The following day, Chifuyu was alone in the shop. It was a slow day, with barely any customers, and even the ones that showed up ended up leaving without buying anything. He was bored to tears. Kazutora usually provided a good material for teasing and jokes. Now he was alone with the animals. Just as he was about to call it a day, Fuyuko appeared.

- Fuyu-nii, are you there? - she called from the entrance.

- Oh, hey, Fuyu-chan! I was waiting for you!

- It's been a while, Fuyu-nii. Sorry...

- Naah, it's fine... - he smiled warmly at her. - Say, what's the emergency?

- Well, Fuyu-nii... - she started hesitantly, fidgeting - I think I might be starting to like Hanemiya-san. - A tint of light pink crept up her cheeks.

- Hmm?! How come? - Chifuyu feigned surprise.

She told him everything he had already heard from Kazutora the night before, just from her point of view.

"These two... clueless fucking lovebirds!" - he thought to himself. "Come on, Baji-san, please make Cupid do his damn job already and have them hook up, I can't deal with this anymore!"

- What do you think Kei-nii would say if he knew I had a crush on the person who killed him? - her voice full of worry.

- Fuyu-chan, look... Baji-san didn't hold any grudges against Kazutora. What's more, he died to protect him, as you know. I don't think he would mind in the slightest! Although, he might be offended if you still see Kazutora only as his killer, and not his friend.

She let out a deep sigh.

- I guess I see your point...

- So please, - Chifuyu put his hand on her shoulder to reassure her. - Don't worry about it too much. If you like him, you should go for it. "He's already head over heels for you, anyway..." - he bit his tongue not to say that.

- Thank you, Fuyu-nii! - She hugged him. - You're a lifesaver!

- Don't even mention it! You know I'm here for you in Baji-san's place.

She smiled. - By the way, Fuyu-nii... Where is Hanemiya-san?

- Oh... well, he... called in sick today. - Chifuyu omitted the unflattering details.

- I see... Is he alright though? Should I go visit him? - Fuyuko got worried.

- Nahh, it's nothing serious. He just had some headache and needed to rest. He'll probably be back tomorrow or the day after. So, you know what to do, don't you? - he winked at her, and she grinned with slight embarrassment.

- I will be back here in two days! - She exclaimed grinning.

- Good! Now, let's close the shop for the day, and go get something to eat. My treat!

- Then I vote for peyang yakisoba!

- Excellent choice.

As much as he hated it, Chifuyu's matchmaking abilities were topnotch. At the very least, in this very particular case.

. . . . .

Kazutora woke up late in the afternoon that day, feeling like shit. But only physically. He remembered his encounter with Fuyuko and his conversation with Chifuyu from the night before, and even though some parts of the night were missing from his memory, he still remembered everything that was really important.

With the room still spinning around his head, and his temples pounding with throbbing pain, he barely managed to drag himself to the bathroom. After taking some painkillers, he proceeded to make his coffee twice as strong as usual.

Rays of the evening sun lit his apartment in a pale orange hue. He opened the window to have a smoke. With his head full of Fuyuko, he absentmindedly stared at the passing cars and people on the street. "Chifuyu had a point. Girls love small thoughtful surprise gifts. But what could be a good choice...?"

A small group of loud boys in their early teens just ran by the building, shouting at each other and laughing excitedly about something. Kazutora's chest went tight with a pang upon the sight. "They're just like we used to be! I wish I could return to those carefree times..." Unaware of a bittersweet smile that sneaked up on his face, he watched the boys disappear in the distance.

Reminiscing about his friends reminded him to give a call to Mrs. Baji and apologize about not being able to visit that day.

- Don't worry, Kazutora-kun, Fuyuko will be staying over for the weekend, anyway. I did hope you two would use this chance to meet and resolve the confusion between you, but...

- Well, it can't be helped. I will make sure to meet with her as soon as I'm feeling better. Would you please send my regards to her?

- She says hi back, and hopes you'll get well soon.

He was grateful for the fact it was a phone call, and nobody could see his face getting redder than the sunset sun.

- Well, please thank her for me.

- Sure thing. Take care of yourself, sonny.

- Don't worry, please. See you soon, O-kaa-san.

As soon as he hung up the call, he got a message from Chifuyu.

_I know what she likes! Give me a call when you wake up _ received: 19:49

He rang him immediately.

- Good morning~, sleeping beauty! - Chifuyu teased in his usual manner.

- I actually got up a while ago...

- So I didn't wake you up? - Chifuyu's voice was full fake pouting.

- Bet you're disappointed, but unfortunately for you, no... So, what have you found out?

- Well, you won't believe this, but she came to the shop earlier, wanting to talk to me. About you, of all things...

- Me?

- Ja, ja! - Chifuyu pretended to speak German out of nowhere.

- What did she say about me?

- Not telling you. It's between her and me. But I'll give you a hint. You got a big ass chance to get her! I took her to dinner afterwards, and used a chance to see what she likes. Sweet and spicy.

"Sweet and spicy, huh... It somehow really suits her" - Kazutora thought to himself.

- ...so you know what to do! - Chifuyu finished.

- Oh, yeah, thanks a lot, boss! You're a lifesaver!

- I've already heard that within the last 24 hours. Oh, and yeah, by the way, I just dropped her off at Baji-san's place earlier, cause she wanted to stay with her aunt over the weekend, but she said she'd come to the shop on Monday again, so make sure you're here in the morning! There's work to do as well.

- Will do! Thanks again, man...

- Good luck~!

*clank*

All excited again, Kazutora decided to take a walk and go to his regular cemetery visit. He felt like his heart could just jump out of his chest! He needed to "talk" to Baji.

Chifuyu kindly pointed out a certain fancy bakery near the Shibuya station, that sold the perfect present for Fuyuko. Top tier exclusive spicy ginger cookies, with different frosting flavors. But they usually close at 4 on weekends, so he'd have to go there on time the following day, and make sure to leave it on Fuyuko's doorstep before she returns home, so that he lowers the probability of awkwardly running into her. Mrs. Baji did casually mention that Fuyuko will be leaving around 6 PM the next day, so it seemed like everything was perfectly scheduled.

Sunday came, and even though Kazutora made it to the bakery on time, there was one thing he completely forgot to account for: the crowd. Seeing a 50 meter long queue in front of the store, made him facepalm. "OF COURSE! it's gonna be crowded! It's one of the most popular bakeries in the whole fucking Tokyo! I'm stupid..." - He reprimanded himself. "And good lord, I sooo don't wanna see Chifuyu's face if it turns out they're all out of those cookies by the time it's my turn... He'll never stop roasting me for it!" With his fingers crossed in hopes for the best, Kazutora obediently placed himself at the end of the queue.

Almost two and a half hours later, he finally got to buy what he came there for, and even made it to Fuyuko's by 17:22.

"Whew... Safe." - He let out a small sigh of relief, and tried to catch his breath. "But I guess this means I just ran out of my share of luck for this month..." Having hanged the bag with the goodies on her doorknob, he dashed back home.

. . . . .

Fuyuko was startled by the mysterious package that welcomed her back, hanging on the doorknob, but she noticed a small note, protruding from beneath the door. She bent over to pick it up. It read as following:

"Tsukishiro-san,

Please accept this modest gift as a symbol of my gratitude for your kindness towards me from the other day.

I wholeheartedly hope they are to your liking, but please let me know, so I can make up for it, if I made a wrong choice.

Sincerely,

Hanemiya Kazutora

P.S. This is my phone number: 0xx-xxxx-xxx"