-I love you, Natsuki!"

She let out a hasty sigh and looked me in the eyes.

"I-I love you, too! Please! Let's do it, t-together! AAACK!"

My member started to twitch uncontrollably from the clamping of her walls.

I am at my limit!

Cupcake's moans were replaced by heavy and ragged breathing, tirelessly trying to regain her breath from the intense pressure.

"Haaaah... haaah! Haah..."

Finally, I felt her release the floodgates, prompting me to give everything I got into her.

"Gaaah!"

Natsuki's body heaved upward as her eyes rolled upward once more.

Her tongue was out to desperately to lap any air she can.

Wow...

Her face is so hot.

Once her climax has finally ended, she felt aftershocks, with her body twitching here and there.

I rested my body against her, careful not to crush her under my weight.

My lower body was tired of how much they moved.

That...

That felt amazing.

I pulled out of her, with my seed slowly spilling out.

This is was my first time with her too...

Wow!

I never thought we would have our first time like this!

"Dear..." I heard Natsuki call.

She was smiling at me, blissfully.

"I loved that so much...! You touched me a lot too!"

I raised an eyebrow from her last sentence.

"Touch you a lot? Yes, I did. But what does that mean...?"

She couldn't suppress a giggle from leaking out of her lips.

"Hehe... So that's what she meant." Cupcake said to no one in particular.

All of a sudden, she hugged me.

"I loveeee you, Dear! I loveeee you so much!"

I felt a little embarrassed by her confession.

"Y-Yeah, I love you to Cupcake. That will never change."

We laid on the bed for a while before we cleaned up.

Both of us put on our yukatas again and left the hotel.

Natsuki was in a much better mood compared to how she was before.

As we walked outside, letting the night breeze cool our still heated body, we held hands.

"Hey, Cupcake. I got a question for you."

She looked to me with a vibrant smile, her little fang poking out from the corner of her lips.

"Yeah? What's up, Dear?"

Her words right after we did the deed were kind of weird and are starting to bother me...

"Well... what were you talking about when I touched you a lot? Is there something involved with touching you or something?"

She giggled from my words.

"Hehehe! Yeah, there is. And what you did was something that really gets my confidence up. But I won't tell how it will help! It's a secret~!"

Huh?

A secret?

"A secret? Natsuki, we went over this." I explained.

She gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Don't worry, Val! It's more of a surprise than a secret. But to show you the surprise, then I am gonna need you to touch me more. OK?"

It was my turn to smile at her.

"Heh, if you say so. I am glad we are doing that again. Though I don't understand what you're getting at, I will do myself to help!" I exclaimed.

She giggled at my firm promise.

"It will all be worth it, I swear!"

So, it will all be worth it, huh?

Guess I will wait and hope for the best.

We continued to walk and returned to the festival in time for the fireworks.

The sparks in the skies grew bright as more fireworks exploded in the night sky.

So it begins...

"Ooooh! Look, Val! Look! The fireworks are so beautiful!"

I let my face loosen from how adorable she was.

She's so cute.

It almost makes me want to watch her only during the fireworks explode in the air.

...

My eyes focused on the girl's smiling face.

The swelling warm feeling in my heart coated me.

It was there that I knew that I would do anything for her.

What a turn of events...

I thought this would be a "normal" festival date, but I didn't expect it to be...

That intense.

She turned around to see me staring at her.

The pinkette gave me a vibrant smile and leaned in.

I leaned in as well and kissed under the fireworks.

We had to keep it civil, especially since we were out on in public, so we pulled away just as fast.

"This Tanabata festival is something to remember, huh?" I remarked.

Natsuki rested her head against my chest and closed her eyes.

"Yeah... it is. I will never ever forget what happens here. You made me love myself for real this time. And I will never lose hope in my body again."

I laughed wholeheartedly from her comment.

"You better not! I love everything, your body, Natsuki. And... I will never forget what happened back there."

She sighed happily.

"Me neither. You better not leave me, Val. You took my first time, and now you have to be with me forever. I am in your care."

I hugged her tightly.

"Hahaha! I wouldn't have it any other way!"

We hugged each other close as we watched the fireworks brighten the night sky.

The fireworks never stopped to amaze me, which is something I didn't understand.

And I think they look even more spectacular now that I am here with Natsuki.

...

Never would I think that my perspective on things would change with having a cute, but strong and proud girlfriend like her.

Because of that, I am grateful.

She fell in love with me, despite how... slow I can be when it comes to certain subjects.

Sure, she gets impatient here and there, but she still managed to wait for me to catch up.

And it was all worth it in the end.

"Natsuki..." I called absentmindedly.

"Hm? What is it, Gill?"

I grinned as I watched the lights crackle in the heavens above.

"I love you."

Even though my eyes were on the fireworks, I can tell she took a second to process my words.

And I could tell that she was taken aback from my words.

But unlike before, she recovered quickly and rested her head on my chest.

"I love you, too."

I thought I had her all figured out, but to my surprise, she bit into my neck again.

"Ah!" I gasped as she sank her teeth into my neck.

"Mmm... chu...!" She pulled away, giggling from her mischief.

I rubbed the mark she bit, feeling a stinging yet cooling sensation coating my neck.

"Jeez! So this is a new thing, huh?" I asked, hoping the strangely pleasant sting wouldn't stop.

Natsuki responded by leaning onto my collarbone and biting again.

"Gwah!" I hissed as she bit me again.

I felt her lips tickle, her teeth bite, and her tongue lapping my collarbone.

The girl pulled away with a vibrant smile.

It was the same smile that made her fang poke out.

The same smile that made me fall in love with her.

"Ahaha...! Yep! Now that you took me, I think it's fair that others know yer taken, alright?"

Her possessive vibe intrigued me.

"Hmph. I would scold you about this, but you're too cute..." I muttered. "I really can't get angry at you when you're like this, can I?"

Instead of her face burning up and giving me the usual adorable reaction, she grinned.

"It's like you said, Dear. I am too cute!"

---

As my girlfriend rested her head on my chest after giving another hickey of a lifetime, she hummed in delight.

"That was fun." She commented while snuggling against me.

No matter how much of a mark they leave, I won't deny that I love them.

It's the after-effects that get to me.

Well, it isn't as bad as before, well I would turtle-neck in front of anyone I would speak to.

But now, I guess everyone's sort of used to it...?

Doesn't matter. These hickies are what Natsuki and I love anyway.

Maybe I should give her one soon.

"Argh... yeah, I guess it was."

She hugged me tightly in response.

After a bit of lying down, she finally rose from her resting place and got off me to pick up her manga.

"So anyway, back to my question from before. Are you curious about how we moved planned this out?" The pinkette asked with a cute smile.

I tapped my chin in thought.

"Yeah, I guess I am. It must have taken a lot of planning and prep time? How did you manage to pull everything from my room to this room here?"

Cupcake playfully rolled her eyes.

"I didn't do any of the work of getting your furniture into the truck, obviously. The loaders did that part for us. Think for a bit, Baka. Who would help me the most in planning this out?"

In an instant, I knew the answer.

"No wonder she looked so suspicious. Saying she was going to miss me and what not..." I muttered to myself, "So, you and Monika planned this out, right?"

She puffed her chest out and put her hands on her hips.

"Yup! Not only that, but we went over the plans with your parents as well. Along with my parents, of course."

...

This must have taken a while to plan, no doubt.

Jeez, Louise!

"That's impressive. Planning all this behind my back, huh? How come I never found out? I was home, wasn't I?"

When I asked that question, the girl jumped into my lap again.

I will never be on guard whenever she is around.

The girl's a cat! Always so unpredictable!

"Nope! I told your mom to tell you to do your chores and pick up groceries or something whenever we came to plan this out. I am surprised that it worked so far!" She answered while getting comfy.

Tch.

She is taking advantage of how family-oriented I am.

"I will always help my family out. I can't believe you guys exploited this part of me..." I muttered, secretly impressed by how well she knew me.

Natsuki smirked at her relative cunningness.

"Well, you gotta break a few eggs to make an omelet. So it was all worth it in the end."

I rolled my eyes at her analogy.

"Yeah, yeah. The fact that you, Monika, my parents and yours, all planned this out is really sinking in. Seriously, that's impressive, Nat."

Her smirk turned to a grin.

"It was no sweat! My dad helped out with my plan the most, ya know. So you should give some that praise to him."

I widened my eyes at that.

"Wait, what?! Err, it makes sense he wanted you to be happy, but I didn't expect him to be the mastermind! Does that mean...?"

"That doesn't mean squat, Kid!" I heard from my left.

Standing near the door was Yamato with his usual glare and crossed arms.

"I didn't like it, but it was yours and my daughter's happiness at stake! And I would do anything for my family! So don't get any funny ideas, alright?" He declared, now moving his eyes away from me.

...

...

...

Uh...

He called me his family, and he is bouncing back forth.

So does that mean Natsuki's dad does the classic tsundere act again?

Because it's starting to make me really uncomfortable.

"Anyway, it's time for dinner, you two. So come downstairs as soon as possible." He said as he went to the dining room.

We both eyed his rather strange behavior.

Ever since I moved in, he's putting this strange act up.

"Hey, Nat... What's up with your dad?" I asked, bemused.

She smirked, but not at me, but towards her father.

"It's probably because he's really excited that someone in the family is a guy. He tried ta treat me as a son for a little bit when I was little. But that changed when I hit puberty and with my mom scolding him. Hehe!" The pinkette remarked.

Huh.

I think it's the same way for my mother.

She didn't raise my brother and me to be like girls or something, but she always saw Monika as her own daughter.

And right now, I think my mom sees Natsuki as her other daughter, partly because of my relationship a decade ago.

In any case, I am glad that I can be seen as Yamato's "adopted" son.

"That's great to hear. He did stop calling me 'Brat' and started calling me 'Kid.' That's a welcome change, honestly. Anyway, let's go down for some chow."

We both got off the bed and went towards the dining room.

The parents already had the kotatsu set up, so we both sat down in it.

I looked down at the food and was overtaken by the sheer number of food on the table.

"Whoa, this is a lot of food, Sakura. What brought this on?" I asked, a little puzzled.

I did have dinner with Natsuki's family before, and there was a decent amount of food.

But nothing of this quantity.

The older pinkette smiled.

"Val, you're part of the family now, aren't you? That calls for a celebration! Enjoy yourself!"

Makes sense.

I smiled back and bowed at her.

"Thanks, Sakura. It's much appreciated it."

She waved me off.

"Yeah, yeah. Eat up, will ya?"

We all prayed for the food and dug in.

As I ate, I saw Natsuki looking at me mischievously.

Uh, oh...

What's she planning?

Since Natsuki was sitting to my left, I had a feeling she was planning something.

Ever since our first time, she has been particularly sneaky for some reason.

I chalked it up to her being more open to me because of my genuine care towards her, but...

Oh, what am I saying?

That's the reason why.

Point is, whenever she looks at me with those darkened pink eyes, I feel she is up to something.

And that something has to do with me being flustered.

I gave her a warning look, saying that her family was still here.

But that didn't dissuade her at the very least at all.

She resumed eating, apparently stopping her seemingly ominous threat in its tracks.

Shouldn't keep my guard down.

Not at all.

I went back to my food and kept a wary eye on Natsuki, ready to stop her in her tracks.

For a couple of minutes, there wasn't anything suspicious happening, and we were all eating in relative peace.

Hmm...

This is awfully eerie.

I know she is going to attack.

But I have no idea when!

Damn, this tension is really getting to me!

My eyes wandered over to her parents, who were eating normally.

Their sense of peace went to me, so I calmed down a little.

However, that was a bad idea.

I felt a soft, small hand on my thigh.

My body nearly jolted up, but I managed to stay calm despite my heart beating uncontrollably.

From there, I went to look at Natsuki and saw that she was eating her elbow on the kotatsu.

Her other arm was underneath the kotatsu.

So this is what you're doing...?!

Tch.

And so I decided to play along, hoping to de-escalate the situation.

I placed my hand on her forearm and pushed it aside.

But she took the chance to move her hand inwards.

Aw shit.

Sakura, for some reason, giggled ominously.

"Val, Natsuki, I hope you two are enjoying the meal I worked hard on!" She smiled while eating.

That scared both of us to the bone, causing us to move away from each other.

I felt my face burn up from how she caught us.

We weren't doing anything wrong... yet.

But I never thought she would find out so quickly and early in the act!

Yamato looked up to see moving away from each other, confused by the events transpiring in front of him.

He looked to his daughter, to which he found no clues besides her reddened cheeks.

Then he looked towards me and immediately saw something on my neck.

"Argh...! That again, Brat?" He frowned.

I immediately turtle-necked to hide.

Sakura laughed at my unfortunate situation.

"Look's like the fang's come into use, isn't that right, Natsuki?"

Cupcake looked to me and winked at me, while playfully sticking her tongue out.

"Mhm! He loves getting bitten by me, and I can't get enough of it."

I clicked my tongue and gritted my teeth.

"As I said before, this is what happened when you bite too hard! Everyone notices it!"

She shrugged, knowing it would fluster me.

"Oh, boo-hoo. It lets everyone know that you're mine. Isn't that a good way to let others know that Val's mine?"

Sakura nodded approvingly.

"Mm. It was what I did when I was younger with Yamato."

I looked at him as he shrunk more and more.

"Hehe!" She laughed. "It would drive my dad wild. He would have the nastiest scowl you would ever see. Seeing my husband having to deal with that for a half-hour is hilarious!"

Yamato flared up, something I don't get to see often.

"Sakura... not in front of my trainee..." He mumbled as he quietly went back to eating.

I smiled at the married pair and went back to eating.

Once we finished eating, I volunteered to clean up only for Sakura to berate me.

"Val! You're a guest! Show some manners!"

I straightened my back at the annoyed mother.

"Yes, ma'am!"

She tightened her gaze at me.

Did I say something wrong...?

I am her guest after all and...

Oh, wait.

Does she want me to say... that?

But it's so embarrassing!

Especially since this happened today!

Argh!

"I-I mean... OK, mom." I whispered, deathly ignominious.

Sakura was satisfied with the new title I gave her.

"Good boy. Don't worry too much, we bought a new dishwasher, so I'll be putting that to use."

With that, she went straight to work.

As I came to, I saw Yamato bring out some glasses and a bottle of sake.

Oh, so we're celebrating hard, aren't we?

...

Still made an oath not to drink anything drunk-inducing.

I'm a bit afraid of what I would say if I were drunk and...

I heard stories about my great-granduncle's behavior whenever he drank.

From the look on my grandpa's face when he recounted the stories weren't pleasant.

Enough of that.

I was always a bit of a prude when it came to this, but... still.

Even it was just for these one times, I won't do it.

"Yamato, do me a favor and not serve me that."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm? Why not? We're celebrating, and it's only sake, it won't hurt."

On these rare occasions, I looked at him thoughtfully.

"I won't drink that. I appreciate the offer, and I apologize for disregarding showing disrespect. Sorry, Yamato."

Yamato looked towards Natsuki, to which she only nodded.

He then smiled at me, understanding my stance.

"Ah, don't sweat it, kid. We aren't that hardcore on tradition here either. My chief was like that too." The father sympathized. "We have ginger ale, tea, and some carbonated drinks. Which would you like?"

I smiled back at him, happy that he understood and offered alternatives.

"Ginger ale would be great. Thank you, dad."

He nodded with a knowing smile and poured some into the glass.

I took the glass with a nod and placed it on the kotatsu.

Sakura finished loading the dishes into the dishwasher and went back into the kotatsu.

By then, Yamato finished pouring the sake into the glasses.

"To Val, our newest member of our family!" He cheered while raising his glass.

We hit our glasses together.

"Cheers!"

And we downed our drinks in one gulp.

The three let out a sigh.

"We have a little extra to go around with since Val didn't want to drink. Do you guys want some more?"

In an instant, both Natsuki and Sakura put their glasses near him.

He poured the sake into their glasses, to which they instantly downed again.

For some reason, he didn't pour any onto his glass.

I'm guessing he wants to stay sober.

He then pulled out the bottle of ginger ale next to him.

I waved my hand to show that I didn't want to drink anymore.

"Wait. Yamato, don't you want to drink anymore?"

He shook his head.

"Yeah, you'll see why in a second." He said while crossing his arms.

Wait, what does that mean?

Both Natsuki and Sakura were starting to get red.

"Dear... I want more!" Sakura demanded, slamming the glass down onto the kotatsu.

"Dad! Me too!" Natsuki growled, causing me to widen my eyes.

Oh...

Now I know why.

I never have seen either of them drunk before.

He sighed.

"Yes, yes. Here, you are." He obliged, opening another bottle of sake up, pouring the contents into both glasses.

The two downed the glasses instantaneously again.

But Sakura obviously wasn't happy with this.

"Bring out da big guns, will ya? I am in da mood!" Sakura cheered with her daughter in tow.

I raised an eyebrow at this and looked at Yamato for an explanation.

He only sighed.

"They'll put up a tantrum." The defeated man muttered while bringing out a wine bottle.

From there, he poured the drinks in and put it away.

"That'll be your last one. No excuses, you two."

Once again, they downed the drinks almost instantaneously.

"Puaaah!" Natsuki happily sighed, with a ditzy smile on her lips. "That hit the spot..."

I was amused by how out-of-it she seemed.

She looked to me with a hint of seduction in her eyes.

Uh, that doesn't look good.

"Hey, Val?"

I gulped and nodded at her.

"Yes, Natsuki?"

She giggled and put her chin on her hands.

"Why are there, three Dear's?"

I immediately dead-panned.

Oh, that's just great.

"Ehehe... now's there a fourth one, here too! Now, what am I suppose ta' do? Which is da real Dear when there are four of ya? Who do I kiiiissss~?!"

And just as fast, my eyes shot open.

I looked to Yamato, who was also going through the same thing with his wife.

Aw, crap.

For some inexplicable reason, my girlfriend started to tear up.

Against my better judgment, I moved closer to her, to which she clung onto me.

"Waaaah! Uuuuhhhh~! Vaaaallll! Uuuu...!"

I very reluctantly patted her back, hoping that she would calm down a little.

"Now, now... Let me get you some water. That would fix things up."

As I stood up to leave, I felt an inhumane grip pull me down.

I nearly fell on top of her from how hard she pulled me.

From there, she latched onto me, causing me to fall over.

"Waaaah! Why are you so cooool~? It's unbelievable how coooool you are! You don't need even trrrryyyy~! You always, always make me happy and always, always think about me...! Uuuuuh! You're so niiiice~! You're so niiiice, Dear! I am so haaaapppppyyyy~! You also sooooo perverteeeeddddd, dependable, and passionate~! And also, perverted~!"

I was utterly at a loss for words.

Usually, no matter what happens, I would have something to say about the situation.

But because of how Natsuki was behaving, it would be safe to think it would be difficult to think of anything.

She was on the verge of tears at first, but now she is all laughs and smiles?!

What's with drunken women?!

"Erm... uh... I'm guessing they are all compliments, right?" I nervously commented.

Perverted?

Twice in a row?

I heard a low whine from the other side of the kotatsu.

Sakura was looking at me as well.

"It's soooo trueeeee...! What a fine man, Vallllyyy grew up to beeeeee~! Dependable, thoughtful, perverted, and best of all, so young and handsomeeeeee~! If I were a little youngeerrr and wasn't married, I would so hit on himmmm~! But... my heart will alwaaaays belong this idiot~! Hehehehe~!"

I scratched the back of my neck.

This is getting me uncomfortable.

I can't imagine Sakura hitting on me.

...

And hey!

Am I really that perverted?!

"I know, right...?! If I doooooo end up pregnant by himmmmm~, then I am sure it's going to be a boyyyyy~! Do you know whyyyyy~?"

A boy...?

A kid?

With Natsuki...?

...

Hehe, I wouldn't mind that.

But I want to provide for Natsuki and for our child if we do decide to have one.

"No... I don't. Why?" I asked, now feeling a little hopeful.

She pushed me down onto the floor and hugged me.

"Weelllll~! It's because of how you are always so mean to me and only me~! You like ta bully me a lot, don't you, Dear? I like how to mean you get whenever you play with meeeee~! It always makes me so horny when you get soooo rough~! Bully me more~!"

Uh...

I hope Yamato didn't hear that.

"Ehehehe! I'm gonna be soooo happy when we get married~! You're always going to be next to me, Vallll~! When we go to sleep at night, and when we wake up in the mornings, you'll always be there next to me! Ahahahahaha! I'm going to be so happy~!

I really can't take this.

She is so adorable when she is drunk!

The amount of confession is too much for my heart handle!

I don't think I can last any longer!

"Hahaha... Dear, you know I always think about you? Whenever we are at school, or when I working, I always think about yoooouuuu~! It hurts so much to control myself from telling you how much I loveeeee you~! Heeeeeyyyy, Valllllll, do you see how much I love youuuuu~? Are you feeling it now, Valllllll~?"

I gritted my teeth and balled my hands up.

Shiitttttt!

I am at my limit!

I really, really want to hug and kiss her soo badly right now!

I want to show her that I love her as much she does!

But I have to stay healthy!

Dad told me that I have to always be strong around drunk women!

And it's that advice I will take to heart!

"Yeah... I am. I really am feeling how much you love me, Natsuki. And I really do love you too."

I hugged her back, which was the least I can do to the drunk girl.

Natsuki tugged at my sleeve, causing me to pull away and look at me.

From there, she straddled me and pulled her dress up.

My eyes widened at what she was showing me.

Oh no...

Her underwear is showing one hell of a wet spot.

"Can you bully me, Val... Please?" She cutely begged. "(I rweally want you to mwean to meee...)"

ARGH!

Is this what they the "moe phenomenon"?!

My heart is seriously about to give out!

The fact that Natsuki managed to say that in almost perfect English really, really turns me on!

No!

I have to stay healthy!

But if I flat out say no, she might cry...

I think.

It's tough to tell her when she's drunk.

So that means I gotta be a little careful with her.

I scooped the girl in my arms and carried her bridal style.

"Yamato, I gonna take Natsuki to my room to sober her up," I said. "Goodluck with your wife."

He gave me a quick nod before dealing with the approaching Sakura.

As I took the drunk girl, she shuffled her thighs together.

"Valllll~! I can't hold it in anymoreeeee~! Bully meeee~!" She whined impatiently.

Uh...

Yeah, I would rather not have sex with a girl who is clearly out of it.

It's the morals of it that count to me, at the very least.

"I'll bully you, Natsuki. Just wait, you'll get your due punishment, you bad girl." I played along.

She giggled at my words.

"Yes, Master... I have been a very naughty girl... Please punish me..."

My pants felt pretty tight.

Kragh!

I never thought I would get turned on by her so much!

Come on, hold on a little longer me.

I have a feeling she gonna fall asleep anytime now.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the case at all.

When we got to my room, she was still wide-awake.

"Alright, Natsuki. Let's take a shower, OK?"

She shook her head.

"NO!" The pinkette yelled, causing me to jolt back from the sheer intensity.

Cupcake jumped into my bed and pulled her underwear down.

"Punish me!" She demanded.

I couldn't help but sigh at her.

Goodness...

She really wants to be punished.

By the looks of it, if I force her, things will only get worse.

She spread her legs out and showed me her wet lips.

My heart skipped a beat as she boldly showed me how turned on she was.

"I was waiting... Ever since you sat down next to me... I was waiting, so you could punish me... Please bully me." She asked again.

I clicked my tongue from all this.

"Very well. You'll get your punishment. After all, you waited patiently."

Ever since we had our first time, she referred to anything sexual as "punishments" and would want me to "bully" her.

To be honest, I kinda like it.

As I leaned in more and more, I noticed something was off about her.

Instead of her sexual-crazed eyes, it was closed.

Her chest raised up and down as she snored lightly.

Oh...

Oh, come on!

You got me in the mood, and this is what you do to me?!

Damn it!

I pinched the side of my nose and exhaled loudly.

Look at the bright side, me.

At least, I won't be making my bed... rock while I am here on my first day.

Immediately going in would just be...

Well straight out of porno flick or something.

Gotta have some standard, I suppose.

I grabbed her underwear, cleaned her up, and undressed the sleeping girl.

Once that was done, I laid her in my bed and tucked her in.

I exited my new room and made my way to the bathroom.

Once I was there, I put the relatively wet underwear into the washer.

I took off my uniform and sighed heavily.

Looks like we will be sleeping in the same bed for today, huh?

I am fine with that, but I hope both of his parents will understand.

Hmm...

I did say to Yamato that I am taking her to sober her up.

And Sakura always did approve of me, and anything I did had a definite look.

...

Especially when she sorta confessed to me.

Yeesh, if I was younger and knew her somehow would be a strange experience.

Given how Sakura's relationship with her husband, I have a feeling she WILL hit on me one way or another.

Yep, that's a given.

...

I shuddered with the force of a thousand thoughts of Sakura hitting on me.

And so I forced myself to think about something else.

My thoughts drifted to the confession-spree Dear said to me.

To think that Natsuki actually thinks that about me.

I am actually really humbled by all that.

And...

It really opens up to how much she loves me.

Connecting to her is one thing, but opening your heart and letting the words come out is whole another ballpark.

I will make sure to repay somehow with what she said to me.

Once I was naked, I opened the glass door to the shower and turned on the showerhead.

Yep, I don't mind at all that I live here.

And I am going to give it everything I got during Yamato's training.

He said I have potential, so I want to prove that I can maximize my abilities!

If I want to marry Natsuki and prove that I can take care of a family, then I have to beat Yamato in a fight.

Boxing isn't going to enough, and I can't wait to learn more and more.

Also, it's without a doubt that I am gonna learn more about him.

That's the perfect bonding time for both of us!

...

There's also another reason why I want to take up the training.

It's because so I repay their kindness.

Natsuki's family has been kind to me ever since I came into their household for the first time in years.

And they have given me some valuable advice on some touchy matters.

Not only that, but they also put the effort to allow me to live here.

This will be the perfect way to repay them.

And I won't let them down!

---

I felt warm.

The sun caressed my exposed skin, warming it with its rays.

My body felt like it was held by someone.

Val.

I opened my eyes slowly to see him still soundly asleep.

He had me in a tight grip, caging my little body in his arms.

Dear always did make me feel safe.

And I absolutely love that about him.

Feeling safe in his arms, I closed my eyes again, let myself rest for a little longer.

...

Why do I feel so much more free than usual?

I opened the blanket to see that I wasn't wearing any underwear.

Huh?!

Wait, did we have sex last night?

...

No, I don't think so.

Everything from last night was still a blur, even if I try my best to focus.

As I moved about in the bed, Dear woke up.

"Fuah... Morning, Nat." He cutely greeted.

I couldn't help but lean in and kiss him the cheek.

"Good morning to ya, Val. You slept like a rock today."

He gave me a simper.

"Well, you gave me a lot to digest last night. It was a confession-assault, to say the least. Seriously, I never thought you would say all those things to me."

I was a little worried about his words.

Wait, I didn't say anything wrong to him while I was drunk, right?

"And no, I can see it in your pink eyes, you didn't say anything bad to me."

He flared up as he recounted what happened last night.

"Instead, it was quite the contrary, and it really opened my mind to how you look at me, Nat."

Jeez, what did I even say to him?

He is like a kitten right now!

"As you can tell, I have no idea what I said! Care to tell a gal what happened?" I asked, with a worried frown.

Dear's heating face grew a little worse as if he realized the extent of my words last night.

"If you want... It's a little embarrassing to recount to you. But if you insist."

I leaned my body against him and waited for him to get ready.

"Whew. It's hot in here, want me to open the window and get some drinks before we-"

Seriously?!

It's like when I confessed to him!

He's stalling because he is so nervous!

That does bring up some great memories, but now is not the time.

"Dear." I impatiently called.

He bit his lips, now choosing his next words wisely.

"Fine then... you went on a spree of complimenting me and talking about our future. Goodness, where do I even begin? As soon as you went for the bottle of wine with your mom, you got drunk. Do you at least remember what happened a little?"

I shook my head, which made his frown a little more nervous.

Jeez, what is that embarrassing?

Complimenting him and talking about the future?

What's so wrong about that?

"Well, in any case, when you got drunk, you saw three different me's in your eyes. And then a fourth one appeared. You asked me who was the real one so you can kiss me."

I felt my cheeks starting to burn a little.

Pssh!

That isn't so bad...

But I didn't expect myself wanting to kiss him so badly.

Maybe it's because we didn't kiss that much the whole day.

I do get a little fussy when we don't kiss a lot in one day...

For some reason, Val chuckled to himself.

"As soon you asked who was the real one, you started to tear up. I moved closer to you, and you pounced on me. That doesn't seem to change whenever you are drunk or not? You're such a cat, Nat."

I vaguely remember myself jumping on top of him by faking my cries.

I also vaguely remember myself confessing a lot to him.

"So once you were on top of me, you... hmm. You thought I was cool, nice, dependable, passionate, and perverted. You call me perverted twice in a sentence. But you did say that I always thought of you and it made you happy. Also, did I mention that you called me perverted twice?"

I bit my lips and looked away.

Damn it...!

Now I remember what I said!

"W-Well..." I started to say, now crossing my arms. "It's not my fault how cool you are. You're so cool when you put your mind into something and how to pull yourself up from anything. It's like its second nature to you, ya know? I can rely on you to get the job done when you put your all to it. You are always so passionate about getting the job done, or even when you are talking about doing the right thing."

Dear rubbed the back of his head.

"That's got me thinking, actually. I never thought myself to be the do-gooder and morally-correct guy. I thought it made me look like a bit of a dick. But now hearing that from you, I kind of doubt it..." He muttered, unsure of what to think.

I hugged and drew my head close to his chest.

"It's a bit of a good thing. And it's a part of your personality. So don't overthink it, OK?"

I flicked him on the forehead.

"Seriously! Don't overthink it! You have a bad habit of doing that!"

He rubbed his forehead.

"Noted, I won't overthink it. Jeez, I am glad I have you as my girlfriend. You always worry about me too. It's so endearing."

I smirked at him.

"And I am glad that you're my boyfriend too! Now, continue! I want to know what else I said."

He nodded.

"Right, after your confession barrage, you called me perverted. Which I guess is sort of self-explanatory. Your mom sort of hit on me, saying that she would want to date me if she was younger and not married. But thankfully, she is still in love with your dad. So, that wraps it up."

Eugh!

Mom!

Why would he want to hit on Val?!

It's not like he's good-looking.

...

OK, he's actually good-looking but still!

"Now comes the part where you... uh... told me that if you did get pregnant, it would be a boy."

For some reason, I knew the answer immediately.

I grinned at my flustered boyfriend.

"Well, duh, you like to bully me a lot. When we do get on the bed, you really, really are very mean to me. Ever since you bullied me during our first time, it would only turn me on more. I like that, ya know."

He gritted his teeth and laid his head on the pillow.

"Argh! You're such a masochist! Seriously, I never thought you would be like this!"

I laughed at his comment.

"Heyyyy~! It means we are a good match, right? You're such a sadist when you bully me, and I am a masochist when I like it! It just works!"

He facepalmed, causing me to laugh even harder.

"I still am fazed with saying anything related to those terms. Agh! Whatever. After all that, you admitted to saying that I am always on your mind. Even if you are busy with something you... think about me. You also wanted to tell everyone how much you love me."

...

Even if I try to deny it, there's no doubt that I always have him in some corner of my mind?

I mean, how can't I think about him?

After all, he already changed my life so much.

"I mean yeah, why wouldn't I want everyone how lucky I am to score you as my boyfriend? I... I am really am glad to be your girlfriend. And I am glad that you fell in love with me."

Val nodded at me and hugged me.

"Now, I think this is something that... bothered, no wait, that was on my mind for a while now, it's about how life would be if we do get married."

...

If we got...

Married?

Immediately after thinking about it, my mind registered what I said yesterday.

"All of it was true..." I muttered, cutting him from his recounting.

My heart is beating so fast...

He smells so good too, and I don't know why.

"Hmm?"

I looked directly at my boyfriend's onyx black eyes.

"Everything about how I would imagine our newlywed lives is true. That is something I really want. I want to wake up next to you. I want to sleep with you. I... I always want to be next to you whenever I can. That's what I want. So that we can be together forever."

His widened eyes started to shake for a little before he closed them.

"That... makes me so happy, now that I realize it. A girl- no, a woman like you, wanting to spend her life with me. Someone that will sleep and wake up with me and will never leave my side. This is what every guy truly want from a companion. And this really... turned me on."

He opened his eyes and looked deep into my pink eyes.

Ehhh?!

W-W-What?!

Since when did he talk like that?!

...

But I do have to admit, his eyes look really good right now.

It's like they staring into my desires.

I felt Val's rod poking my butt through his shorts.

Given how I wasn't wearing any underwear, I was able to make out the usual shape it was.

"This is a weakness that guys have or at least something that I know I have. And... I don't know if I can hold it for much longer..."

My heart was pounding from how husky his voice has gotten.

I frowned at him and pulled the blanket up.

There he also saw how turned on I was too.

"Don't you dare forget what happened last night... You said you were going to punish me, right? But you never did. So I want you to do it for real this time."

---

Natsuki looked away and pulled the blanket off of us.

I know that isn't like me at all.

But my mind is going haywire!

Her cute confession, how seriously she said it all, and she was holding onto me was breaking my sanity!

I...

I really want her now.

To think I would be reduced to a ravenous beast because of her.

Argh!

The pinkette sat on my belly while her hands went for my crotch.

She shuffled through my boxers and set me free.

I gave a shaky sigh from how relieved I felt.

"W-Wow... first thing in the morning and it's this big. That can't be any good, especially since you have training in the afternoon with my dad..."

I impatiently rolled my eyes and decided to reach up and touch her.

She immediately shivered by my touch.

"Uuuugh! H-Hey, don't touch me so suddenly..." Natsuki muttered as she reared her flushed face towards me.

I smirked at her.

"It's not my fault that your body is so sensitive. The slightest touch gets you all riled up, huh?"

I ran my finger along her outer lips, causing her to shiver once more.

"Fh... Fwah...! Ah, hah...!"

Natsuki reached down and wraps her hands around me, already curving it upward.

I grit my teeth from the touch.

"Haaah... So something like this is always hitting my womb, eh? It's a miracle that I fit all of you in me."

I ran my fingers along with Natsuki's womanhood once again, to which she let out some soft sighs.

She bit her lips and stopped herself from letting out another moan.

Natsuki slowly began to move her hand up and down.

"Ya know... yer really hot."

My heart jumped from her comment.

"Ah..." I let out.

I felt myself twitch a little in her hands.

"So, you're feeling good... I am happy."

As she stroked me, I couldn't stop the small groan of pleasure, escaping my mouth.

Her soft hands and the timid movements of her fingers made to a strangely torturous but stimulating sensation.

"Dear... Are you feeling good?" She cutely asked.

I felt myself twitch from her question.

"Yeah, I feel great..." I answered.

Time to kick it up a notch.

"Ehehe! I-I'm glad..." She whispered.

I brought my face close to Natsuki's womanhood and began to tickle it gently with my tongue's tip.

"Ah! F-Fwah! Ah...! Hah...!"

I grinned from how quickly things turned around.

"Cupcake... Are you feeling good?" I mimicked.

She gave an adorable cry to my question.

"Y-Yeah, it did... you bully."

I chuckled at her answer.

"Heheh, is that so? I'll keep at it then."

She gave another cry to my bullying.

"T-That's not fair... haaa... I-I'm also going to lick you too... See how you like it, you bully."

Natsuki began to run her tongue gently over my head.

I heard her licking and slurping on me, causing me to grit my teeth from pleasure.

"Gah! Haah...!"

She stopped her licking for a split second.

"You just twitched again..."

I have nothing to say to her.

She knows what that meant.

"Mm... ahh, mmph..."

Every time Natsuki's wet, soft tongue ran over my head, the heat it leaves behind traveled throughout my body.

Despite that sensation, I gave it my all as I moved my tongue into her.

"Hey, Dear... you know what's funny about this right here...?" She asked while nuzzling me.

I pulled away for a second.

"It's big... but it also so cute whenever it twitches... Kind of like you, ya know?"

That hit my pride a little.

"I don't know how to feel about that," I muttered, a little hurt.

She kissed me on the head.

"Don't worry, I love it, Val."

Natsuki's sincere compliment sent a shiver down my spine, to which my body reacted accordingly.

"Ah! It just twitched again!"

She put her mouth onto me again and started using her tongue to tickle me.

And so, I spread open her labia and began licking her vaginal opening directly.

Her sensitive body felt the action, causing her to pull away and arch her back.

"Nhaaah! Ah! Hah...!"

I smirked at her.

"Looks like your lips are twitching down here. You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I remarked.

She gave me her usual cry whenever she got bullied by me.

"Uuuh... It feels so good, though..."

To conceal her embarrassment, I felt Natsuki lap my head with increased vigor.

Instead of pulling away, I licked her right back, starting to feel her juices on my tongue.

"Auuh... It feels so good, but... I want you to play fair for once, you bully." She declared.

With that, she escalated the stakes further by opening her mouth wide and taking me deep inside.

My hip couldn't help thrust up from how sudden it was.

"Mmwaaah! My mouf ish fwull of yhoou..."

As she tried to speak, her tongue randomly tickled my head, causing me to tremble and grunt.

"Argh...! Gah!"

Natsuki slowly began to move her head up and down, trying to see how much I would react to each movement.

I felt her lips slide along the length of manhood, with her tongue teasingly tickling my head.

Every little movement and adjustments she made sent surges of pleasure through my body.

"Hrk! Argh!" I grunted, trying my best to return the favor to her.

That's it!

This time, I pressed my lips right up against the mouth of her womanhood and began sucking on it.

"Nhaaah! Hah, hah, hah!"

I felt Natsuki faltering a little before she picked up the pace as well.

She put her hand on the root of my rod and stroked it along with her usual licking.

Her lips move back and forth along the sensitive parts of myself, continually causing my back to shiver with delight.

I reached up and gave Natsuki's erect, little clitoris a firm pinch.

"Ahhhh! Hyaaaah! Ah! N-No! I'm sensitive there... Don't you... Stop... You bully...!"

Heh, I had a feeling she would like this.

She counterattacked by taking my entirety into her mouth, leaving a little of my base under her hand's grip.

Her warm mouth was mostly covered me, and with her constant stroking and head movements, I was losing my mind.

Not good...

I don't think I can last for much longer!

In response to her bold move, I decided to adjust as well.

Instead of using my finger to pinch, I used my tongue to harass her from there.

"AHH!" She yelped with the sudden change but quickly focused on her deed.

We were dead set on pleasuring each other.

"T-The way you're... haaah! Using your tongue feels so good!" She moaned.

"And the way... Argh... You're using your mouth is impeccable...!"

I put my hands around her curves and pushed her into my mouth, allowing me more control over my licking.

In a desperate attempt to fight back, she took me in completely, now disregarding my shaft.

My cunnilingus and Natsuki's fellatio continued to grow more intense as we pushed each other towards a climax.

We stopped talking entirely. Now devoting all our attention to delivering each other greater pleasure.

I felt my hips thrust into her while she bucked her hips on me.

"Mmph! Amph! Mmm!"

The twitching and swelling inside of me was starting to burst.

I felt the world starting to flicker before my very eyes.

The bliss I felt signaled Natsuki to focus her bobbing and sucking in a single area.

I...

I won't lose it!

My tongue followed suit, as I focused my torment onto a single point of her clitoris.

"Hyaaah! AAH! W-Why won't you play fair for once... You bully...!"

By how shaky and desperate her voice got, I knew she was on her last legs.

"Dear! Ah! Dear! I-I can't hold it in for much longer...! Nggghaaah!"

And in that instant, I reached the point of no return.

"Gwaaah!"

I felt legs buckle before me, my member twitching and throbbing, now delivering the blasts of my orgasm.

Natsuki's womanhood pressed against me, with her legs now desperately locking with my head.

Just as this was happening, came Natsuki's bright, sweet liquid now flooding my mouth.

Our bodies quivered with ecstasy, we dirtied each other with our ejaculation.

Her body went completely slack, letting out a long sigh of exhaustion.

Even despite this, her body displayed the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Her body and womanhood continued to twitch spasmodically.

I pulled away from her and rested my head against the pillow.

"Now... That was great, don't you think, Nat?"

She didn't move a muscle.

"Yeah... it was amazing. My head's all fuzzy... and my body doesn't wanna move at all..."

I felt myself soften a little after the intense session.

And so, we stayed on the bed for a couple of minutes until we can recover our stamina.

It came the time that we had to wash up and clean ourselves up.

"Hey, Nat. Let's go..."

She turned to me with her dirtied face.

It took me everything I had not to get turned on again.

Keep it together, I still gotta train with her father today.

"OK... but can you carry me? I still feel a little tired." She said, apparently embarrassed.

I smiled at her.

"Yeah, of course."

Natsuki rolled off of me, allowing me to get off the bed.

I put my arms underneath her knees and back and pulled her off the bed.

As usual, she is light as ever.

Her pink eyes looked longingly at mine.

"I love you, Val."

She leaned in to kiss me, but I moved my head away from her.

"Eh?"

I coughed and cleared my throat.

"Cupcake... I am not kissing you with your face dirtied like that." I muttered.

She flared up and tapped her fingers together.

"R-Right... I forgot... But it's still your fault, Baka..."

I opened the door and saw that the coast was clear.

There was no one apparently in the bathroom, too, so we entered it together.

I let the girl off my arms and helped clean up Natsuki's face and hair.

"Right... I forgot that you got longer hair than before. It always gets me mesmerized between how you looked a year ago and how you looked back when we were kids."

She giggled at me.

"Hehe! You wanted me to grow my hair out, so this is the price that you got to pay, don't you think?"

I shook my head to myself.

"Haha...! I guess so."

Once I cleaned up Natsuki, I leaned in for a kiss.

"Natsuki, I love you too."

And with that, we kissed.

---

I waited outside the store, a little anxious about the upcoming training session.

Yamato told me that he was going to be hard on me, no matter what.

I can't wait to learn, though.

He's giving me a chance to learn everything he learned during his time in the SAT.

And that's a chance I am going to take so I can beat him in a fight.

I promised Natsuki that I will win no matter what, so I am going to give it everything I got!

I pumped myself up, much to the confusion of the man I was waiting for.

Instead of his casual clothes or his apron, he is wearing a black jumpsuit.

I was also wearing a jumpsuit, albeit green.

It's probably because I am green to him.

"Well, well, Kid... Looks like you're wearing the jumpsuit I gave you. I can tell you're going to take this seriously, huh?"

I nodded my head.

"Yes, I am! I'll do whatever to takes myself a man and improve myself, so I can be a worthy man!"

He rolled his eyes at my affirmation.

"Uh-huh. You said this a couple of times already. Come on, we're going to my truck. Our training grounds are outside the city, near the outskirts."

With that, we started walking to his truck.

"Hey, should I drive?" I asked.

The man was flabbergasted, to say the least.

"No! Of course not! No way you're driving my baby around!" He answered.

Uh...

I'm guessing he doesn't want anyone driving his truck around beside himself.

Yamato cleared his throat towards me.

"I mean, it would be better that I drive since I know where to go. And you don't have the best sense of direction, Kid."

I slumped my shoulders at his retort.

Well, yeah.

It's for the best since I sometimes get lost without clear-cut directions.

"But, it's pretty good that you know how to drive at your age, everyone nowadays takes public transportation. Hah... I guess it's for the best. It's cheaper, don't have to worry about maintenance, and can be a convenient excuse if you're running late somewhere." He wistfully stated, now taking a turn.

I took the turn with him and kept up.

"Dad used to drive me around a lot in his car when I was younger. And it was a really effective way to calm me down when I was a baby, apparently. Whenever I started crying to two overworked, exhausted parents, they obviously will get stressed out. So what my dad to stop my crying was to carry me in arms and cruise around town. It helped since I lived at a quiet corner near Brooklyn and Queens." I reminisced.

He chortled at my reminiscing.

"You know, you're the exact opposite of my little gal. Keeping her still was the best option to stop her crying. If we dared to go on a vehicle or anything that moved without needing a human limb, she would explode into tears. I had to limit my time driving my truck around, which hurt, believe me."

We arrived at the location of his truck, which was kept in a small garage.

Yamato opened the garage door and revealed a white pickup truck.

"Because... I love riding around this truck!"

His truck was nearly pristine, with no specks of dust or dirt on any part of the vehicle.

It was evident that he spent a great deal of time working on and cleaning his truck.

"Whoa... now that's a fine-looking truck. How much is the HP?" I asked, marveling at the truck.

He grinned as he walked up to his pride and joy.

"This truck's rocking a 2.4 L 4-cylinder engine, with about 135 HP, she sings when she's on the road, trust me. Come on, let's get a move on."

I nodded and got onto the passenger seat.

He started the engine, roaring the truck alive.

With that, he pulled out of the garage and got into the road.

"It's gonna take some to get to the outskirts of time. So sit back for a bit. We'll stretch and warm up once we get there. I wasn't joking when I said I would push you to your limits. So get ready."

I nodded and took a deep breath.

There was an awkward silence between us since we didn't have much to talk about.

Every time we would round a turn, I can tell he was trying to break the silence.

Well...

What is there to talk about anyway?

Yamato drove for a bit before sighing.

"Hey, kid. It's not in my place to ask but... I want to know your relationship with my daughter a little more. I... I can't help myself from worrying a little, ya know? You grew up to a great guy and all, but... Do you... Well, do you really want to be with my daughter?" He asked, obviously a little embarrassed.

This is something I have thought about for a while.

And it's something I can't afford to be embarrassed about in the first place either.

This is where I have to be serious about my thoughts on the matter.

"Yeah, I do. We have been dating for almost a year now, and I want to... I want to be with Natsuki. And I don't want to wait too long. I want to tie the knot whenever I can and feel like the option is open to me."

He nodded slowly from my words.

"You know... I approve of you being with my little girl. You would be a good man for her, whether she knows it or not. And I am serious about that, kid."

The truck slowed to obey a red light, pushing him to look at me in the eyes.

"There's no other man I would approve of other than you. The fact you took me up on my offer so you can beat me in a fight is what a man would do. You're willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done."

I rubbed my arm and laughed nervously from his words.

Yep...

I told myself I wouldn't be flustered or anything, but hearing him compliment after him being so... tsun around me is...

It's pretty taxing to take in.

"Thanks... Yamato." I mumbled, causing him to smirk at me.

"Well, well... You don't take compliments that well, do ya? That's something I can exploit out of ya." He laughed, causing me to frown.

The father saw my frown and laughed harder.

As we approached the outskirts, I was able to loosen up considerably.

This is it...

I am ready for what lies ahead.

It's for Natsuki!

Yamato pulled over and parked at a rather well-kept house.

Some of the buildings have been run-down or abandoned in the city's outskirts, this was a sight for sore eyes.

As I walked up to it, I felt an immense wave of deja vu hit me.

"H-Here we are! Welcome to my house..."

Natsuki?

For some reason, her hair's shorter than it is now, like the shoulder-length hair she keeps it at.

Why is she wearing the Dokisai uniform from last year?

And is that...

Me?

"Kid? Hey, Kid! Snap out of it!" I heard someone yell.

I looked around and saw no one around besides Yamato taking the keys to the house.

"You OK? You looked... unwell. Something I am all too familiar with."

I shook my head and looked towards him.

"No, no. I'm fine. I just felt like I've seen this place before, but I never went to this part of town in my life." I tried to explain.

He raised an eyebrow from my words but nodded.

"Mm, I think I know what you mean. But I haven't shown you this place besides my family. We lived here a long time ago, actually. I come around every month to clean this place up here and there. This area... used to be pretty homey, but it hurts to see it like this."

That explains why it's so clean compared to the rest of the area.

"Anyway, I got some equipment that you need so we can start your training. Come inside."

He opened the door, and we went inside.

There, another blast of deja vu hit me, but it wasn't as hard it was before.

...

This place is too weird.

Why do I think there's a firing range downstairs?

Heh, what are the odds that there is one here?

"Hey, Yamato. You wouldn't happen to have a firing range around here, right?" I joked while looking at the rather empty but clean houses.

The answer he gave took me off-guard.

"Oh, I do! Didn't expect that you find that part of the training out already. Smart thinking, Kid."

...

What the hell?

How did I know about that?

Argh...

Stay focused, me.

It's a little strange for me to know all this, but I can't let these thoughts linger in my head for too long.

Otherwise, I won't be able to give it my all.

Yamato tossed me a duffle bag, which almost made me double over from how heavy it was.

He got his own duffle bag slung on him and motioned me to go outside to the backyard.

We went outside, where he threw his bag on the fake green grass.

"Alright, let's get started. Now, I gotta know what level you're at right now. So come to me!"

...

He wants me to hit him?

"So you want me to hit you?" I asked.

Yamato only gave me a curt nod as he got into his own fighting stance.

He kept his arms at the same level, with his right arm taking the lead.

I nodded and got into my boxing stance.

Here goes...!

I charged at him and tried to land in a simple jab.

But instead, he side-stepped me and palmed me with his right, aiming for my lower body.

Looks like he's aware of some a boxer's weaknesses.

So I got to focus on my footwork and avoid some of his attacks.

This I went in with a cross, to which he expectantly blocked with his left arm.

I saw that he was trying to go for the lower body again, but I could twist my body to block his attack.

With that, I went for an uppercut.

But as if he anticipated it, he intercepted me and blocked my uppercut, and turned his body to hit me from the back with his shoulder.

Because of that, I nearly fell over from the attack.

"Jeez! It's like you're reading my mind!" I groaned, now getting up.

This time, I decided to take another approach.

Maybe I should focus on countering instead.

I attempted to land a punch in, to which expectedly blocked, and moved to intercept by hitting me on the back.

Gotcha!

I maneuvered to the side and threw in a counter cross against him.

To my surprise, it actually hit, only for me to get caught back immediately.

Damn!

With that, Yamato relaxed, which meant the fight was over.

The veteran put his hands on his hips and thought for a bit.

"Hmm... Just as I thought, potential. You were able to adapt in the second attack, and you knew I was going to exploit your defenses. You tried counterattacking, but by using a boxing stance and using boxing moves, it was easy to deflect. It would work wonders with a person who doesn't have experience with boxing. In any case, a boxing defense isn't the best when you're going against people you hit your lower body. The best you can do is twist your hips or pull away. That's not good enough if you're going against a guy who knows different fighting styles."

I listened carefully as he lectured me during the short fight we had, my strengths and weaknesses, and new methods to adapt.

This will take a while, but I can't give up now.

It's only getting started.

We continued to train throughout the whole day.

---

Jeez, it's getting dark out.

What's taking them so long?

As I walked towards the garage, I couldn't help but wonder what my Dad and Dear were doing back in our old house.

Hm, he did say that there was still some equipment back there that he can't bring back here.

Some of that equipment was from his days in the SAT.

And my mom was always worried sick about dad going into these missions and responding to any terrorism.

So whenever she saw any of the old equipment lying around in the house, she would have a mini panic attack.

Because of that, the best thing to do was leave the gear behind in that old house.

...

I don't remember why we moved out of our old house anyway, but I don't have any memories.

But it's strangely the reason why I got lost in the city of the first place.

For some reason, I knew where our old house was and went straight there.

By then, the neighborhood's already changed, and some roads were closed...

So I got lost.

And that's where I met my boyfriend for the first time.

Hmm...

I should ask him why he was here in the first place all those years ago if he was visiting...

The closest thing I can remember is when we were moving out to the bakery.

What I do remember is mom having heart surgery when I still pretty young.

Other than that, I am just drawing blanks.

I saw the white truck that my dad loves driving coming down the road ahead in the distance.

Through the window-shield, I saw that the two were chatting and getting along, a rare sight back home.

Because of that, I couldn't help but smile at them.

The garage door opened, and the truck headed inside, and out came my boyfriend, who let out a heavy sigh.

"Dear!" I cheerily yelled, jumping on his back.

He was obviously taken aback from this but managed to stand his ground.

"Huh?! N-Natsuki?! Jeez! You almost gave me a heart attack!" The man exclaimed, clutching his chest to soothe his rapidly beating heart.

Once he let out another sigh, he shifted his head towards me, and he couldn't help but scowl at me.

"I didn't expect you to wait for me at all. I thought you were at home right now." He asked.

I playfully rolled my eyes.

"Baka. I was working all day, covering for dad and you. We had a bunch of customers come in all of a sudden, and it was a bloodbath. Mom and I just closed up shop now, and I am here to get some fresh air."

He pursed his lips and shrugged.

"Is that so? In any case, I would love to talk about this more with you, but I am on the verge of scrambling like an egg and folding over like an omelet. So please, Natsuki, can you get off my back."

Wow...

I didn't realize that he would be this tired.

...

He's this tired because he worked hard for my sake!

That makes me sooooo happy!

I got off his back and hugged his arm.

As soon as I did that, my dad walked out of the garage and saw us.

"There you two are. I take it work went well back home?"

I glared at him, something that made him flinch.

"No! It went horribly! Mom told you that today was going to be pretty busy! You should have listened to her gut feeling!" I hollered.

He laughed to himself nervously.

"Sorry, I really didn't think it would be this bad. I did say we were going today, and a man never backs down from a promise. I won't make the same mistake again."

My glare only tightened.

"Don't come to me and apologize. Mom's the one who is really angry at you."

He gulped and started to retreat to his garage.

"I-Is that so? An angry Sakura is a force to be reckoned with... I'll wait and work on the truck before coming home."

That'll make mom even angrier, dad.

We both nodded and left him to his devices and inevitable fate.

The two of us walked home, enjoying the calm autumn breeze under an orange sunset.

Neither of us said a word, not because of how I yelled at my dad, but because we were both genuinely tired.

I never thought I would get this tired already.

Whenever it would get busy, I would still have some energy left over.

Right now, I feel a little tired than I thought I would be.

Strange...

"So, Gill. Did you learn anything from dad from the training session today?" I asked, hoping to get a carefree conversation going.

He rubbed his chin in thought.

But once he knew what he wanted to say, he burst like a bubble.

"Yeah, I learned plenty. Turns out your dad really knows how to fight, heh. He handed my ass to me on a silver platter. But he did teach me what I was doing wrong with my boxing form, something I am grateful for. But he taught me a little bit of Muay Thai to help round out my boxing skills a little more. Getting to use my shins and knees, along with my boxing, helps me out plenty. After it is the form of the eight limbs for a reason. The next time we go training, he said he is going to help me condition my body so I can use it to its full potential. I can't wait to learn more from your dad!"

I smiled at how enthusiastic he was.

He's like a little kid geeking out about a video game or TV show.

It's charming.

"You're cute, ya know," I muttered.

That confused him rather than getting him flustered.

"Hmm? Where did that come from?"

I shook my head at him.

"You're like a little kid coming home after a long day of school and telling your parents what you learned. It's adorable, Dear."

It was there. His face started flare-up.

"O-Oh... So that's what you meant."

But before he can mount a comeback, I heard an all-too-familiar meow to my side.

Ah!

That's right!

I was planning on feeding him while I was on my way to Dear.

But I didn't see him so I thought he wouldn't be coming out today...

Looks like I was wrong.

A familiar black cat came around the corner, prompting me to drag Dear towards him.

But for some reason, the cat starting hissing at us and backing away.

"Nat! What are you doing?!" Dear whispered while keeping eye contact with the cat.

The cat's hissing grew worse as he stared down with Gill.

On the other hand, Gill kept a steady gaze at the cat, watching any sudden movements from him.

"Val, this is the cat that I was feeding for a while now... And he came here so I can give him food." I explained, now letting go of his arm.

That caused him to look at me and back at the cat.

"Oh... Is that so? Well, I guess I'll let you at it then. It's obvious that he doesn't like me."

He backed away slowly to not spook the cat and went around the street, so he was out of sight.

Once he was gone, the cat calmed down but kept a steady gaze towards Dear's direction.

"Don't worry, he's gone," I whispered, hoping it would ease him. "It's OK."

To my pleasant surprise, it did, and he looked at me expectantly.

I pulled out the food for today, to which he immediately ate from the palm of my hand.

Wow... I didn't think he would be this hungry today.

Maybe I should get more food for him then.

I looked towards where Gill went and saw he was watching afar with a smile.

He thinks it's cute of me to feed a cat, doesn't he?

Well, he's right, cause it is cute!

As the cat continued to eat, he nuzzled his head against my knee, purring affectionately.

I petted his black fur and scratched the back of his ear.

Once that was done, he got up and went down the usual alley where he retreats to.

I got up and walked over to Val, who was crossing his arms and smirking at me.

"What?" I droned, hoping he would tease me about what happened.

He shook his head.

"No, it's nothing. Just thought it was cute that you took care of a cat all this time."

Dear then put his hand over my head and patted it, something I always enjoyed.

"Is there any particular reason why you like taking care of him?" He asked.

There is...

I took a deep breath, as it was a story that I didn't like to talk about.

"Yeah... It's a long story. Do you wanna hear it?"

He nodded enthusiastically.

"Of course I want to! Tell me all about it, Nat."

...

Well, I had to tell him sooner or later.

"That cat... was always by my side when I needed him. He would always come to me whether I had food or not. There wasn't a day he wouldn't come if I was around. I remember being down in the dumps during middle school, and I thought about some really horrible things. My parents weren't around a lot and were worried about me all the time. Back then, I was bullied a lot because of how I looked. They thought I looked out of place, with my small body and especially because I smiled."

In an instant, his warm eyes turned cold.

"Out of place? I know kids can get pretty mean but...! Argh... Natsuki that isn't-"

"The case. I know..." I interrupted, happy that he got angry. "I don't think about that at all anymore, thanks to you. You made me love my body the way it is now, ever since we had our first time."

He nodded, allowing me to continue.

"Anyway, the bullying worsened where I stopped caring about anything and stopped anyone from getting close to me. That's why I was so prickly to you at first. Aside from the fact I had a crush on you, I was a little afraid of letting you into my heart. But you weren't around when I was in middle school, were you? So to cope, I always looked forward to feeding that cat whenever I could. It was my highlight of the day of him coming towards food. He would... stay with me until I felt better. And I grateful for that."

Gill gave me or instead of where the cat went a bittersweet smile.

"If this cat was within your darkest hours, why didn't you take him with you whenever you went home? Your parents are the understanding type, right?"

I only shook my head.

"Yeah, they are. But my dad's deathly allergic to cats. If he gets near one, his allergies act up, and it could send him to the hospital. So the best I can do is feed him whenever I can."

He frowned at the bittersweet situation.

"Damn... that sucks. My younger brother is also allergic to cats, so I know what you mean."

I went on to continue with my story.

"There was one time where I didn't want to go to school because of how bad things got. So I ditched school one day and just walked around here, so I burn time. When I was sitting down on a bench, I saw him walk up to me and jump up the bench. He didn't want food this time. All he wanted to do was lie down on my lap and rest. I was on my last legs that die, so I started ranting about how crappy school was. Everything from the bullying and teasing to how the teachers were heartless people with nothing going for them... He was listening because he kept purring from how angry I got. At the end of the day, I felt better, and I decided to go home."

I smiled as I remembered what happened right after that fond memory.

"Things... finally starting looking up. I aced my classes and graduated from middle school. My parents wanted me to go to business school and expand the bakery since they never got the chance to. But it was still my choice too. And I wanted to expand my parent's bakery because baking is my passion. So I took the entrance exam for Ainu and went there. It was hard leaving him behind, but I was glad that he was still around even when I wasn't there to feed him. It's all because of him that I was able to get this far. If he wasn't around, I don't think we would have met again, Val."

Gill was speechless for a couple of seconds.

He took a deep breath and hugged me, something that surprised me.

"Sorry, Nat. I was thinking about how things would be if we didn't meet. I was thinking about how things were different would be if we didn't meet again. I wouldn't be able to keep my promise to you if not for that cat. I'm thankful that he came around and helped you out a dark spot. And now... I hope that I can do the same thing he did soon."

I hugged him back.

"Baka... you already did the same thing. If you weren't here right now, I don't think I would be this happy. It's because of you that I finally learned to love myself. And you love me, something I... I am so grateful for. So, keep your chin up. OK?"

We hugged and kissed for a while before going back into the shop.

---

It's been a couple of months ever since I agreed to train with Natsuki's father.

Lots of things have changed since then.

I picked up on some baking lessons from both Sakura and Natsuki while I trained with Yamato.

In my free days, Natsuki and I would go on dates, but we haven't really been able to let loose since her parents watched us like hawks.

But even then, I was happier than ever, and the same can be said for my girlfriend.

Looks like Yamato was right. This would make us both happy.

We are almost like a married couple right now, albeit with some restrictions here and there.

My first anniversary when Natsuki was right around the corner, with the summer heat finally coming in full blast.

Right now, we were taking a break, or I was taking a break from the training.

I sat down on the grass, desperately trying to catch my breath from her father's demands.

"Come on, son. I can't sit around all day waiting for you. We still have a bit of work to do, especially since we didn't go last week." He groaned while crossing his arms.

Oh yeah, he calls me "son" now.

I guess that means he accepts me as part of his family, compared to how it was before.

Now I really can't afford to mess up or give up.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. The summer heat is really starting to tax on me. It was a little more bearable in the winter and spring, but with the sun beating on me, I feel my calories pour out." I mumbled.

He chuckled on sat across from me.

"Ah, right. I forgot you haven't trained in the heat. If you were in Okinawa right now, you wouldn't last a second. There the summer will scorch your skin off. Anyway, I'll give a little longer to get a breather."

With that, I collapsed onto the grass and sighed heavily.

My body was finally starting to recover, but I can feel my resolve weakening a little.

Damn this summer heat...

Right now, I want to under a kotatsu with the fan running while eating some tangerines.

I know I shouldn't be thinking that and focus my mind on training as much as possible, but still...

Maybe I need to take a break.

I have been doing this routine for a couple of months straight from Fall to Spring, and now with Summer coming around, I think I am at my breaking point.

"Hey, kid? You haven't fallen asleep, have you?"

I waved my hand in the air to dissuade him otherwise.

"Nah... I don't know how much I longer I can do this in this damn heat." I muttered, unsure if he heard me.

Come on, me.

I just need to push myself a little more.

"Hrm... I didn't think it would be this bad. Val, be honest with me, are you actually tired right now?" He asked, genuinely concerned with my health.

I groaned and pushed myself up, trying to pump myself and steel my will.

"No, no! I am fine! I can keep going!" I reassured.

He looked me in the eye and sighed.

"Jeez... your body can't keep up, Kid. You're pushing yourself way too hard. Even if we do get past this for the day, your body's gonna break down the next day. So we will keep it light for now." Yamato stated.

I shook my head and tried to get up, but I felt a firm hand on my shoulder.

"You aren't getting the message, are you?" He asked with a serious tone. "Stop overexerting yourself. Training will be meaningless if your body breaks down, and it will take longer than it should get back on track. And besides, you're gonna make Natsuki worry. You don't want that, do you?"

...

Damn.

He is right, this is the same exact situation I was in back when I slept over at Natsuki's home almost a year ago.

I pushed my body way too far by shielding her from the torrent and trying to sleep in a kotatsu.

She was crying and was scared of how much I was pushing my body.

Rightfully so, I think I had a minor fever and cough that I managed to sleep off.

Were it not for her, I would have set up the kotatsu, and I would have gotten sick.

...

I have a really bad tendency to not look after myself, huh?

But I can't help it.

Sometimes I can get way too ambitious and push myself to the very limits without realizing it.

I'm grateful that I got friends like Monika and the guys from stopping me from taking things too far.

And I'm grateful that I got Natsuki as my girlfriend, who would stop me from even thinking about it.

We haven't been spending a lot of time together since things have gotten busier.

But maybe we can have a day off with just the two of us.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Yamato. I'll take it easy right now, then."

He nodded at me approvingly, so I sat back down on the grass again.

"Something tells me that you trained by yourself when I wasn't around during the days where we didn't go out. Val, those days were just for you to take it easy, not break your own body!" The veteran scolded. "By taking those days easy, your body would be able to keep up with the progress we are doing!"

I couldn't help but rub the back of my head sheepishly.

"Jeez, sorry... I didn't mean to disrespect the break days at all, Yamato. I really didn't. I thought you were busy with helping the store and all since it was originally the days you worked."

He frowned at me as if understanding where I am coming from.

"That's true, I am supposed to work today with Sakura, but Natsuki's been taking over my spot. I worked on the break days since it isn't as taxing as this. But in any case, whenever we have break days, I want you to relax hard. Not work yourself to the bone, got it?"

Hehe...

I know I am supposed to feel embarrassed or pitiful since he's scolding me, but I can't help but feel a little happy.

It's strange, a year ago I wouldn't see this man as another father figure.

But now, I realized how much I value his advice and his watchful eye.

"Got it, Dad," I replied with a smirk. "I won't beat myself over the break days."

And during these times, I like to tease him by calling him, dad.

Besides that, when he offered to give me ginger ale instead of sake, he would get all tsundere on me if I called him that.

Unfortunately for me, he got used to it relatively quickly.

"Mm. That's what I want to hear. Since we are going to keep things light, we might as well stay here. There isn't any good cooling in that old house."

He got up and walked up to the fridge, where he kept energy drinks and tea.

Hmm...

If we are keeping things light, then I kind of learn more about him.

That way, I might get to know what happened in my dad's past.

Now I realize it, Dad never really talked about his time in the police force much, besides the fact that he went here for a joint mission with the SAT forces.

Yamato turned around with drinks in hand and tossed me an energy drink to replenish some electrolytes.

"Since we're here, I figured that we talk about some stuff. You mind?"

I shook my head at his request.

"Not at all, what's up, Yamato?"

He opened his energy drink and gave me a small smile.

"Thanks. I wanted to talk more about the favor your dad owed me. I think... I think it's time that I come clean with some of the details I held back some months ago. You remember why he owed me a favor, right?"

Speak of the devil, I didn't expect him to go straight to the point.

I cracked open the energy drink.

"Yeah, I do. You said that my dad was saved by you, right? He was caught at gunpoint while trying to bust a gun-trafficking ring, right?"

He was pleasantly surprised by how I remembered that.

"That he was. Once I told him my favor, he gave his all to make it a reality. He was kind of like you, ya know?" He amused. "When he and I were assigned the case of pinpointing the exact location of where the gun-traffickers were, we worked our butts off with any intel we can scrape together."

Yamato had this smile as reminisced, telling me I enjoyed the time my dad and he worked together.

"Now, I heard that he was quite the workaholic back in the U.S, but I didn't believe how many all-nighters he would pull to find them. He was really passionate about his work and would push his body to the absolute limits. The guy always believed in absolute justice and all that—kind of like you, kid. You have Natsuki to get you to take a break every once in a while, but your dad... Wooo, he was super uptight, believe it or not. Would always do work when we were out drinking or partying. The man wouldn't drink a pint of anything or let loose in a party."

I felt my face heat up as I realized how similar I was to my dad.

Jeez...

I never thought dad would be that uptight.

Whenever he came home, my dad would be the calmest and chill parent ever.

"Sounds like dad was a bit of a pain to deal with. Did he warm up to you at all?" I asked.

Yamato laughed at the question.

"Hahaha! He did, but after I saved his life! Instead of me inviting him to do anything, he would invite me everywhere. It's like a switch turned on for him. The man would be unbelievably friendly to be around with, compared to how it was before. Ah, Harold, you son of a bitch..."

Well, I guess my dad was a... kuudere, right?

"So... can you tell me everything about the mission? Or is it classified or something?"

He waved his hand at the last part.

"Nah, the documents weren't classified in the first place. It was publically known, and we both got a good rep taking the traffickers down. But I might as well tell ya how everything went down."

---

"This plan isn't going to work that well. I wish we had a little more prep time." Harold mused, putting on a black suit.

I smirked at him, amused by his irritating attitude.

"I mean, hey, you're looking dashing right now. Those guys won't know what hit them." I remarked to which he rolled his eyes. "Besides, this plan is the best we got so far. Go in undercover as a buyer and bust them in the act. As long as you guys stay calm, everything will go alright."

He sighed for the umpteenth time and buttoned his sleeves.

"I'm more worried about the rookie I am going undercover with. The guy's greener than grass, I got a bad feeling that he's gonna break under pressure."

For some reason, I also shared the same gut-wrenching feeling.

It was probably an omen, but I decided to ignore it for the time being.

"Don't worry, if the rookie breaks, I got your back, remember? I'm considered to be the best sniper in my unit, ya know?" I reassured.

Harold gave me an unreadable expression but shrugged.

"Alright, I'll be in your care then. I'm gonna meet up with the rookie and get ready."

His phone rang in his pocket.

"You better pick that up." I teased, knowing it was his wife calling.

The man gave me a faux glare as he headed towards the double doors.

Before he went outside, we met eyes once more.

I nodded him to which he gave one back and left the scene.

My phone rang and picked it up.

It was right on time too.

"Hello?"

I heard a relieved sigh on the other side of the phone, it was none other my wife.

"Yamato, thank goodness I got to you in time. Are you about to do the job?"

As much I didn't want to worry her, I sighed.

"Yeah, I am about to start. Harold's gone with the rookie to the meetup. It's all about to breakdown. How are you feeling right now?"

Sakura recently underwent heart surgery and was now recovering back home.

It was challenging to pay for the operation initially, but Harold decided to chip in a reasonable amount.

In his words, he considered it as: 'Payment for treating him and being a good partner to work with.'

The rest of the money was almost negligible, and it was a success.

"I'm doing fine, Dear. No heart attacks or anything like that. I haven't had one for a couple of weeks now ever since the surgery. The meds are working their charm too."

I sighed at the situation.

"Seriously, I wished the guys had thought of a better time to start the sting, but you know how my boss is and how serious this operation is. Right now, I want to be with you. I'm sorry for making you worry, Sakura."

Her melodic laughter always brought my spirits up.

"Ah, don't worry, Dear. I'll be fine, besides I got something to distract myself with. Natsuki's playing with Val right now, it's awfully cute. You just come home safe, alright? And make sure Harold gets out of it safe too, please?"

I smiled.

"I will, I promise. I'll talk to you after the mission's done."

Sakura gave another sigh.

"OK. I love you. Stay safe."

It was a promise that I will keep no matter what.

"Mm. Love you too."

With that, I hung up and put my phone away.

I got ready with my equipment and met up with my team overlooking the whole deal.

My team was positioned on a top of a building, which was conveniently close to the deal.

I got into the vehicle my team was in, and we were away.

As we got closer and closer, I had the gut-wrenching feeling turned more and more dreadful.

For some reason, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something will go wrong, no matter how I thought about it.

I climbed up the stairs with my sniper on tow and tried to focus on the situation.

"You guys know the drill. Get set up and watch the sting. Wait for the American's signal, and we start firing, while they get their team to mop up. The head wants this done clean and quick." My CO ordered.

We all set up on the roof of the recently abandoned building and adjusted our sights on the deal at hand.

There the goons were watching out for anything suspicious around the area.

We were set up to prevent our scopes from glaring at them so our positions wouldn't get compromised.

A couple of minutes later, Harold and the rookie arrived at the deal.

I fixed my sights on him and his buddy, hoping that they wouldn't give their cover away.

The dreaded feeling in my gut grew. I watched the rookie showing some signs of nervousness as he separated from Harold.

But I had some faith that Harold would think of something to prevent any suspicion.

Harold came to the meeting, wearing a black suit, and carrying a matching briefcase.

Inside the briefcase was filled with money with dye packs fitted, just in case they could pull a fast one on us.

As the two walked up to the goons, they shook hands and started talking.

They had listening devices equipped so we can listen in to the conversation.

"... So you brought that much, eh? Check it." The goon ordered, prompting another to check the money was legit or not.

Once he was done, he gave an all-clear, allowing the transaction to take place.

The guys were equipped with military-grade weapons, which were the same guns plaguing the United States.

Harold was one of the guys who tracked the shipments and came here with some of his men to clean the house.

Everything was going fine until we heard a nervous gasp.

My sights readjusted to the rookie, who was visibly getting shakier and shakier.

"I said... do you have the guns, Mr. Akuma?" He asked.

We knew that he messed up from there.

Harold and the rookie were briefed on the thugs, but they were under no circumstances were to speak their names.

"Wait a minute... How the hell do ya know mah name?" He asked, obviously suspicious.

Harold and the goon looked over to the transaction on the other side.

I gripped my rifle and loosened my muscles.

Knowing the operation was about turn bust, I sighted my scope on the thug, getting more and more suspicious.

"A-Are you selling me weapons, Mr. Akuma?" The rookie asked.

He shook his head, trying to process the information in front of him.

"Stop... stop... I don't like dis at all. Deal's off. This guy's actin' funny."

The other goon Harold, was talking to started walk closer and closer to him.

"Your friend over there knows my associate's name. Do you know mine?"

The guy who checked the money was know training his sights on Harold.

"They're burnt. Taking the guy with the rifle trained on him." I declared.

"Clear. Go right ahead." My CO stated overlooking the situation.

Before the thug can say another word, I took the shot.

The gun dropped to the floor, causing the man to jump.

"FUCK! It's a sting!"

Two more shots rang out, saving the rookie from certain death.

With the snipers going out, the American team went in. It swarmed the scene, arresting the criminals in the surrounding area.

Knowing that there was no way out, the leader pulled out a sidearm from his suit and pointed at Harold.

"Shit." I heard him mutter.

Harold put his hands on the back of his head as the man approached him from behind.

"Listen up! This guy's gonna get a little bullet in his head if you guys get closer!" He warned, now taking Harold in a chokehold.

I stayed calm and kept my sights trained at him.

The man was obviously panicking, with him moving his head erratically.

Because of that, he was a difficult target.

"We don't negotiate with terrorists," I muttered to myself.

However, there was a pause before he started turning his head again.

After seeing him do that twice, I recognized the pattern.

"I got a shot." I declared.

I fired the bullet, hitting him.

Harold got down immediately after that as if his legs gave out.

The team immediately jumped into action and got Harold out of there.

I felt my body slacken once he was safe.

"That was an outstanding shot." One of my coworkers remarked.

I shook my head jokingly.

"That's why I'm the best."

The operation was mostly a success, aside from the fact the rookie messed up.

We were able to salvage by taking down most of the criminal enterprise, but there were still some remnants.

Even then, since the mission was a success, we decided to celebrate.

Instead of me usually coming over to Harold's desk, he came towards me.

"Hey." He greeted.

I gave him a curt nod and greeted back.

"Mm."

He took a seat near my desk and took a deep breath.

I knew what he was here for.

"Thanks for saving me back there, Yamato. I can't thank you enough."

I waved at him and went back to work.

"Yeah, it's a part of the job, Harold. Don't mention it."

He stood up and put his hand on my desk, looking serious.

"No, I mean it. Thank you, if you hadn't taken the shot there, I bet your guys would have shot through me. Deborah's got enough worrying about doing with me doing this job, so... Thank you, Yamato. If there's anything that you need help with, then I will do whatever it takes to get it done, believe me." He declared.

I was taken back from how intense and serious he was.

"Jeez, Harold. I didn't think you would be that serious about this. You already have done enough. You saved my wife's life by chipping in the cash for the surgery. Were it not for you, then Natsuki wouldn't have a mother to grow up with."

He shook his head.

"You guys like to take humility to another level, seriously. It's because you're my friend, Yamato. And... I don't want your kid to grow up without a mom. Trust me, I know how that feels. Given how my son talks about your wife, putting up that much cash isn't much. Besides, I owed you for all the drinks and the company you gave me. This, however, is something different. Were it not for you, I don't know what would happen to Deborah or Val."

This was the first time he called me his friend.

Because of that, I felt humbled.

---

"I understand. All I ever want is my family to be happy, so if I decide to call in a favor from you, it's going to be that."

---

"So... that's what happened. No wonder dad didn't want to talk about it." I muttered, vocalizing my thoughts. "He didn't want to talk about how close he was losing mom, Michael, or me."

Yamato smirked as he rounded the corner.

"Yep, he cares a lot about you guys. Everything he did back at the station was for you guys to live comfortably. I'm glad he got a break and got a desk job." He stated while keeping his eyes on the road.

We were going home early since we did enough training before my body decided to give out.

Hehe, Cupcake's going to be surprised to me being home early.

Yamato told me to keep things easy for today and tomorrow. The following day, I'm going to be helping around the store.

So I was thinking we go on a date tomorrow to ease my body and soul.

We entered the garage, and I said my goodbyes since he would start doing his usual maintenance with his vehicle.

As I walked down the street, I saw a pinkette carry a box that was almost the size of her.

Natsuki...

To surprise her, I decided to sneak behind her.

She obviously had no idea that I was here now, so she had her guard down.

Once I was close, she noticed a looming shadow form over her, causing me to take her in her arms.

"AAH!" She squealed as I hugged her, careful not to crush the box in front of her.

I felt her soft body melt into me as we hugged, but I felt Natsuki tense up and push me off.

She took a second to see who her attacker was and her hot pink eyes darting all over my smirking face.

Cupcake sighed heavily once she realized it was me.

Like clockwork, she punched me the gut, knocking the wind out of my system.

"DON'T YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT, BAKA!" She screeched, obviously upset from my startling presence.

I coughed a little before chuckling to myself.

"Sorry, sorry! I just had to do it. Think of it as revenge for smacking my butt for 'good luck' or whatever."

She puffed out her cheeks.

"It's not my fault you have America's ass! Anyway, what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training with Papa?"

Her pink eyes noticed something was up with my body.

Before I can say something, she heaved a heavy sigh.

"Not this again..." She muttered. "I thought I told you to take it easy, Dear."

My eyes widened from her deductive reasoning.

"Wait, what? How did you..."

She crossed her arms and looked at me disappointingly.

Hey...

This is the second time I have been looked at like that!

It kinda hurts.

"I know because I love you, you dolt. We spent a lot of time together, and I can tell you something is up with your body. Your body is missing the confident and calm vibe it usually has." She analyzed.

...

To have someone know me that well already is well...

Flattering.

My heart feels a little fuzzy now because of her.

This feeling of being understood by someone you love is amazing.

"Yeah... I pushed myself too hard. Yamato picked up on it too, so he forced me to stop training. So that's why I'm here."

My eyes focused on the cardboard box Natsuki was holding.

"By the way, what's that?" I asked. "Want me to hold it for you?"

For some reason, Natsuki flared up with my question.

"Uhm... uh... it's well... something for a convention. And it's light, so don't worry. I can carry it." She nervously squeaked.

I tightened my gaze at the pinkette.

"Let me guess, it has something to with anime and manga, right? Is it a new shipment of uh... what do they call it? Dungeons?"

She bit her lip.

"You mean doujins. No, it isn't that, but you're right on it being related to anime and manga."

Hmm...

If it ain't books, she has then...

Wait, let me put two and two together.

Has to do with anime and manga, and it is related to a convention...

Ah!

"I think I know what it is!" I declared.

She ducked behind the box to cover her face.

"Fwah! N-N-No, you don't! It's not, no, it's not a-"

"Cosplay dress."

Natsuki whined and continued to hide behind the box.

"Come on, Nat. Are you going to a convention wearing a cosplay?"

She nodded slowly, while still hiding.

"Well... you weren't on planning on going without me, right?" I asked, feeling a little lonely. "I know I am not the biggest fan of your country's animation culture, but... still."

That prompted her to pop out.

"No! No, I was planning on taking you with me, I swear! But... I also wanted to surprise you with the dress I am gonna be wearing." She reassured with a scarlet face. "I wanted you to call me cute while wearing it."

Oh...

I smirked at her.

"That's it? Well, glad we got that sorted out. With that being said, why are you going to cosplay in the convention? I'll try not to laugh or anything."

Natsuki brightened up, with all her traces of being embarrassed now disappearing.

"Oh, oh! It's because I want to try it out for myself! I see everyone doing that, so I figured why not give it a shot? Especially since my..."

She muttered the last part, so I leaned in.

"Especially what...?"

This time instead of being flustered again, she smirked.

"That's a secret, hehe! Look, I want to hang around and show off my cosplay to everyone. Don't you think it will be cute? Maybe I can act out some of the anime concepts with other cosplayers there... I can maybe get my manga signed there and give some ideas to the creators! And also, I think I could... Hey! Stop looking at me as if you're disappointed in me!"

I shook my head out of it.

"Sorry, a force of habit. Well, if you're going because you hyped up to go, then I'll want to come along. I want to see your cosplay in action."

Natsuki bounced from my answer.

"Hehe! Thanks, Val!"

Also, I don't want people coming too close to her for comfort.

---

It's been 18 hours since I told Dear about the convention date we were going to have.

I woke up a little early and felt excited to go on a date with Dear.

Lately, we were working a bit too hard.

And I feel like my heart and body can't keep up.

Sure, I might be overworking myself, but it doesn't feel like that.

It's starting to worry me.

What's wrong with my body?

...

I'll worry about it later.

Also, note to self, I have to get some food for the cat today.

I didn't see him yesterday for some reason, so maybe I'll see him today.

This... hasn't happened before.

Maybe he was busy.

Right now, I gotta put this cosplay on!

After Dear and I got home, I put the dress in my closet to put on later.

This specific dress was the signature dress of Miya, one of the Parfait Girls.

It was no secret that she was my favorite girl.

The manga author thought of making her the main girl of the series, but Alice got in the way.

Sure Alice was a good character with a fantastic character arc, but Miya's arc miles better.

The way she slowly warmed up to the main character kind of resembles how Gill and I got together.

At first, Miya hated the MC of the story, Kaito, a lot. Where she would attack him on sight.

But... after Kaito stood up to her and saved her once, her view on the guy changed.

Once her view changed, she fell in love with him.

Obviously, that isn't how I Gill and I got together, we didn't attack at each other, but I sort of warmed up to him before we fell in love with him.

I let out a happy sigh.

That got me wondering...

If Val I didn't get together... would Monika take him away?

Just thinking about it kinda makes my heart hurt...

Especially since Monika still loves him.

What about Yuri?

I haven't heard from Yuri that much ever since Val rejected her for me.

We were pretty close back in Dokisai because we were practically opposites.

And it hurts now that she doesn't talk to me...

Is it because of how awkward things got between us?

Maybe I should make the first move and break the weird ice between us.

As my thoughts grew more and more depressive, I decided to focus on putting on the magic girl's outfit.

The magic girl's outfit was a puffy pink dress with ribbons on the neck, waist, and dark pink heels. The middle of the dress is a pale yellow with a white stripe and red buttons. The waist is a flower-like pattern that has a pink to white fade. And at the edge of the dress, there are three pink diamond shapes with red borders.

Next was white gloves, which had pink trims and pinkish-white knee-high stockings.

Finally was the staff that Miya used, which was base of the staff, was a hot-pink with the top holding a circular clear pink plastic to display the power output.

Once I got the dress on, I looked at myself in the mirror.

Perfect!

Or I should say...

Parfait!

...

...

...

I should get a move on instead of making up dumb puns.

Dear's waiting downstairs with the truck.

I picked up my pink hand-bag, which I slung on my shoulders and went downstairs.

OK, I should have a change of clothes in here and all my books that my favorite manga authors sign!

I'm ready!

As I exited the bakery, I saw Dear leaning against Papa's truck, yawning from early her woke up.

I smirked at him and walked towards my dozing boyfriend.

As payback for scaring me yesterday, I'll wake you up with this staff of mine!

I wasn't going to strike him down with staff, but give his head a light jab.

Steady...

Hah!

As my staff was about to make contact with his head, he woke up and grabbed the staff in flight.

Eh?

He gave me a hostile look and gripped the staff tightly before realizing what he was doing.

"Huh? Ah! Shit, sorry about that, Cupcake. I didn't realize what was going on." Dear apologized. "Wait a minute! You were going to hit me with that!"

I laughed nervously as I hid the weapon behind me.

"Ehehe... Sorry. I wasn't going to hurt you but poke you a little with it."'

He looked at me with deadpanned eyes.

"Poke me by swinging a staff like that?"

My face flushed at my dumb excuse.

"OK, OK, maybe not poke you but hit you lightly. A-Anyway... I'm glad Papa's training is paying off. I think you would have got hit were it not for him."

He scratched the side of his cheek.

"Maybe so, maybe so. Anyway, you're ready to... go...?"

Dear stared at me with dumbfounded eyes.

I raised an eyebrow at his bemused state before I realized he was looking at my cosplay.

And so, I puffed my chest out and put my hand on my hip.

"Hehehe... How do I look?"

Dear rubbed his arm while looking away.

"Jeez, you look incredibly pretty. I can't even take my eyes off you if I get a glimpse at you. I... never thought that the cosplay would work that well!"

I grinned, showing my flashy smile to him.

"Well, since you're my boyfriend, I don't mind! Now let's go, let's go! I want to go to the anime convention!"

He gulped and nodded, getting into the truck.

I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!

I knew he would like it!

Dear shifted the gear of the truck and started moving.

He took a deep breath in and out, trying his best to keep his focus on the road.

I wonder how things will go at the convention...

---

Shit...!

Come on, me, stay focused!

Yamato will kill me if I total his truck!

But Natsuki really looks beautiful in that magical girl outfit.

Everything about that dress matches well with her hair and eyes.

My heart really can't stop pounding because of it...

And not only that, I noticed her chest started getting a little bigger than before.

Is she going through a growth spurt...?

Watch the road me, damn it!

This all can wait!

Through sheer will, I focused on the road, and unintentionally kept the whole ride awkwardly quiet.

As we got out, I felt Natsuki cling to my arm, causing my heart to almost leap through my mouth.

Her soft pink hair tickled my upper arm, and I smelled the strawberry scent coming from her hair.

"Come on, Dear! The convention already started! I want to gooooo!" She cutely whined.

I didn't say anything and heeded her demand.

As we went in, my eyes imploded by the scene.

Everywhere I looked, there were cosplayers, anime character cut-outs, and stands everywhere.

"Hmm, I expected this place to smell a little... mature. I'm surprised my nose hasn't given out yet."

Natsuki looked at me with a confused look.

I shook my head.

"It's nothing. Don't worry, let's get a move on."

And with that, our convention date started.

The first thing we did was go around the stands Natsuki wanted to go to.

There sat the manga authors signing manga for all those who waited in line.

As we waited in line, there were plenty of people wishing to take a picture with Natsuki.

"Oh, you look soooo cute! You're Miya from Parfait Girls, right?! Right?!" A girl asked, her eyes sparkling like stars.

Natsuki smiled and smugly looked at her.

"Yer right, I am!"

The girl's friend held Natsuki's hands and marveled at them.

"Wow...! The gloves look so authentic! Not only that, but you also hit the hair and eyes really well!"

Natsuki looked at me with a smug look to which I can only nod and smile.

She's obviously getting stronger with the compliments.

"Oh, oh! Can you do Miya's catchphrase?! Please?! We want to take a photo!"

Natsuki nodded and took a deep breath.

"Evil-doers beware! I serve only the Twilight Oath! My justice is swift and just!

She swirled her staff in her hands and pointed towards the girls.

"Parfait Girl Miya is here! Here to spread peace and love!"

...

...

...

I am feeling very conflicted right now.

For starters, that was surreal and looked identical to the show.

But at the same time, it's Natsuki doing that.

I kinda want to cringe but...

...

She did look cute, though.

The two girls squealed from Natsuki's moves.

"That was soooo cute! I can't believe you can do the same way Miya does it!"

"Yeah! Everything was on point! Miya is your favorite character, right?"

Natsuki puffed her chest out and looked proudly at two admirers.

"Of course, she is! Miya is the best girl! She should have been the one to be with Kaito!" She declared.

The two girls looked at her with expectant eyes.

"Yeah!" They both cheered.

The encounter started to wrap up with the girls now beginning to leave.

I let out a small sigh and wrapped my arm around Natsuki.

"You're pretty good at this. And not to mention, you were pretty damn charming when you did that pose thing."

She held my arm and snuggled against it.

"I did the same thing whenever I went up to cosplayers to take pictures. I know what they're looking for most of the time. Also, I had a lot of practice with the Parfait Girl special attack. You should give it a try sometime!"

I chuckled nervously.

"Yeah... I'll let you handle that. I'm good, heh."

She continued to snuggle against my arm.

"Suit yourself, Kaito had a cool looking one, something you might like..."

We got our signatures for Natsuki's manga and moved onto the next thing.

Next up was the exclusive screenings for new anime coming around the corner.

I knew Cupcake was particularly excited for this one since they had decided to remake the remake of the original run of the Parfait Girls anime.

Jeez, at this point, they should just do another take of the series instead of rebranding it every few years.

I mean hey, I get it makes money but doing it repeatedly gets bland right...?

"Whooooa! Gill look! They are showing the remade scene of the Parfait Girls fighting a corrupted Kaito!"

Thanks to Monika forcing me to watch the remake and original Parfait Girls anime multiple times, and Natsuki adding to the damage, I knew what was going to happen.

The scene was a little different in terms of appearance and scenery, but it looked like the special effects were kicked up to make any eyes bleed.

Seriously, how do people watch this?

I must be the only one to actually be in discomfort from all that FX being thrown around.

But as soon as I turned to Natsuki, I saw that she watched the remade scene with awestruck eyes.

That made the discomfort go away.

I mean, if she is enjoying, then it can't be wrong, right?

"This isn't working! We have to use our ultimate attack! Come on, let's do this!"

"3, 2, 1... Rainbow Moon Blitz! GO!"

The screen was covered with a mix of colors, swirling and coalesced into a bright white, bringing down the darkened Kaito to his knees.

OK...

Maybe I spoke too soon.

But still, it isn't bad as I thought it would be.

Once the preview was done, we exited the booth and walked around for a little.

There we went to the other stands and saw what they had to offer before going to the last stop.

Meeting the creator of Parfait Girls...

Hmm, it feels a little ominous and also anti-climatic.

As we walked there, we saw a long line which stretched for a couple of meters.

Natsuki let out an irritated growl.

"Arrrrgh! I thought the line would be cleared out by now! But it looks like it hasn't moved an inch!"

I gripped Cupcake's hand and pulled her to the back of the line.

"Might as well start now. I'll stand here, do you need to go to the bathroom?"

She nodded a little embarrassed.

"Yeah, I do... I'll be back soon!"

And so, I waited in the line for Natsuki.

I went on my toes and looked over to see if the line was about to get less congested.

But instead, I was greeted by a long row of people, particularly girls waiting in line.

...

This is going to take a while, isn't it?

That's just great.

As I waited, I spotted a familiar face walking among the crowds of people in the convention.

Wait, is that...

Hiroshi?

Our eyes met, and he waved at me, so I waved back.

He jogged up to me and gave me a one-armed hug.

"Hey! I didn't expect to see you around here!" He greeted.

I beamed at my friend.

"Well, I expected to see you here sooner or later. How's it going?" I asked.

He rolled his eyes and smiled back.

"I'm doing great, boss. I split up with my friend to get some things done. Seriously, though. I thought you weren't the type of guy to be into this sort of thing."

I shrugged.

"Hehe, hang around a girl like Natsuki for too long, and your perspective changes."

We continued to talk for a bit until Natsuki got back.

Once she arrived, Hiro was mesmerized by the girl's cosplay.

I saw his eyes shift to my girlfriend's chest for a split second, which invoked a strange feeling jealously in me.

Snap out of me.

He's a friend and a guy.

Though I don't exactly approve of him doing that.

Wait, am I getting jealous?

Even then, I gave him a warning glare, to which he caught on.

"That's one hell of a cosplay. Who are you cosplaying as?" He asked.

Natsuki giggled and hugged my arm, catching me off-guard.

"Miya from Parfait Girls! She's my favorite character!"

Hiro then shifted his focus to me.

"You're one lucky guy to get a girl so cute. I'm jealous... Peace, you two. I gotta finish up on my list!"

Just before he left, he mouthed the words "Sorry." catching onto why I was a little annoyed.

With that, I let out a sigh.

"Uh? What's wrong?" Cupcake asked.

I pursed my lips and took a glimpse at my girlfriend's chest.

Damn...

They are getting a growth spurt, aren't they?

"Nothing, don't worry about it."

With that, we waited and bided the time to get the signature we need.

At long last, we finally made it to the Parfait Girl's stand.

Natsuki could barely keep her excitement as she gave her favorite volume to the creator.

The creator of the Parfait Girls looked at Natsuki with widened eyes.

"Oh my... I didn't expect to see my characters come to life." She commented, gawking at my girlfriend.

Cupcake's face flared up a little and shyly looked away.

"T-Thank you, ma'am..." She meekly said, hiding behind my arm.

I see...

"Ma'am, your series made a huge impact on my girlfriend's life. It's because of her that she watches anime and manga. She is a huge fan of your work." I stated, taking the words from Natsuki's mouth.

There's no doubt that she was about to say that, but I guess getting praised by the creator of her favorite series is too much.

The creator was pleasantly surprised.

"Is that so? I'm happy to hear about that. And it shows, the cosplay you've done looks like you came straight out my own drawings... You look just like Miya!"

Natsuki stared at the creator blankly, causing me to nudge her to wake her up.

"Fweh! T-T-Thank you very much!" She thanked while bowing.

The creator gave us a warm smile as she finished signing Cupcake's book, so we left the scene.

As we walked, I felt Natsuki rub her face against my arm.

"T-Thank you..." She muttered.

I patted her hair.

"It's no problem. You're my girlfriend, remember?" I reminded as we walked.

I felt a sharp tug on my shirt, causing me to look at her.

She got on her toes and kissed me before pulling away with a soft smile.

"I love you..." The pinkette whispered.

I leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, too. I would do anything for you."

We went to the other exhibits before we called it a day.

Natsuki took off her cosplay, and we headed towards the truck.

From there, we had a relatively peaceful conversation about our time there.

I parked Yamato's truck in his garage, and we were now walking home.

"Oh yeah! I almost forgot to feed him! I didn't get to yesterday since I couldn't find him anywhere... But I think we should find him today!"

Wait, what...?

Natsuki couldn't find the cat yesterday?

That's awfully strange...

I saw the cat always running up to her regardless if she had food on her or not.

What was stopping him yesterday?

For some reason, I felt an ominous feeling in my gut.

Why do I feel so uneasy all of a sudden?

Is there something about to happen?

As we walked towards the area where the cat usually hangs around, my gut blared warnings.

"Where is he today...?" She murmured while looking around for him.

I gripped Cupcake's hand tightly, feeling a little uneasy about the whole situation.

She unconsciously did the same.

We sat down on the bench and waited for the cat to arrive.

I need to calm down a little.

Maybe I am just overreacting, that's all.

After a half-hour of waiting, Natsuki started to get impatient.

"Agggh! I can't take much more of this! We'll just stop by his hiding place, come on!"

She then grabbed my hand and practically dragged me to the alley where the cat lived.

My gut screamed at me to stop her and get away from here.

This is not good...

Something is definitely up.

I can feel my hair standing on itself right now.

The alley was narrow and decrepit, the perfect place for any strays to live in.

"Let's look for him. Maybe he's asleep," I suggested, now separating from her.

She gave me a curt nod and looked around for the cat.

I took the chance to look around carefully, checking every nook and cranny for the cat.

Alright, gut feeling...

Show me what you were dreading to show me.

I followed my gut feeling and slowly approached a small cardboard box.

The box showed apparent signs of wear and tear, but it was still relatively intact.

My heart was beating against my chest, and I could hear my heartbeat.

I felt my hands starting to sweat uncontrollably.

This is fear...

Why am I so scared now?

I knelt down and looked in.

My heart stopped once I realized what I was looking at.

Oh...

Oh, no...

The cat was severely injured, with visible bite marks on its body and head.

He's black fur was stained with dried blood and shedding.

The cat's bony structure was mangled up to unnatural contortions.

It was a sight that will horrify anyone.

The cat was fighting off a dog...

He won but at the cost of...

This.

He was still twitching around, so I decided to do what was best.

Even I can tell he... isn't going to make it, also if we get to the vet in time...

I laid my hand on the cat and patted it gently, comforting him in his last moments.

The cat slacked with my touch.

"Dear? What's wrong?" Natsuki asked.

...

She can't see this.

I stood up and turned around.

Her pink eyes searched my face and realized something was definitely wrong.

"W-What's wrong? W-Why are you so pale right now...?"

It didn't take long for her to fit the pieces together.

"No... No... NO!"

She ran towards me, but I blocked her.

"LET GO! LET GO! I HAVE TO SEE WHAT'S WRONG WITH HIM!" She screamed.

I kept a serious face and looked at her.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

She nodded vigorously, her eyes threatening to leak tears.

I closed my eyes and let her through.

"Hah...!"

I opened them to see Natsuki looking at him with baffled eyes.

The tears flowed down her cheeks.

A hand went up to her left breast as if trying to hold something in.

"He... can't die... not like this...! I know! He'll get better if he eats something!"

She hurriedly pulled the bag of treats she bought for him and pulled out a biscuit.

The pinkette broke off a small piece and placed it on her finger.

"Here you go... Please eat up!"

He reacted lethargically, sticking out his tongue and licking her finger.

Her finger grew sticky and was painted red with blood.

Natsuki looked to me with a desperate smile.

"See! See! H-He's going to get better! I-I know he is! He's strong!" She assured.

I knew it was a hopeless attempt to ease the inevitable.

There's nothing to stop what's going to happen.

If I lie and go along with her words, it will only end in more pain.

"Take him in your arms, Natsuki."

Her face contorted in pain but complied.

"Why... Why did this have to happen? Who did to you...? What kind of monster would hurt you...?!"

He let out a small, dull meow.

"Eh...? A-Are you feeling better? Are you?!"

She turned to me with hopeful eyes.

"Val, he is gonna going to be better, see?! See! His eyes are glowing up!"

The cat let out another dull meow, coughing up the blood and saliva building up inside him.

I knew the lights in his eyes were starting to fade away.

And so, I reached out to him and gently laid my hand on the dying cat.

"Please don't go... Please... Don't leave me..."

With one final meow, much stronger than the last two, he extended his forelegs straight and falls slack.

...

...

...

"NOOOOOOO!"

The pain she was holding finally burst.

She held the dead cat in her arms and hugging, hoping it would come back somehow.

Her body broke down into hysterical sobs.

I only knew the cat for a little while...

But Natsuki knew him for a long time.

He was her friend in her darkest times.

And now he was gone...

"Natsuki... give him to me."

She continued sobbing, evident that she didn't hear me.

"Natsuki."

Her eyes were filled to the brim with tears and pain.

"NO! NO! WHY DO YOU WANT HIM?! ARE YOU GOING TO BURY HIM?!" She screamed.

I can only look at her calmly.

"Yes, I am," I answered. "So, please."

She growled at me but surprisingly gave me the little cat.

I took him in and placed him inside his home.

After that, I took the box in my arm and pulled Natsuki up.

"Come on. We're going home."

She didn't protest at all.

The trip home was deathly silent.

Once we were there, both of her parents rushed towards, but I put a hand up to stop them.

I motioned Yamato to come towards me, and I gave him the box.

"Take this and bury it at your old house," I whispered, hoping Natsuki didn't hear. "It's important to her."

He gave me an affirmative nod and took off.

"I'll close up shop. Go to your room." Sakura ordered, rushing over to the door.

I carried the hiccuping girl up the stairs, washed her up, and opened the door to my room.

She walked over and sat down my bed.

"Do you want any water?" I asked, taking off her shoes and socks.

She shook her head.

I helped take off the rest of her clothes. Fortunately, she had her pajamas on, so I stopped there.

Natsuki rubbed her eyes, still red from crying.

"Do you want anything..."

Before I can finish my sentence, Natsuki winced in pain, clutching her left breast again.

"Aggh...! Ghhhh!" She groaned as she struggled to breathe.

My eyes widened at this.

"Natsuki?! What's wrong?!" I yelled.

But as soon as I yelled, she shook her head.

"It's nothing." She mumbled. "Just a little heartburn."

I let out a relieved sigh.

"OK, you scared me there. You must be exhausted, so sleep."

She looked at the distance without any emotion.

"Sleep with me... Please. I'm scared."

It was a given that I was going to sleep next to her.

"I was planning to."

With that, I changed to my pajamas.

I took glimpses at Natsuki, with her merely looking out at a distance.

She's going through a whirlwind of thoughts...

The least I can do is comfort her.

Once I was done changing, I got into the bed and pulled Natsuki towards me.

She stared at my chest for a while before closing her eyes.

In an instant, she clung to me and wailed painfully.

I felt her tears stain my shirt, but I didn't care.

It's the least I can do.

She cried and cried until she fell asleep.

And so, I held her tight.

"I won't ever die on you, Natsuki. I promise."

From there, I fell asleep with her, praying she would recover from this.

---

Today was the day we got together a year ago.

I still feel terrible about what happened a week ago.

My heart heavier, but not in the metaphorical sense, but it physically feels a little difficult to breathe.

Working for too long tires me out completely. I can't help out in the bakery for too long, but fortunately, my parents understand.

I chalked it up as grief, but I am still having doubts about that.

But anyway, my body seems to be recovering a little.

It helped that my boyfriend doted on me while I was depressed.

He made sure that I didn't push me too hard, was kind, kept a steady eye on me at all times, and, best of all, let me sleep in his bed.

I was making a bento, filling it up with all of Dear's favorite foods.

This bento was more of a breakfast than lunch.

It's the least I can do for being so down in the dumps.

Sure, I am a little sad, but it wasn't like it was a few days ago.

As I packed in his favorite foods, I took a deep breath in, which some strange reason gave me a twinge of pain in my chest.

Gah, it wasn't this bad before!

I thought I was getting better!

Come on, I have to make this day worth it!

After all, it's the anniversary when Val and I got together!

I slapped myself on the cheeks and woke up.

OK!

I can do this!

With a burst of energy, I focused and finished making a small lunch for both of us.

After that, I went to Val's room and jumped into his bed.

I expected my chest to hurt a little, or my body felt slow, but I didn't feel like that.

Hehe, must be because of how tired I was.

My body feels like it's about to break open with raw energy!

Dear groaned and rose up from his bed.

"Aggh... What the heck, Nat? It's still... a couple of hours before our anniversary date. Are you really that excited?" He mused, rubbing his afflicted stomach.

I couldn't help but giggle at him.

"Come on, Dear! Today's the day we got together, so we have to spend all of our time with each other! That's how the rules work!"

He blinked for a few seconds but massaged the bridges of his nose.

"What rules? Argh, you know what? I can't go back to sleep anyway. Let' s have this date." Dear muttered, while stretching.

I gave him one of my smiles; he loved so much and clung onto him.

He sighed at this.

"Hey, Nat. Can you let go of me? I want to wash up and change clothes."

I playfully frowned at his demands.

"Aww...! I don't want to spend a single second apart from you!"

Dear tried to pull me off, only for me to stubbornly hold onto him.

"Argh! Fine, you can stay right beside me, I don't have the strength to pull you off, right now."

That's good enough, I guess.

I reluctantly got off him but decided to surprise him.

With my teeth bared out, I dove in and bit him on the neck.

I sank my teeth into his flesh, relishing how warm his neck was.

"Ah! S-Shit! N-Not right now!" He begged, helpless from biting.

Once I made my mark, I pulled away with a smile.

"Hey, I had to do it just in case. You're getting more and more attractive thanks to all that training you're doing. And I don't want a bunch of girls hitting on you, like last time, you Baka!"

He frowned and rubbed his bite mark.

"It's not my fault that I look like this! I was born with it! And I swear, it has to be pretty weird for random girls I have never met to even hit on me!" Dear defended, now standing up.

He hissed in pain and stood still, wasting precious seconds of our date.

And so, I smacked him on the butt for good measure.

"Ack! Hey! Stop smacking my butt!"

I crossed my arms and stuck my tongue out playfully.

"I will if you get ready! So get a move on!"

He rolled his eyes and moved to wash up and change.

Once he arrived back, he told me to go downstairs.

As expected, I resisted.

"No!"

He mellowed and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Please? I know it's a little weird, but can you?"

Why does he need me to go downstairs?

Does he not want me in his room...?

Is it because he has a secret?

"Fine, fine. I will go downstairs. But you better hurry up. I want to spend this entire day with you." I said as I went down.

I wonder what the secret is.

Oh!

Is it the same secret he wanted to give to me when he moved a couple of months back?

Uuuu!

I wonder what it is!

My body couldn't hold in the excitement I had.

I exited the bakery, still feeling a little jittery from the morning.

Before long, I saw my boyfriend exit the bakery with a light blue hoodie, black t-shirt, and khaki shorts.

He saw me and gave me his usual dorky smile.

"Hey, there. You're still feeling hyper, huh?"

I put my hand on my hip and smirked.

"Of course, we have this to ourselves, and not to mention it's special!" I sparked.

He chortled from my vigor.

"I hope I can match your power level, heh. Let's go."

In contrast to our first date together right after we got together, Dear took my hand.

I squeezed his hand tightly, and he pressed back.

"Since we have some time to kill, want to do some those anime troupes you love doing?"

That's right!

I'm working on my manga as a side project, but...

I think I moved on with my manga, but it doesn't hurt to release it when it's done.

Besides, I don't think it would be that popular anyway.

And...

I looked up to my boyfriend's relaxed, but happy face.

I'm happy with that.

"Sure! Let's do some! It can't hurt to do some research, right?"

And so, I dragged him to the nearby park.

There we sat down on a bench, and I took out a bento for the both of us to eat.

Dear was confused with this setup.

"Uh... we're eating lunch now? So, I'm guessing the troupe where we feed each other?"

I grinned, impressed that he caught on quickly.

"Yep! I thought we could eat this for breakfast since it's light and all."

The bento box wasn't that big, so it could pass us breakfast anyway.

He shrugged and tried to open the box, only for me to swat his hand out of the way.

"Ow! Hey!"

I glared at him.

"Hey, I'll open it for you! The guy never opens the box under certain situations! And that hasn't happened yet!"

For the second time today, he blinked a few times before shaking himself awake.

"What a weird concept..." He mumbled to himself as he looked away.

And so, I opened the box revealing the foods that my boyfriend loved.

His eyes caught the sight of the foods, and he gasped.

"W-Whoa...! You made all this? The food looks amazing! It looks like the cooking classes have paid off, huh?"

I couldn't help but flare up from compliment.

It's true. Whenever Val and I didn't have to handle the register, we would teach others some culinary skills.

Since we lived together, learning was much faster. We didn't have to worry about time as much as before.

This is the cumulative effort of a year's worth of lessons.

Now it's up to the taste test.

"Hey, wait a minute, how did you know which foods to pack? I don't think I told you my favorite foods." He asked.

I puffed my chest out and smirked.

"Easy, I knew because I love you!" I declared.

...

...

...

Val didn't buy into it.

"Alright, who told you? Out with it."

I tapped my fingers nervously.

"A-Alright, alright! It was both Monika and Hiroshi. They helped me out. Monika helped with what you liked when you were kids, and Hiro helped with what you like right now."

My boyfriend nodded, understanding.

"Now, that makes a little more sense. Anyway, let me get a taste test ready."

My hands started to sweat a little from the tension.

"Start with the teriyaki chicken, I know I did that well. No! Wait, go for the salad! Nevermind, go for the-!"

He put his fingers up to my lips to stop my babbling.

"Calm down, will ya? You're doing the freaking about food troupe a little too well, for lack of better words. Natsuki, I know you did well. You're a much better cook than I am, remember?"

I pursed my lips to a small frown.

"Yeah, but you're the one who's the most experienced. It's like the student going up against the mentor."

To stop me from muttering anymore, he plopped a teriyaki chicken into his mouth and chewed.

My world stopped as he took the piece to his taste buds.

He closed his eyes and chewed thoroughly, making sure to savor the taste.

Please be good, please be good, please be good!

Once he was done chewing, he gulped and opened his eyes.

"This is way better than expected." He said with a dorky smile. "Though I will have to admit the meat is little too tender for my tastes, and the sauce is a little uneven. But these are my own tastes, everyone has their own. And not to mention bonus points for making it yourself. You get a 90/100."

I pumped my arms in the air in victory.

"Yay! I did it!" I cheered.

As I cheered, I sensed he was trying to eat another one, and so I smacked his hand off the merchandise.

Not so fast!

I am not letting you eat another without me!

"Ow! Hey! What are you bipolar?! Can a man eat another?" He insulted, secretly impressed by his sharp-tongue.

I pulled the bento away from him and picked up a piece of the chicken with the pair of chopsticks.

"Only if you let me feed you! Heehee!"

He rolled his eyes at this.

"Fine, fine. Give it here."

Val moved his face closer to me so he can be fed.

As the chicken got closer and closer, he closed his eyes.

He looks soooo cute!

And to make things cuter, I ate the chicken.

Dear opened his eyes and was confused.

He saw me thoroughly chewing instead.

"Gh! Are you serious?"

I couldn't help laugh from his cute frown.

"Hey, you rated this a bonafide 90 out of 100, so it has to be good! It's not my fault you made it so... irresistible to eat!" I defended.

Instead of putting up another retort, he smirked.

"Alright, fine, if you say so."

Wait, what?

No snappy comeback?

Oh, he's definitely planning something, but I have no idea what.

And so, I observed him, waiting for any surprise attacks.

But it never came.

He rested his back against the bench and looked at the park's scenery, aloof from my piercing eyes.

And that, for some reason, made me nervous.

I don't like this...

Since was he so... careless?!

I decided enough was enough.

"Alright, alright! I won't pull something like that again! Now, look at me!" I demanded.

He looked to me as if trying to hold in his laughter.

"Pfff... All I did was stay quiet for a few seconds, and this is what happens? Never thought patience would have such a payoff." He teased.

From there, I realized what he was doing.

Argh!

He got me!

I puffed my cheeks out.

"This was all a trick to bully me?! Damn it! Well, played!" I begrudgingly praised.

That was the trigger for Val to laugh his heart out.

When I saw him so happy, I knew it was worth it.

It's gotten to the point if he's happy then I am happy.

Our feelings are the same.

Is this...

Is this what it means to have a soulmate?

Because it feels like it.

"Here, have another piece." He offered, picking it up with the sticks.

Dear leaned in and took a bite.

"Yep, I definitely like how much you improved, Nat. Good work." He complimented.

I was still feeling a little petty from his trick, so I decided to take a bold move.

Once he gulped the food down, I took the final piece and plopped it in my mouth.

He pursed his lips to a frown.

"Aw... I wanted to have the last piece."

I grinned at this.

"Who said you weren't getting it?"

He raised an eyebrow but raised both when he saw me leaning in.

"W-Wait!"

I didn't give him a chance.

There I delivered the piece in my mouth to his with my tongue.

He chewed a little and then gulped it in.

After that, I forced a kiss out of him, pushing my tongue against his.

It didn't last for long as he pulled away.

He was taking deep breaths and was surprised by my audacity.

"W-What the hell, Nat?!"

I laughed at his baffled reaction.

And so, we continued to eat in the park with the early morning breeze.

---

Once we were done with our pseudo-lunch for breakfast, we decided to burn the calories off by heading to the arcade.

I'm glad that Natsuki is keeping her mind off things.

She was really down when her cat died.

And now, it looks like things are starting to go back to normal.

I don't think I will understand the pain of losing a pet since I never owned one.

But given how close the two were, I think it would be an unbelievable pain.

And it just wasn't fair...

It wasn't fair that her cat was taken away like that.

Every time she was down, I felt a little helpless.

I always thought about alternative scenarios where we could save her cat, but there was no point.

What's happened has happened.

As much as I wanted to cope by thinking that time will always move forward.

Time moving forward...

It's all we dread but also something we want.

How weird...

"I can't wait to see if the dance simulator got some new songs! If they did update it, then I am gonna crush the high scores."

I couldn't help but eye the pinkette's competitive nature.

Yep, whenever she gets fired up, she turns into a mini Monika.

"So... I'm guessing we are playing the dancing sim, right?" I nervously asked.

Natsuki smirked, showcasing her signature fang off.

"Of course, we are! Why? You scared~?! I'll have you know, I'm pretty good at these games! We had a dance simulator back near Ainu Academy, and I would always get the top scores there! This is nothing different!"

I nodded a little intimidated by her probable bluff.

"A little bit, yeah. You're much more experienced at this than I am, so why wouldn't I be? And didn't I say I am absolutely horrendous at games like these?" I admitted.

She groaned at my honest answer.

"Blah. You sound so boring...! Come on, I'll play at the hardest difficulty while you play the easiest difficulty, how does that sound?"

I guess that works...?

"Sound a little fair. Especially since I am a horrible dancer too. Let's get started."

I put into two coins in, and Natsuki selected the song we were going to dance to.

"Hmph, there aren't new songs. Whatever, even if you're playing at the easiest difficulty, I can still win with my eyes closed! Watch!"

Oh fuck.

What have I gotten myself into?

"Please tell me you're bluffing," I asked, hoping she was genuinely doing so.

Instead, she didn't answer me and closed her eyes.

Well, I am about to lose spectacularly.

Might as well watch her go.

Instead of playing, I leaned against the rail and watched her.

"3... 2... 1... Start!"

And so the music started playing.

Without missing a beat, she stepped on the correct beat from the start and moved around perfectly.

She hopped and turned, hitting each beat with precision.

It was obvious she had done this a hundred times before.

Natsuki hummed the beat of the song as she danced, hitting the notes without a care in the world.

My world started to slow down from how she was dancing to the beat.

This is...

This is precisely what happened when it was raining a year ago.

Everything slowed down, and I saw beautiful Natsuki is.

Instead of her short twin-tails gliding in the wind, now it's her shoulder-length hair flowing freely around her.

Her body also has developed a little more since then, especially in her chest area.

I know that she got a growth spurt there, but I have no idea how that happened.

Not only that, but she is also starting to look curvier and curvier.

Coupled with the fact that I am falling in love more and more every day, I...

I can't wait to be with her forever when I make my vow.

The score was starting to rack quickly with how she was accumulating points with her scorestreak.

She activated her star power to boost her already impressive score.

Given how flawlessly she was doing without caring to open her eyes, a crowd started to form around her.

It looked like she was going to beat the arcade's high score by a couple hundred thousand points.

The end of the song was approaching. She turned around, struck a pose, opening her eyes to the screen.

She moved her heel to hit the last note, finishing the song.

And just as I thought, the score is way above the arcade's high score.

The crowd behind gave a small round of applause, startling the pinkette.

"Eh?" She let out baffled by the crowd as they started to disappear.

Natsuki turned to me for an explanation.

I shrugged.

"Cupcake, given the way you crushed the simulator with your eyes closed, people will be impressed. What did ya expect?" I asked rhetorically.

She looked at the high score, surprised by the sheer number.

"Wow... I didn't think my score would be that high!"

As she scrolled through the scores, she was the new number one score in the arcade for that song.

"Hehehe! That song was a piece of cake! I can do other songs! Watch me!"

I widened my eyes from this.

"Wait, what? Aren't we going to the other machines...? Hey! Stop putting in another song!"

The girl didn't listen to me at the slightest.

And so we spent the noon playing the dance simulator and barely touching upon the machines I was good with.

But I was fine with that.

Since we played for a while, our stomachs were growling.

I felt a small tug on my shirt, so I turned to her.

Natsuki pointed towards a buffet and turned to me with puppy eyes.

"Hey... I want to go to that buffet! Can we?! Can we?!" The pinkettee asked, clearly excited.

I simpered at her excitement.

"I mean, we are both hungry, so we might as well, right? And besides, it's hard saying no to a cute girl like you."

She gave me a vibrant smile as we went inside.

But before we went in, I took a glimpse of the buffet's name.

"Sugar Heaven...?"

Why does that sound something straight of an 18+ novel?

I took a close look around the place and saw it was completely packed, primarily by women.

We had to wait for a little place to clear up, so we sat down on the waiting seats.

And so, I took a closer look at my surroundings.

Cakes, sweets, and other baked goods everywhere.

This is a girls' dream.

"I... I think I'm gonna get heartburn and diabetes from looking at this place." I muttered.

Natsuki playfully smacked my arm.

"Oh, you'll be fineeee~! I'm not that hungry, so we will be in and out in no time!"

I gave her a deadpan look and sighed.

Yeah, right... Even I know we aren't going to leave in one piece.

I'm pretty sure the girls of the literature club would love to come here and pig out.

Natsuki is no different, and since she is a baker who loves sweets, I doubt we are going to leave anytime soon.

My girlfriend was pretty giddy about all this.

"Hehehe! I always wanted to come here, but my parents worry about their bodies too much to even come close here! Now, I can have a buffet of my dreams~!"

Hmm...

Cupcake's thinking it's going to be Christmas soon at this rate.

Well, since she is so happy, I might as well look on the bright side.

I'll be eating a lot of sweets and see Natsuki chow down with a smile...

...

...

...

That's it.

That's all there is to it.

A clerk came to us, conveniently cutting my depressive brooding short.

"Thank you for waiting. Welcome to Sugar Heaven, allow me to guide you to your seats."

Once she guided us there, I sat down and relaxed.

Natsuki wasn't even near me, as she went straight to the buffet instead.

Jeez... She really is gonna pig out, huh?

I got up and picked out an iced coffee along with three cakes.

When I came back to the table, Natsuki still wasn't there.

She's taking her time...

"Hehehe! I'm so gonna clean this aisle clean! There's soooo many to choose from! This is amazing...! Which ones should I go for first?!" I heard Natsuki buzz.

I looked to her and saw her plate was filled to the brim with different pieces of cakes, but she was still trying to pile up as much as she can.

Her eyes widened at something.

"Whoaaa! There's soft cream in here too! I can make my own parfait here!"

I couldn't help but stare at the girl with warm eyes.

Yep, I love it when she is so energetic.

This sort of reminds me of Sayori since they are pretty close.

After a little while, Natsuki came back, holding a plate full of cakes on both hands.

Jeez, Louise!

She sat down and let out an excited squeal.

"Time to dig in! Eh? You haven't touched your cakes yet. Is there something wrong?"

I shook my head.

"I was just waiting for you so we can eat together. And... you really are going all in, huh?" I mused.

She was perplexed by my statement.

"Nah, this is just round one. I'm taking it easy."

...

...

...

So having brownies, chocolate cakes, and a parfait is round one?!

Sweet lord, what's with her sweet tooth, no sweet fang?!

"Anyway, we have two hours! I gotta clean my plate and pace myself!"

I slowly dug my fork into my cake.

"Pacing? What are you going to shove are of them down your gullet or something?" I teased.

She didn't catch on.

"Of course not, Baka! I have an hour to eat these filling cakes first so I can go for the lighter ones!" Natsuki exclaimed.

The sweet fanged maniac took a bite out of the cake and chewed.

I eyed her as she chewed, waiting for the inevitable, "It's goooood~!".

But that never came.

"Uh... Nat? Is it good or...?"

"Shut it." She snapped. "Don't distract me."

I recoiled a bit from her sharp attack, so I decided to chew through my cakes while keeping an eye on her.

Once she was doing chewing, she gulped.

"Mmmmm...! Haaa~! That was great!" She moaned.

Her moan tickled my heart since it was so similar when we made love.

This caused me to tense up.

"Nat! Can you not make those sounds?!" I complained.

She ignored me.

"Mmm! This chocolate lava cake is so creamy and filling! I can feel my taste buds melting in the lava!"

...

"Hey. Aren't you going to eat, Gill?"

I took another bite out of the cake.

"Yes, yes, I am. But I am having more fun watching you eat." I teased.

Her cheeks filled with color, but she shined me her beautiful smile.

"Ehehe! I hope you enjoy the show then!"

We went back to eating, while I took the occasional break to watch her eat and react.

It didn't take long for the cakes on her plates to fall into her stomach.

"I feel like I am melting in sugar... This is like a dream, don't you think?"

I laughed a little and finished my last cake.

"A dream with a time limit. Come on, let's go get your next batch of cakes. I want to see how cute you are."

She gave me an enthusiastic nod, and we went straight to the cake aisle once more.

"Oooh! Oooh! Cheesecake, straight from the Cheesecake Inventory! I want to try New York Cheesecake! Do you want to try this as well, Dear?"

Without giving a window to respond, she put it on her plate and took a bite out of it.

"Mmmm! Whaaa! I never thought this cheese would dance so good on my tongue!"

Her reaction made my heart twinge.

She continued to find the cakes she wanted to enjoy, while I simply got myself a sandwich for a change of pace.

Once she came back, I noticed something off about the plate.

"Hey, Nat... Is that a Pocky cup? Since when did this place have that?"

She smugly looked at me.

"It's there if you look hard enough. I saw lots of times when I went up there. I thought guys had a bigger appetite than girls." She teased.

I scoffed at her.

"Yeah, well... You're an exception. Seriously, what's up with your sweet fang?"

She shrugged.

"I dunno, I guess it's my mom's genetics kicking in. She also has the same stomach for sweets."

And with that, she opened the cup up.

"Come on! Let's do this!" She said, putting a Pocky in her mouth.

...

Huh?

"I don't get it, what am I supposed to do here?" I asked.

She groaned at my obliviousness and pulled the stick away.

"Haven't you read any recent manga? It's this trend where a girl puts a Pocky in her mouth and lets the guy take the other side of it. They slowly have to chew through it while trying not to kiss! But since we're a couple, that doesn't apply to us!"

...

...

...

"Nat, that sounds like kissing with extra steps. And besides, we're doing this now?"

The pinkette leaned in a bit too close for my liking.

"Well, duh. Don't worry, the seats are tall enough to give us some privacy. And it won't take long! So come on, pleaseeeee? I need this research done!" She begged while putting the stick back in her mouth.

I sighed and bit onto the other side.

My girlfriend was the first to go, and she quickly bit down the stick.

And so, I reluctantly started to eat the stick, with a clumsy pace.

It didn't take long for Natsuki to assault me with her lips.

---

Dear was rubbing his lips, embarrassed by what has happened during the last minutes of our buffet.

"Looks like you enjoyed it." I teased, causing him to groan.

"Pah! You'll pay for this later. I'm gonna bully you so that you will regret doing that to me..."

Right now, it was the afternoon, and we still had a lot of time left to kill.

What should we do next...?

My eyes saw something in the distance, and it was something I haven't done in a while with my friends.

I tugged at his sleeve and pointed the direction I was looking at.

"Oooh! I want to do karaoke! Can we do karaoke?!" I asked.

As usual, my boyfriend was fine with that.

"Sure, I don't see why not. Let''s go then."

We entered the building and got ourselves a room.

Hmm, this place looks a little different than I thought it would.

But then again, that's my experience in Ainu kicking in again.

"Hey, Cupcake. I should mention that it is my first time in a karaoke room. You're gonna have to lead me by the water for this one." Dear stated, now relaxing on the soft seats.

I picked up a remote and tossed it over to him.

"Choose a song in the playlist and then start singing! It's that easy!"

He laughed nervously.

"Yeah... I think you should be the one to choose. You know, show it how it's done." He excused, tossing the remote back to me.

I couldn't help but sigh.

"Fine, fine. You really underestimate yourself at singing. You told me a year ago that everyone can sing, and it's the media that keeps telling everyone some people can sing, which isn't true."

Those words stuck to me for some reason.

Probably because it gave me a glimpse of Val's strangely idealistic personality.

He rubbed his in thought.

"I didn't think you would remember that... Since it was a bit of a throwaway comment. Anyway, I just want to hear ya sing. So go on, already."

I scrolled down the long list of songs and chose the song I wanted to sing.

"Alright! Let's do this!"

I pumped myself up and got ready.

When I picked up the mic, the lights in the room dimmed.

A few seconds later, the TV lit up and started playing the loud, energetic rhythms I knew.

I posed for my boyfriend and got into the mood.

Like how I managed to destroy the dance simulator, I let my body tune with the time of the song and danced a little.

Val's eyes widened at this.

"Whoa..."

His attention was given entirely to me, mesmerized by my bright, but loud voice.

I had a feeling that I was able to show the raw emotions behind the music.

After all, it was sung by the voice actor for Miya in Parfait Girls.

The energy and rhythm were just right for me.

As I sang to Val, I thought back to how it's been a year since we reunited.

We were childhood a long time ago.

And the first thing I did when I came back from Ainu was to crush on him hard.

We didn't know each other when we met again, but I had this weird feeling in my chest that I couldn't explain.

It was most likely lost love and this... bizarre feeling of deja vu.

After a string of lucky "coincidences," I fell in love with him, and he fell for me.

Just by meeting him again, my life been much more fun.

Even when we are doing nothing but relaxing, I can't help but feel like I am having fun.

When my cat died, Val doted on me as if I was pregnant.

Sure, I still miss him, but I am glad that Val was there for me when I needed him the most.

Anyway, for some weird reason, it feels like we have been together all this time.

Maybe it's because we have been living with each other for a couple of months now.

Our eyes met, so I winked at him.

I had a feeling that he and I were thinking the same thing.

Val has changed so much ever since we were kids.

Or I think the right words is that he grew up.

He was cute when he was younger sure, but it looks like puberty hit him like a truck.

Wait, I shouldn't talk about his appearance that much.

The real reason why I fell in love with him was because of his personality.

I never thought that he would be this hardworking, proactive, or kind.

Hardworking to the point, he will push his body to absolute limits.

Proactive, knowing what he wants and how he will get it.

And kind... He is so kind that he doesn't realize it.

...

I wish I saw this change or growth when I was growing up with him.

That way, I think I would understand him more.

But this is fine.

Now, I think I can understand in my terms and my own pace.

Since...

Since we are going together forever.

Our eyes met once again, so I winked at him.

I can't wait for what the future holds for us.

...

Because I know for a fact that I will enjoy it with him.

With the final note, I let out a deep breath.

"So, what did you think?" I asked.

He was still looking at me, which felt warm to me.

Dear shook his head out of it and grinned.

"I'm... I'm at a loss for words. Seriously, I never thought you would be this good singing! That was absolutely amazing!" He cheered, holding his jittery energy in. "If I didn't know any better, I think you could have passed as an idol singer! Gaaah! You were ridiculously cute too that I... I think I fell in love with you again."

I rubbed my arm sheepishly and looked down at the table.

"Jeez... I wasn't expecting you to blow up in front of me. T-Thank you, Dear."

He grinned and laughed a little to himself.

"Alright!" Dear pumped, now picking up the remote and choosing a song. "Now I'm gonna make you fall in love with me again! Thanks to my chorus class, I think I might be able to pull this off!"

I rested my chin on my palm and watched him sing.

---

The music that played was a classic rock cover from the States.

It was apparent that emotion also played a massive role in captivating the audience.

This song was perfect for that.

Although I wasn't flamboyant enough to do poses, the closest I can do was close my eyes and sing from my heart.

The lights dimmed and out blared the song I was well acquainted with.

While the song played and I sang, I went back to my thoughts while Natsuki was singing.

I think it's fair to say that this world...

This world doesn't feel right.

Not because I got back to Natsuki, heavens no, it feels like some event I thought took place never happened.

It feels like I was transported from another parallel universe and forced to remember memories I thought I never had.

But I am not saying it was a bad thing.

I love Natsuki, and I am glad that I fell in love with her.

But some of the events that lead to me meeting her again didn't add up.

Enough of that, me.

I think it's time that I just accept how things are, no matter how off-putting they are.

Especially if it was a reason why I got back to her.

At first...

I will admit, I didn't think of Natsuki much.

All I thought of her was a girl I could be friends with and tease her with.

That's it.

But once I got to know her playful, durable, and caring nature, I knew there was more than meets the eye.

Playful, in which she always keeps me on my toes, in a good way.

After all, it's one of the traits that make so cute in my eyes.

Strong to show off how she can handle anything and can take on many hardships.

She is so strong and independent that I can't help being interested in her.

Her strength is what also gives me strength.

Caring...

She cares for me, and it is something I am so grateful for.

If not for her, I think I would have pushed myself so far.

And it's because of her care is why I can never thank her enough for.

She cares about everyone, whether they know it or not.

It's a combination of those traits, the reason why I fell in love with her.

So thanks...

Thanks for being around an idiot like me.

---

Obviously, he stayed true to his word and made me fall for him again.

Both of us tried to make each other fall in love again with the power of music.

It worked to an extent until we got bored with it.

And so, we left the karaoke room and went outside.

The sun was about to set, so we decided to walk around for a bit to get the blood flowing.

I had one final destination in mind, so I made sure to lead him there.

We continued to walk until we finally got there.

It was the jewelry shop marketed towards the general public.

Most of the goods there was silver. There were some gold items here and there.

I wanted to show him some matching rings I was planning on buying, to show that we were a couple.

But it was also so I can check out the cute princess necklace I had my eyes on.

That necklace was adorned with a small silver cat head with pink gemmed eyes, which made it irresistible.

Strangely, the more I thought about it, my heart started to ache.

Maybe, I'm overthinking about my cat...

But my chest kind of hurts whenever I think about it.

"Ah, I had a feeling that we would be here." Dear remarked, looking at the store's display.

Huh?

How does he know?

My boyfriend turned to me with his usual dorky smile.

"You wanted that necklace with the cat head on it, right?"

Wait...

So he knew all this time?

Everything suddenly clicked for me at that moment.

"Gill, is this the... secret you were talking about all those months ago? When you first moved in with me?"

He gave me a knowing nod.

"Yep. I knew you really wanted that necklace, so I worked to get the money to buy it. Silver is inexpensive, but the pink gems kind of made it pricy."

No way...

He bought it?!

So this is what he was planning on doing for a while, huh?

My boyfriend pulled a plastic bag that contained the necklace I was looking for.

I couldn't believe my eyes as he took off the plastic and displayed it in front of me.

Suddenly, as soon as I saw the pink gem eyes, my heart started pounding.

It hurts...

The eyes, for some reason, looked eerily familiar to my cat.

And it caused me to grit my teeth in pain.

"Happy Anniversary, Natsuki. I love you."

...

...

...

I wanted to cry in happiness, but my body felt like it was losing control.

My heart kept pounding, beating against my chest as I remembered what happened a week ago.

I took the necklace in hand and gave him a weak smile.

But even he knew something was wrong.

"Cupcake? Is there something wrong?" He asked, confused by my reaction.

I took a hasty breath in.

"I... I don't know... I feel weird..." I stuttered, clutching my chest in pain.

His eyes widened at what was going on.

My heart...

It hurts...

It hurts so much.

I can't breathe...

Help...

My vision grew blacker and blacker until I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer.

"Natsuki!" I heard Dear yell.

My legs gave way, and I felt nothing.

---

I was in the emergency room, watching as Natsuki was taken away by the doctors and nurses.

She was struggling to get oxygen in her body.

That's why she...

My mind replayed back to what happened earlier.

When Natsuki fell into my arms, it felt like she died...

It felt like something in me died as well.

This feeling...

It resembled how I felt when Monika left without telling me.

But it was much, much worse.

I was scared...

I was scared that I was going to lose her.

And so carried her straight to the hospital.

It was very convenient for the hospital to be close by because I wasn't thinking straight.

Damn, this goes against everything Yamato taught me.

Keep a level-head, no matter what.

I couldn't keep a level-head there since I was on auto-pilot.

If the hospital wasn't near, she could've died there!

...

I won't ever make a mistake like that again.

Because I can't imagine life without her.

The doors opened behind me, and I looked towards the visitors.

It was both of her parents.

"Kid? Where's Natsuki?" Yamato asked worriedly but keeping a cool head.

I pointed at the double doors, which lead to the CCU.

Her mother paled and trembled at what that meant.

"Oh my god... Natsuki... She also has..." Sakura whispered as if knowing what had happened.

Yamato put his hand on her wife's shoulder.

"It's OK. Our little girl is strong, Sakura. Don't you worry." He assured.

His wife held onto his hand for comfort.

Yamato then looked back at me.

"Kid, can you tell me what happened? Anything helps."

I nodded and looked at the CCU, where my girlfriend was taken away.

It's going to hurt thinking about what happened.

As much I don't talk about it, her parents need to know.

"We... We were on a date. Natsuki was doing fine, actually, and we had fun. But when I showed her a necklace she wanted for a year now, it looked she was in immense pain. It's probably because it reminded her of her cat. She collapsed, but I managed to catch her in time, but she wasn't breathing. I ran straight to the hospital with her in my arms and yelled at someone to help her." I explained, my eyes starting to burn.

I shook away the tears and looked back at Yamato.

He nodded slowly, processing the information I gave him.

"I see. Did she show signs of this happening before?"

The heartburn...

I told them about her cat dying, but I didn't think it would be life-threatening.

"When her cat died, she said she had heartburn," I said. "Other than that, I don't remember her struggling to breathe."

I balled my hands up and shook my head.

"What's going on with her? Do you guys know anything?"

Sakura gripped her husband's hand and looked at me.

"I think I know... Natsuki has the same heart condition I had. I never thought it would come back. After all, the doctors diagnosed and fixed her up to her when I had surgery."

Wait... that's the surgery where my Dad chipped in a large amount of money to help Yamato.

"Then why is it back?! Why did the condition come back?!" I exclaimed, feeling much irritated.

They understood how I felt.

"We don't know," Yamato spoke. "The death of her cat may have triggered something in her heart. Other than that, I am drawing blanks."

As soon as Yamato finished, a doctor came out of the double doors.

He walked towards us.

"Are you all her family?" He asked, to which he all nodded. "Your daughter is in dire condition and shows the same heart condition that runs in your family. So to save her life, we are going to stabilize her and perform surgery."

My body froze from his words.

"What are her chances, doc?" Yamato asked, still keeping his cool head.

He looked at his clipboard to review his notes.

"We aren't sure. It's best that I don't sugarcoat it, but would have best sent her here a few months ago. That way, the surgery would have been flawless. In any case, I must get moving."

With that, he stepped aside.

The doors opened again with Monika, Tom, and Sayori in tow.

Why are they here?

That's right, I called Monika because I was freaking out.

She yelled at me, saying that I was Natsuki's boyfriend and needed to calm down.

I'm grateful that I have friends such as Monika to get my head out of the gutter.

Once they arrived, I explained what just happened.

My other childhood friend walked up to me and hugged me.

Unlike the many other hugs she has given me, this one felt wholly platonic and sibling-like.

It was something I needed at the moment.

She pulled away and gave me a small smile.

"You're doing great, Val. Keep this up, OK?"

I nodded and smiled back.

Sayori came up to me and gripped my hand.

"Are you doing, OK?" She asked, with an uncharacteristically rigid tone to her voice. "You poor thing... seeing Natsuki fall like that must have hurt you."

I looked away, confirming her suspicions.

"Natsuki is a tough girl, so please don't worry too much. Stay positive and try to look at the bright side, even when things get bleak."

She walked up to Natsuki's parents with Monika.

Tom was up next and put his hand on my shoulder.

"I understand how you feel, Brooklyn. You're scared of losing her, right?"

I didn't respond at first, needing some time to put the words together.

"Why wouldn't I be? I love her, and I don't know I can take another hit my heart again. When Monika left, it left a gaping hole in my heart. Sure, I recovered, but I knew she was coming back and was alive. I-I... can't say for my girlfriend. I might lose her and never get her back."

He patted my shoulder and smiled.

"Don't say that. Given what I have seen, I know she will pull through. You like to protect her and all, but she can handle herself." He confidently said.

The rest of our friends arrived and we all hoping for the best.

Another doctor came out of the CCU, so I walked up to him.

"Doctor, how is she doing?" I asked, trying my utmost hardest to hide my desperation.

He kept a neutral face and looked right at me.

"We managed to stabilize her for the time being. And we are about to start the surgery when the surgeon arrives. You can go in, but try to limit the number of people coming with you. Too much excitement to her heart may have consequences."

With that, he left the scene.

I looked back at everyone and motioned for the literature club to come with me.

We went through the double doors and walked towards Natsuki.

"I've been here a long time ago... in another lifetime. Never thought I would see it again." Hill-Top muttered under his breath.

My eyes caught onto the familiar pink hair.

Before I walked in, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"Val, we'll hang back here. Go and see her." Monika ordered.

I nodded and walked in.

Her eyes caught onto mine and only offered a weak smile under the respirator she has on.

"Dear... I'm so glad to see you..."

It took everything I had not to hug her at that very moment.

"Me too. It's a relief to see you feeling a little better." I replied, smiling back.

She weakly pulled her hand up to show the necklace she kept.

"I... I didn't get the chance to tell you this... But I love this necklace. The fact that you bought for a gal like me... It makes me happy. Thank you, Dear."

I held her hand.

"I told you before, my promise to make you happy never ends. This is one of many parts of the job, Cupcake."

Her eyes shined before me, reminding me of her cat's last moments.

"Val... Sorry that this date took a turn for the worse. If I don't make it-"

NO!

"Natsuki! Don't you dare say that! Please... Please don't say that. I don't know what I would do if you..."

I choked up.

I felt my eyes burn as the tears fell down my cheeks.

"Val." She calmly called. "Don't cry."

...

...

...

"Just... hear me out. I just want to let you know... If I do make it out of here, I want to be with you forever."

Wait...

"Does that mean..."

She closed her eyes.

"I don't care what my Dad says. When I get out, I want you to propose to me. I don't want to lose you ever again."

I rubbed the tears out of my eyes and gripped her hand.

"You... You got it! I will do it!"

---

It's been a couple of hours since the surgery has started.

My patience for the whole situation has been waning ever since.

I started showing more and more of my temper as time went on, so I did everyone a favor and kept quiet.

Everyone has been chatting here and there to help lighten the mood, and so far it has been working.

"Kid, come over here. You can't kill yourself over this." Yamato suggested.

I sighed and walked over.

The first thing I did was apologize for my behavior.

"Sorry about my temper, everyone. I never thought this would get to me. I guess I still have a lot to learn, don't I?"

Yamato put his arm around me and smiled.

"Ah, don't sweat it, kid. Controlling your temper and keeping it reasonable is difficult, I know. It will come with time, don't worry." He assured.

I smiled back from his parental behavior.

After all, I'm going to be his son-in-law after this.

"Yeah, Boss." Hiro agreed. "It's rare for you to let your anger out like this. It makes me think you're actually human."

"Hiro's got the point. Val, showing his temper? I never thought the day would come." Dan teased.

Tom joined in.

"To think you never got angry... Brooklyn's got a lot of venting to do, don't ya?" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes at this, but I enjoyed their jabs.

"Boys sure to love beating each other up, don't they?" Sakura droned.

Monika giggled at this.

"It's apparently their way of showing they care."

Sayori and Yuri were puzzled by this.

"By bullying each other?" Yuri asked.

"I don't get boys." Sayori followed up, despite her being in a relationship with her childhood friend.

Yamato nodded approvingly.

"It's been routine for a long time now. We tease each other and get on each other's nerves, but at the end of the day, we care about one and another."

...

I appreciate everyone coming here to keep my mind off things.

It really helps...

...

Natsuki...

Please come back to me...

We all talked to each other until a puzzled doctor finally came out of the operation room.

I was the first one to walk up to him.

"Doctor! How is she doing?!" I asked.

He scratched his head, a little confused about the whole situation.

"Err... Yes... She is doing fine. The surgery was a success, yes."

I raised an eyebrow at this.

Sakura stepped in.

"Doctor? What's wrong?"

He blinked a couple of times.

"The surgery went flawlessly. We had a feeling that this would be a difficult surgery, but it wasn't. We are scratching our heads over the results. It's like a miracle..."

The information finally clicked in my head.

Natsuki...

So she did make it?

I was then bought over to the room where Natsuki was in.

Wait, how did I get here?

What's going on?

She was still lying on the bed with a respirator, but she still gave me a vibrant smile.

"I told ya I would make it!"

I shook my head out of it.

That's weird, but whatever.

I shouldn't question it.

"You never said that. You had me worried the whole time, Nat."

She bit her lip but looked up to me.

"I'm sorry for getting you worried. I really am. I won't ever leave you again, Val. I swear- I promise."

I closed my eyes and held her hand.

"OK, that's a promise. Now, Nat. Put on the necklace."

She let go of my hand and put it on.

I opened my eyes.

And it looked fabulous on her.

"I held onto the necklace all this time. I made sure to never let go of it." She explained. "If I did let go of it, then I thought I wouldn't make it."

I took a deep breath and looked in her pink eyes.

She held a piece of me in her heart.

That way, she made it.

If that's the case, then I need to make sure I'm always there.

"That so? Then let's tie things up."

I held both her hands as she looked into mine expectantly.

"Natsuki, will you marry me?"

---

It's been a few weeks since Natsuki underwent surgery for her condition and properly recovered.

The doctors have said that she is making extraordinary progress in recovering, saying something is guiding its progress.

She is now perfectly capable of doing anything reasonable again and shows no signs of the surgery.

It was strange since she was supposed to be under medication in case the condition comes up again. Still, her body, for some reason, showed no signs of the condition anymore.

Still, I made sure she took the medication just in case.

After all, she couldn't say no to me, especially since I meant it.

It's like the heart condition didn't exist in the first place.

Weird.

Well, whatever, I am glad she is back to normal and kicking again.

But for some reason, I am feeling more and more irritated.

And I really don't know why.

I was able to hide it pretty well for a while, but now it's starting to leak.

What's wrong with me?

...

Wait a minute.

Is it because...

I didn't have a release for a long time?!

Ugh!

Seriously, that's so...

Unexpected?

I don't know the right word to explain this feeling.

Well, whatever.

That might be explaining why I am so mean to Natsuki lately.

I was finishing up training and was able to convince Yamato to let me drive the truck back.

Once I parked the truck back into the garage, I went to the bakery.

It was closed today, because of a holiday, so Yamato and Sakura planned on having a date.

Which conveniently leaving Natsuki and me home alone.

I went up the stairs, entered the bathroom, and saw Natsuki in something I haven't seen before.

Wha-?!

What is she wearing?!

The pinkette wore a Victorian-era maid dress with cat-ears and was scrubbing the floor while on her knees.

For some reason...

I feel like I have seen this before.

But where?

Argh, nevermind that me.

I should admit that her curves are shown really nicely here.

Jeez, I am a pervert.

I walked up to her and leaned against the doorframe.

"So, what are you doing in a maid outfit?" I asked in an unintentionally brusque tone.

Her head perked up once I realized I was here.

"(Oh! Welcome home, master! I was only cleaning the floors!)" She replied in near-perfect English.

I was obviously taken aback by this.

"Heh, looks like my lessons have been paying off. And what is with the roleplay?"

She playfully rolled her eyes.

"(You will see. I was in the mood for it. Why don't you order me around?)" She answered. "Hey, how was my English? I improved a lot, right? I wanted to surprise you with it!"

I smiled and leaned back.

"Very, very good. I don't hear an accent or hear any errors in pronunciation and diction. Well, done."

She shone me a vibrant smile and stared me expectantly.

Hmm?

Oh right!

Natsuki awaited my command.

"Hmm... I'll play along, I guess. For now, scrub the floors." I said, a little uncomfortable.

She nodded and went back to scrubbing.

I watched her as she scrubbed the floors.

Hmm...

I swear, I feel like she shaking her hips as she is working.

My eyes focused on her bottom.

Is she...

Trying to seduce me?

If so, she is doing a phenomenal job.

I continued to star and noticed she was swaying subtly.

Wait...

She is!

Well, two can play that game.

"Scrub harder! I want to see those floors sparking!" I barked.

The girl responded with a "Yes, master!" and scrubbed harder.

...

I can't help but feel a little weird when she called me...

Master.

This is some fetish, Nat has.

At least it is still a little tame compared to other fetishes.

Not that I am judging anyone by it.

In any case, she wants me to bully her.

And so I will bully.

Also, I won't ever treat her like this if she wasn't into it.

That goes without saying, of course.

"Get up! I want to see how you did!" I yelled.

She immediately got up and pulled her bucket to the side.

I squatted down and checked the floors.

"Hmph... It isn't as sparkly I expected. I expected you to do better than this!" I yelled, faking my anger.

Natsuki, in response, frowned and shuffled around a little.

"Pour out the soap water, it's time that I give you your punishment for this job."

Not going to lie, I feel like I'm the bad guy for playing along with this.

Natsuki poured the soap water out and put the bucket down.

I crossed my arms and glared at her.

She shuffled again.

"Are you... going to punish me, master?"

Well, no use complaining about this.

"I am." I simply answered. "Come with me."

We went to my room.

Natsuki gave me an embarrassed smile and pulled her dress up, revealing how turned on she was.

And sticking out of her butt was a tail.

Yep, I had a feeling this was the case.

You're such a pervert, Natsuki.

Her underwear was already wet by her own secretions.

The fabric is so thin that I was able to see through to her fair skin.

It was stuck around her slit, and I was able to make out the form through her underwear.

"You get turned on by this?" I asked, to which she only replied with a nod.

And so, I undid my belt and unzipped, letting myself free.

I prod myself against her, electing a cute moan from her.

"Aaauh...! M-Master, come on... put it in already. Please..."

I scoffed at her.

"Who do you think you are? Giving orders to me? Know your place, you lowly cat-maid!" I scolded.

In an instant, I was able to smell her feminine scent.

Oh, so she's into this...

She shakes her hips, which made me firmly stand up against her wet bottom.

"I'm sorry... You're right, I am but a lowly maid... But I can't help it..." She whined.

And so, I decided to tease her.

I realized we haven't had a release for a while, possibly explaining our behaviors.

My hands wandered towards her modest chest and touched them.

But I realized something.

"Your chest... it's gotten noticeably bigger." I remarked.

She giggled nervously.

"Yeah... it's because you keep touching it. Your firm hands stimulated it so much that I think my chest grew. That's the same case for my mom, and it was her secret to getting bigger..."

So that was the secret about her chest.

With this revelation, I fondled her chest with the palm of my hands.

"Nh... hah, haa, haa..."

After a few moments of this gentle massage, Natsuki's breath grows lively, and I felt her nipples starting to harden.

I pulled off the top portion of the outfit and touched them directly.

"Your heart's beating fast, isn't it? I can feel it."

After a bit of massaging her, I decided to take action.

"You ready?"

She nodded silently.

I slowly inserted myself into her.

"Auuh... Nggh... Master...!"

I gritted my teeth from how tight Natsuki was.

The pinkette's already breathing roughly just from me inserting it.

She looked back at me with a bashful and anxious sensation coating her eyes.

"Wait... Can you... Can you carry me?"

I had a rough idea of what she wanted from me, but I tried to twist it.

And so, I slipped my arms under Natsuki's knees and pulled her up.

She was surprisingly flexible, given the circumstances, she is in now.

I put my hands above her head and supported her so she wouldn't fall off.

Her knees rested on my forearm as she marveled at what I was doing.

Natsuki was surprised by what I was doing.

W-Wait... we're starting with this position, master?"

I moved towards a mirror so she can see us in action.

"That we are. Is this what you wanted?"

The pinkette was embarrassed but looked at me.

"It's better than I imagined."

Her insides were clamping on like a vise, begging me to provide some much-wanted friction.

And so I finally obliged.

As I pulled out and in, she let out another moan.

"Hyahn! Aah! Y-You're in so deep!"

Thanks to the training I did, my lower body had a lot more power to spare.

And so, I slowly thrust myself into her.

Her steady gasps of air were making me lose more and more of my self-control.

She was helpless under my grip, so I had to pick up the pace.

I steadily upped my tempo, consistently hitting a specific spot she loved so much.

"Nggh! Ah, haah! I-I never thought my body would f-feel this good! F-Faster, please, master!"

And I obliged to her desires.

"Very well, only because you said please and knew who you were talking to."

I started to pick up the pace and thrust into a little more firmly than before.

"Fwaah! Aah... aah, haaa, haa!"

Because of this position, my thrusts into her love-spot was a little easier to access, but at the cost of her not being able to move much.

As I upped my temp, I felt Natsuki writhe from my intense attacks.

She gritted her teeth, immersed with the pleasure she was feeling.

"I-I'm going to break, master! Hyaaah! I-If you keep th-this up... then I'll fall apart! Nnngh!"

As soon she said that, I felt her insides tighten against me, causing her to roll her eyes back.

The liquid flowed out of the girl's womanhood, dripping down the shaft of me every time I thrust into her.

Natsuki's pleasant womanly scent filled my room.

Little by little, the more and more I attacked, the more her body adjusted.

In fact, she seemed to be getting used to having her womb jolted by me while I held her still in my arms.

"Time to kick things up a notch!"

She didn't expect what I did next.

With a reined scream, she stretched out her body against my mine.

This probably had to do with the fact that I started twisting my hips whenever I thrust.

As a result, I hit multiple parts of her womanhood.

"Fwah! Aaah! Kuuhh...!"

To add to this, I alternated between deep, slow strokes with rapid shallow thrusts, keeping her at the edge.

Her breathing was starting to become more and more unsteady as I thrust, so sloppily let her tongue out to lap any air she can.

After rotating my head rapidly inside of her, I pierced the back of her womanhood.

This allowed me to move up and down, left and right, exploring every nook and cranny of the narrow hole I was in.

"Y-You're stirring my sides up...! Auuugh! Aaah! Haah!"

To add the strawberry on top, I sometimes pull myself out and rub my tip against her labia and clitoris.

"You like being messed up like this, huh?" I teased. "Don't you, you lowly maid?"

She responded with a small whine.

"Auuuh! Y-Yes, yes, I do! I love this! Eeek!"

I took the chance to stir myself around all the more vigorously.

Her eyes rolled back at this, growing increasingly dreamy and hazy.

"I-I can't think clearly...! My head is going blank from how hard you're hitting me! Fuhhh!"

Eventually, her body started to convulse in my arms, twitching and shaking.

I felt myself twitching, meaning I was close.

Her body grew tenser and tenser, with her twitches causing her to go wild in my arms. I pressed once more, landing a mighty blow against the mouth of her uterus.

"I-I can't hold it in anymore...! Ahhhh, agghh! Ah! Hyaaaaah!"

Her body broke free from my restraints and stretched outwards as I twitched uncontrollably.

I pulled out and let out a sigh, my body dying to release what it wanted all this time.

And so, I waited for Natsuki's tremors to die down before putting her down on my bed.

With my lust lidded mind, I sprayed myself on her face.

"Master... that felt so good..." She muttered with bright eyes.

Despite this, I wanted more.

"Who said this was it? I'm still going to bully you more. Fortunately, you made things a little easier with this."

I grabbed her tail, which was, in actuality, a butt-plug that responded to touch.

"To think that you go so far to put this in... Where did you buy this?"

She shook from pleasure.

"I-I b-bought it in the same place I buy doujins..." The pervert muttered.

And to think I am the one who is perverted.

I firmly gripped her tail, causing her to arch her back.

"Aaah! S-Stop that! I-I-I'm still... sensitive."

I retaliated her character break by twisting her tail.

That made her convulse a little in response.

"Don't forget who I am, you perverted maid. To think you would buy perverted merchandise as well. How shameful."

She nodded meekly.

"I'm sorry, M-Master... A perverted maid like me has no right to talk like that..."

Hmm, is it wrong that I'm getting used to this roleplay?

I flipped her around and inserted myself back inside of her again.

"I still have to get you back for our date. Using a Pocky stick and almost dying on me? I'll make sure to make you pay."

She let out a cute moan but heart-tickling to my touch.

"I have been a bad girl, I know...! So please punish me!"

I gripped onto her hips as I went in, with her walls clamping onto me.

"That's what I am going to do. You're such a masochist."

Her back arched slightly as I went further and further.

"Uuuh...!"

I gritted my teeth at her reaction.

"Gh...! You don't want to leave at do you? OK, wow! This is really, really tight!" I commented, breaking character.

Natsuki turned to me with a glare.

"Heeey! Now yer the one to break?! Keep in character!"

I waved my hand at her.

"Right! Right! Uh, let's see here... I'll make sure you won't ever forget my shape!"

...

That works, right?

I pulled back and pushed in slowly, amazed by her reactions.

Her walls twitched uncontrollably as I went in.

Natsuki was trembling as I kept going in.

She is pretty sensitive that much is true.

The fact that I am thrusting slowly shows how much it makes an impact.

Let's see how things would be if I upped the tempo.

She was now lying on my bed, her breath hitching sharply each time I entered her.

By using her hips, I continued to push in, burying myself in her walls.

I was moving in faster and faster, causing her to clutch the sheets tightly.

"Nnnggggh! Aaah! Haah~!"

She reacted quickly from my increasing speed.

Let's see if things changes if I grip her tail.

With my grip on the tail, I pulled it up, while making sure it wouldn't leave her.

She arched back sharply and with widened eyes.

"EYAAAH! Aaah! AAAH!"

Oh, so that's really effective.

As I mused, her walls clamped down onto me, causing me to hiss.

"Argh!"

That is really effective, it seems.

I continued my work by fondling her tail and now her chest.

By leaning close against her body, I didn't have put much force to hit the spot she loved.

Her face showed she was in total bliss.

To add to this, I started to twist my hips slightly to stir her up as I did before.

"AAAAH! GYAAAH!"

Since I was stimulating her from both sides, it was safe to say she was enjoying this.

Her nails dug into the pillow covers as I jackhammered.

Her frenzied moans caused me to twitch up.

It didn't take long until I was about climax for the second time.

Her walls started clamping down, tightening even more so than before.

That meant she was close too.

Not yet...

I still have more fuel to go on!

And so, I started to wildly twist my hips to stir her up, making sure every nook and cranny of her tunnel was covered.

She reacted positively, causing her to arch her back and moving her hips as well.

"Uuuuh! Master, I love it when you bully me...! Aaah!"

Her vaginal fluids started to leak each I thrust into her.

I maxed up my tempo as a result of this.

She's on the verge of an orgasm...

Time to tie up some loose ends.

I roughed up her tail and chest as much I could to give each other the ultimate pleasure.

"Val! I-I'm gonna... Aaaah! I-I... NO! GAAAH!"

Her tail tightened, and her walls squeezed me, causing me to let out my shot for the second time.

I felt my world turn white for a second before I caught myself.

Her walls continued to wring the semen out of me as I finished.

"Hrk! You're squeezing the life of me!" I groaned.

The pinkette had no way of reacting to any of my words at all.

After all, she was in her own land.

We were exhausted by the second round we did.

I pulled myself and her tail out.

Then I moved to her side, still mind broken by the pleasure.

Her body still convulsing here and there from the orgasm.

Once she was done, she collapsed over me.

I heard her take in ragged breathes as she tried to regain her mental faculties.

"That was... awesome, Master."

I hugged her and pulled a blanket over us.

"Yeah... it was."

...

As we cuddled and held each other close, I felt my future wife shuffle a bit.

"Val?"

I looked down at her with warm eyes.

"Hmm?"

She grinned with her cute fang pointing out.

It was the same fang that made me fall in love with her.

"I love you."

When I heard those words again, I always feel like my heart soars in the air.

"Yeah... I love you, too."

And when I say it to her, my world only consists of her.

That was how we spent our time together.

---

It's been a couple of years ever since I married Natsuki and had the actual ceremony.

Lots of things have changed ever since.

Cupcake had finally gotten around to publishing her manga.

To her surprise, it was very popular with both the male and female demographic.

And so, I helped her out with some of the scenes, provided some insight, and ran the bakery with her.

Natsuki and I moved out of the bakery and opened up our own bakery.

Yamato put up a bit of fuss, stating that my training is mandatory, and the match was still pending.

But when Natsuki yelled at him, bringing up, she almost died, and it would make her happy, he relented.

So because of that, he decided it was best not to push it too far.

We still haven't had our match, but we were planning to have our match today.

Today was the day of our tenth anniversary of getting together.

"Papa?"

I felt a tug at my pants.

"Are we going to visit Grandma and Grandpa today?" She asked.

This is my daughter... Natsuki's and I's pride and joy.

For some strange reason, she resembled her mother to a worrying degree.

They both have the same hair, eyes, temper, and fang.

The only part of me that carries over is my smile.

Weird, but I don't mind at all.

She is my daughter, after all.

I smiled and picked her up.

"Yes, we are. Let's get ready. Where's your mother?"

I heard my wife come down the stairs, ready.

"I'm right here, Dear."

Natsuki was an almost spitting image of her mother.

She walked up me kissed me on the cheek.

"Now, I hope you will win this match, so he can give it a rest. Also, I hope you don't do the same for my girl's future boyfriend. Sayori's kid is in for trouble if you are really going for it." She said with a forceful tone.

I laughed nervously at her.

"Ahaha... Can you blame me? I want the best man for my daughter. I didn't understand completely until-"

I interrupted myself to nuzzle my nose against our daughter, to which she giggled.

"... Until I held her hand. I promised myself that I would protect my little girl from whatever harms her, just you wait."

She rolled her eyes playfully.

"Have some faith in her. If we raise her right, then we nothing to worry about."

That's right.

If we raise with love and care, then she will grow up just fine.

"I will... don't you worry, Nat. Now, let's get to the truck. It's time to wrap things up."

We got into the truck, seated our daughter in the back, and drove to the old house on the outskirts.

As we drove, I was felt a slightly queasy feeling settling in my stomach.

"You know... I'm still feeling a little nervous about this." I said, still keeping my eyes on the road.

My wife giggled at this.

"Hehehe! Don't be such a pansy. You'll do fine, I swear! If there is something that's never wrong, it's my gut feeling! Do you want to know what Dad said about while training?" Cupcake offered.

Wait, what he said.

I nodded since it piqued my interest.

"He would always bring up how fast you learn things. Calling you a sponge whenever you weren't around. He was a teeny-weeny bit scared that you would be able to beat him easily sooner or later. Ah~! That brings back memories."

I didn't know that...

That is a real confidence booster.

He always did say I had potential, but I had no idea it was like this.

It didn't take long until we got there.

The old Natsuki home was still as pristine as ever.

I surveyed the surroundings, marveling at how things looked now.

The government decided to renovate and rebuild some of the old, dilapidated buildings here.

And it paid off...

I parked and saw my parents-in-law sitting on the porch, waiting for us.

We gave them a wave to greet them as we got out of the car.

As I unbuckled our daughter's seat, she got up and ran straight to her grandparents' arms.

I was surprised, to say the least.

"Jeez, I wonder how long she was holding that in," I muttered. "Look at her..."

Natsuki looked at me and smiled, her little fang poking out.

"You would be surprised. Five-year-olds love to run around, and that energy keeps them going for hours."

We all entered the backyard and started to get ready.

"You know... whenever would come here. I swear I could feel my cat purring against me... Why would he be here of all places?" She wondered.

I shrugged, secretly knowing the answer.

"Don't know, maybe he really is looking after you, Natsuki."

She looked into my eyes for answers, but I made sure to hide it.

It's a weird phenomenon...

To think her cat would be here since Yamato buried him here...

I'm glad to see that he still looks after her.

"Hey, kid! Come on! Let's do this already!" Yamato called.

I sighed and smiled at my wife.

With that, I walked up to him.

"So, it all comes down to this, right?" I joked.

He scowled at me.

"Shut it, brat! Now let's see if you have been slacking around with my little girl!" He growled.

Although he tried to be hostile, I knew he was trying his best not to show his dwindling resolve to this in the first place.

I scoffed at him and looked at my family.

Sakura was playing with my daughter, while Natsuki watched me unknowingly petting a black cat.

She winked at me, and I smiled back.

"Keep this clean kid. And try not to embarrass yourself to your wife and daughter." He taunted.

I smirked and got ready.

"Yeah, yeah. Let's do this, old man."

And so, we fought, ending the decade long conflict.

My daughter tugged the side of my pants, which got my attention.

"Papa? Why did you fight grandpapa? What did he do?" She innocently asked.

Oh, dear.

I gave my daughter a nervous smile.

"It's... It's well he wanted to test me." I answered.

Given how curious kids are at this age, she would follow up with another question.

"Why did the grandpapa test you?"

Hmm, I never thought it would be difficult to explain things while keeping it simple and family-friendly.

I thought about it for a second.

"He wanted to test how much I love your mother and, most of all, you."

I tickled her, which caused her to shriek with laughter.

"You really didn't hold back, did you?" Cupcake asked, jumping into the conversation.

We were now walking down the street holding our daughter's hand on each side.

"He would have put a fuss if I did hold back." I simply answered. "I wanted to show him that I was dead serious about protecting and having a family with you."

She smirked at this.

"Yeah... You sure showed him. I always knew that this would happen, ya know? When you said you would train under him and fight him, I knew my Dad would get creamed. After all, you're a very hard worker, Dear. And a bit of an over-achiever."

I chuckled nervously.

"Hey, can you blame me? It was you guys on the line. Over-achieving a little bit on this sort of thing is called for, don't you think?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Mhm, over-achieving, and then I have to watch over you because you were overworked. You're lucky that I'm wife, your wife, baka."

I smiled from her endearing nickname.

"That I am. I'm so lucky that I have you put me down whenever I go overboard."

We leaned for a little kiss, which caused our daughter to whine.

"Hey! Not fair! I want a kiss too!"

And so, we leaned in to give her a little kiss on both of her cheeks.

She giggled happily in response.

Hearing our daughter laugh made me realize how happy I was.

I knew my wife felt the same as we watched her elated reaction.

We kept walking until Natsuki asked another question.

"Hey, Val... Are you happy?" She asked.

I answered without missing a beat.

"Of course, I am. I am happy. I got a beautiful wife and daughter. I get to grow old with you and watch our daughter grow. Why wouldn't I be happy?"

She gave me her vibrant smile, and I gave her my dorky one.

"You always like to get cheesy with these things. And I definitely don't hate it at all."

We stared into each other's eyes as the sunset.

"I love you, Val."

"I love you too, Nat."

We kissed once more and knew our future was looking bright.