A/N: This is a long one, but I had fun with it! Health is so-so, but feeling better than yesterday. Slow and steady, I guess? Luckily I've started Chapter 22, so I'm a few chapters away from this catching up with me. Also, I told myself I would work on HC after I made it to a certain TPS milestone, and lucky for me that milestone is closer than ever. In fact, I recently came up with an angsty idea that would flesh out the part between point A and point B.

Well, enough of that. I forgot to say this last time, but thanks for any and all new faves/follows/reviews! Zain, I think you'll like this chapter.

Enjoy!

[Chapter 15]: Persuasion

Ayato helped Yuri and her parents set up their towels and umbrella a little ways up from the water. Despite the convenient spot they picked out, Mrs. Nakamura settled down in a beach chair with a book and went straight to tanning.

"I'm telling you," Yuri said, rolling her eyes and plunking her multicolored bag down in the sand and fishing through it for sunscreen. "They're wearing their swimsuits, but it's all for show. They'll be in the water a grand total of five minutes all day."

"They can hear you."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Look again."

He looked. Her book temporarily resting on her lap, Mrs. Nakamura was putting her ear plugs in with one hand and scrolling through an iPod with the other. Next to her, Mr. Nakamura was busily slathering himself in lotion. If he had heard his daughter's jab, he didn't mind.

"They really do not give a damn, do they?" Ayato said quietly, laughing a little. It was weird thinking this about businesspeople like the Nakamuras, but they were much more laidback than he was used to.

Yuri shrugged. "They've been entertaining me all month. It's your turn."

Then, as her fingers fell to the hem of her T-shirt, Mr. Nakamura spoke up. "Hey, Naoi, want to hear a joke?"

Ayato turned to him, somewhat confused. "Sure, what is it?"

He'd finished applying sunscreen and tossed it aside for the next person to use; now he was casually tapping away at his phone with a sly grin on his face. "Did you hear the one about the father who acted as a diversion for a boy while his daughter stripped down to her bathing suit?"

"I don't think I have, sir."

Mr. Nakamura laughed, a mixture of evil and giddiness. "Eh, you'll get it when you have one of your own."

Feeling rather played, Ayato turned back to Yuri – who had indeed ditched her shirt and shorts in favor of a mint green two-piece, with a skirt-like bottom half that showed off her legs. She'd crossed her arms firmly in front of her chest, but it wasn't Ayato she was frowning at.

"Dad, come on." Her face was beet red. "He was going to see me in my swimsuit anyway."

"Yeah, but this way, you didn't have to give him a little show."

Mrs. Nakamura pulled an earbud out and threw him a dull look. "Kaishou, don't be like that."

Her husband put on a pair of sunglasses and sat back in his beach chair. "Sorry. I'm a dad first and a friend second."

"I've never known a Naoi to be lecherous," Mrs. Nakamura said absently. She glanced over the top of her book at him. "You're a perfect gentleman, aren't you, Naoi?"

"Yes ma'am," Ayato said, vehemently ignoring the playback that subsequently flashed through his head of every single time he fake-flirted with her daughter in the last three months.

"And anyways, it's not like he's my boyfriend or anything like that." Yuri sat on the edge of the beach chair next to her mom, who set aside her book and applied sunscreen to her back. "We're just really good friends is all."

Mr. Nakamura rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Now that I think about it, that's a shame." He lowered his sunglasses to wink and flash Naoi a big grin. "If the potter's son was your boyfriend, we could get a bunch of free stuff!"

Ayato returned the grin.

"That's the best joke I've heard all day," he said. Then, more humbly, "Sadly, I don't think my dad has a sense of humor."

"Yeah," Mr. Nakamura said with a dismissive grin, stretching his arms behind his head. "That's what I figured too."

Ayato didn't hear much from the Nakamuras after that, save for a few comfortable sounds and words of acknowledgement when Yuri told them that she and Ayato were heading to the water. It was a rare moment, seeing the couple so relaxed. Although, Mrs. Nakamura was still reading, listening to music, and tanning all at the same time. She was a multitasker, that woman. Always seemed to need some sort of stimulant.

"Hey." Yuri touched his wrist; he turned to face her. "You don't mind getting your shirt wet?"

She said it with a certain eyebrow twitch that was silently asking more. He hesitated at first, rubbing his arm and looking out towards the waves. No, he didn't want to wear a soaked t-shirt for the rest of the day. And, well, anything he was hiding that hadn't faded by now… could easily be explained to her parents as a clumsy moment in the workshop.

"You can go on ahead," he told her, bending down to grab the sunscreen. "I'll meet you down there in a minute."

Satisfied with his answer, Yuri gave him a quick nod and trotted down to the water. While her back was turned to the beach, Ayato reached behind his head and tugged off his shirt.

He'd just squeezed out a handful of lotion when Mr. Nakamura spoke up. "That must've been quite a bruise on your back."

Ayato froze for a second, then shrugged.

"Yeah, well…" He coated his right shoulder blade in sunscreen. "The tables in the workshop have sharp corners." Not a lie, after all.

Mr. Nakamura groaned in sympathy, but made no more mention of it after that. Ayato relaxed, grateful for Yuri's parents' vacation-mode brains, and finished applying the lotion in peace.

When he caught up to Yuri, she was tying her hair up with a green ribbon, allowing the sun to graze the back of her neck. She was only in deep enough that the sea licked at her ankles before receding. He padded onto the wet sand – and quickly wrestled a grimace as the water came back for more. So cold! How had he not heard a bloodcurdling scream from Yuri a minute ago? Then again, maybe Yuri was more used to beach days than he was.

Reaching out, he tapped her on the shoulder. She jumped and spun around with a barely muffled squeak. He smirked triumphantly back at her. There, that was all he wanted!

"Hey," she said casually, as if nothing had happened. "I was just about to go in without you."

"You can't even wait for one whole minute?" he asked, still grinning.

"Life's too short." The way she said it was flippant, but for a second there her expression turned distant. He knew all too well what she was thinking of.

To bring her back down to Earth, he kicked a little at the tide. "It will be when we're frozen by this water in the next ten minutes."

That did the trick. Yuri blinked a couple of times, then flashed him a teasing grin. "What, can't get used to it? Too cold even for your calloused tough-guy potter skin?"

"Hey!"

Yuri actually giggled. It sounded more girlish than malevolent, but he knew her better. "Wait till Ami, Kurimu, and Hejjiguchi find out their favorite brooding bad boy can't handle the ocean—"

Ayato kicked up some waves and flung them back at her as he strode further into the water. He particularly relished in her indignant screech.

But also, her jabs had inadvertently reminded him of Mr. Positivity's hydrophobia. And no way in hell was he going to let himself be on the same level as Hejjiguchi.

When he didn't hear the splash of her footsteps behind her, he turned back around. Yuri was still standing where he'd left her, sizing him up with a slight lift of her eyebrow. He suddenly felt very aware of his skin, and the mark her dad had noticed. But that was nothing she hadn't seen before, right?

"What?" Ayato said, crossing his arms.

A soft red tinted Yuri's cheeks once she'd been caught, but the surprise soon faded into a composed half-grin.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just…" She batted her eyelashes at him. "I knew you had pottery muscles, but I had no idea you were so ripped."

"Shut up," Ayato said, rolling his eyes. He turned around so she wouldn't catch the smirk on his face and know her stupid stunt had worked. Weirdly enough, he felt a little less bare.

The water became tolerable after a while, so they got up to their shoulders in it and basked for a while, catching each other up on their summers.

"What time do you think you saw the deer?" Yuri asked, once he was almost through his own update.

"I don't know, maybe 21:00. Why?"

Yuri shrugged, bracing her back against a rock. "Might've been around the time I considered calling you to let you in on the plan." She beamed and opened one eye to look at him. "But it was more fun this way!"

"And instead you subconsciously sent me a message via one of your animal friends," Ayato cooed. "How sweet."

Yuri snorted so hard she almost got a mouthful of seawater. "Animal friends! Who am I, Snow White?"

"Better talk my mother out of making apple turnovers," he said in mock horror.

"Ayato. Have a good time."

The memory, featuring a disheveled hair bun and flour-coated cooking apron, vanished as quickly as it had entered and was replaced with a stock-still silhouette from Sunday. Though he tried to hide it, his good mood dissolved like sugar. And damned if Yuri wasn't ten times more perceptive than her parents.

"What's wrong?" Yuri narrowed her eyes at him. It was her nonverbal way of demanding the truth. "Any time we mention your mom, you look like somebody whose sports team just lost."

Ayato chewed on his lip, tasting the salt in the air. "It's… nothing. I found out I can't count on her, but that's nothing new."

"You can count on her for food," Yuri said helpfully, but sobered up when Ayato gave her a look. "Okay, well… what happened? What'd she do? Or, not do…?"

"I'd rather not talk about it." He hated to mope when today was supposed to be about her birthday, and even thinking about that added to his gloom. "Basically, I tried to trust her with something important. Kimito found out about it the next day. I shouldn't have bothered with her."

Yuri frowned. "Wait. She told him, or he found out about it?"

"She could have hid it better!" Ayato snapped. When Yuri arched her brows at him, he winced and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, it's just… she caved. It was her idea and either she didn't hide it very well or she caved. And I was so stupid to risk it."

"Risk what?" Yuri pressed. "What did you trust her with, anyway?"

"Forget it." He really didn't want to get into that. There was no need to bum her out about his own gift guilt. Better for her to think he didn't bother than for her to find out and blame herself.

There was a brief silence, before Yuri muttered, "Still, knowing Kimito, it was probably out of her control."

"Really, forget it."

He searched desperately for a different topic to distract her. The Hisakawa mystery? But how would he casually work that in… how would they have known each other…

"We used to do gymnastics together—"

There it was. He cleared his throat and gave her a more easygoing grin.

"Today's about you, not my mom. I see her all the time." He moved to lean against the rock next to her. "Though… I know you said this is a 'you and me' day, but I'm surprised you didn't invite any of your friends from the gymnastics team."

Maybe it was a shift in a shadow, but he thought for a moment her face darkened at the mention of gymnastics.

"Damn it, I never should have told you about that," she mumbled under her breath. She turned to face him just as he raised his eyebrows meaningfully at her. What was so bad about him knowing? What was he going to do, make fun of her for participating in a sport? "Listen, um… That's not something I…"

Her eyes kept darting away from him. Her smile looked fairly forced.

Ayato tried to withdraw his inquisitive stare, but now her reaction was making him even more curious. Maybe he shouldn't have brought it up?

Finally, she extended her hand. "How about… I won't ask about your thing if you don't ask about mine?"

"Deal!" They shook.

Regarding the… incident with his parents, Ayato could breathe a sigh of relief that Yuri wouldn't delve into it any further. She'd probably insist that he was gift enough, but get even more furious on his behalf. He had a feeling he was testing her limits when it came to standing on the sidelines.

But still, even if he couldn't ask…

What about gymnastics would put Yuri in such a dismal mood? For a moment there, he thought her signature charisma was broken.

It was the same hesitation, same rift in confidence, he'd seen in Hisakawa before she left.

What had happened between them?

Well, she'd tell him when she told him. In any case, for the time being it might be wise not to bring up Hisakawa's visit if it bothered her that much.

Their agreement turned out to be for the best. Yuri switched the conversation back to a summer recap while they ventured out farther and treaded water for a while. As shocking as Yuri found this, Ayato was pretty sure this was the first time in maybe a decade that he'd gone swimming in the ocean. Kimito Naoi simply was not a beach-goer. If he had any vague, real memories of the beach, it was because Hayato begged for it. And his mother might've considered it a healthy family outing. But he didn't trust his memories sometimes, ever since he read from a psychology book that they could be faked.

All he knew for damn certain was that it felt especially amazing to float on his back in the water and let the waves gently rock him. Even when some of them went for his head.

Yuri, who had climbed onto another rock structure, peeked over at him with her chin resting on her arms.

"I've never seen you so relaxed," she mused, and threw him a bright smile. "If only your true love Kurimu could look at you now."

He carefully angled his head enough to glare at her – and then a wave crashed over her rock, almost knocking her off-balance as it drenched her. He could safely say that the eternal memory of Yuri spitting dripping wet bangs out of her face and glaring at him like a smote mermaid was worth getting sprayed with broken sea foam.

"Hey, thanks for blocking that for me," he said.

She slapped some water at him; he rolled off his back and retaliated.

By the time they trudged back to the Nakamuras' spot, Yuri's dad was returning from the refreshment stand. On his arm was an orange cooler filled with sodas and ice pops. Yuri's eyes lit up.

"Ooh, raspberry—" She made a move to grab one of the ice pops.

Her dad sidestepped out of the way at the last second, feigning astonishment at her gall.

"No way, these are for us!" he scoffed. "We've been sitting here wasting away in the sun, absolutely parched—"

"Well, we might've ingested saltwater – that'd make us even thirstier!" Yuri successfully swiped the raspberry ice cream push-up from the cooler. "Your move."

Mr. Nakamura sighed mournfully. "Why did we raise her to be smart?" he asked, casting his wife a wistful glance.

She didn't look up from her book. "Something about 'passing along the Nakamura wisdom.'"

"By which I meant 'getting a successful career,' not wheedling me out of sweets."

"Pros and cons, Kaishou."

Ayato laughed, accepting the drink Yuri passed to him. They both sat down on the edge of their towels and people-watched while they dried off in the sun. Ten minutes in, Yuri was meticulously digging and burying her legs in sand. Ayato wished she could have torn her gaze away from the sand in time to see this one big, dark, grizzly bearded guy getting mercilessly chased by a tiny redheaded woman. He had a raspy laugh that made Yuri finally look up, but she only caught the back of his head and a bunch of sand at her feet that the couple had kicked up behind them.

"The girl kind of reminded me of you, Yuri," Mrs. Nakamura said absently.

A harrumph from her husband. "Nah, I think our daughter can get guys her own age."

Ayato peered over his shoulder at the man in time to catch a wink. But before he could protest properly, Mrs. Nakamura broke in.

"What do you mean by that? How old did you think he was?"

"Come on, Ehana. Didn't you get a good look at him? I'd say at least late-thirties!"

"You're going by the beard! He had youthful eyes. The oldest I'll give you is mid-twenties."

"Youthful eyes? You were gazing into his youthful eyes?"

Their voices started to rise enough to make Ayato's heart skip a beat. He side-eyed Yuri nervously, but she was… grinning? Actually shaking her head and laughing to herself. Continuing to make a sand dune out of her lap, completely nonplussed.

When she caught him staring, she blinked twice, then understanding smoothed her features.

"They're playing," she mouthed.

Playing. He took another look; her dad was nudging her mother in the side and jeering at her. Mrs. Nakamura rolled her eyes and flicked him in the forehead.

Interesting. Those two traveled together a lot for business. If they behaved like this while stuck in close quarters and still put up with each other, there was no breaking them up. He guessed it wasn't a big deal for them.

They were… cute together. Even behind the scenes.

For the next half hour, Ayato and Yuri continued to burrow in sand and people-watch while draining Mr. Nakamura's snack supply. Yuri even kindly requested her parents' assistance in keeping their eyes out for Kurimu, Ayato's secret crush. However, Mr. Nakamura refused because then Kurimu's family would get the free stuff and he didn't want to "help the competition" (Ayato was liking Yuri's father more and more).

"You always think in money," Yuri had complained. "Can't you help your own daughter terrorize a boy? It's your fatherly duty!"

"Not until you get a boyfriend," said her father, and mussed her hair with sandy fingers.

Yuri briefly returned to the ocean to wash the sand off of her legs and out of her hair, with Ayato following to lie down on the bank and let the tides drift up to him. A few gem-like shells and pebbles caught Yuri's eye and they took a few minutes to dig up some more, but it wasn't long afterwards that her parents checked the time as the two were dropping off their loot.

"It's getting a little late," said Mrs. Nakamura, putting her book away in her bag. "We'll have to head home soon if we want enough time to cook your birthday dinner."

Mr. Nakamura clapped Ayato on the shoulder. Unlike Kimito, his touch was more hearty than heavy. "Naoi, we'd love to have you join us."

Yuri and Ayato shared a wistful look.

"Sure," he said, rubbing the back of his neck, "but you'll have to okay it with my father. He's… a hard sell."

Yuri's dad flashed him a terribly businessman-like grin. "Challenge accepted."

Ayato wasn't sure whether to be thrilled or terrified.

They hauled their stuff back to the car, and Ayato and Yuri dried off and changed in a couple of stalls near the parking lot. After they loaded back up, Mr. Nakamura excused himself from the car to make a phone call. Every ten seconds, Yuri and Ayato peeked out the window to inspect his progress. The man alternated between pacing and leaning against the car or a pole. It had already been two minutes, but for Ayato it felt like thirty.

"He's smiling." Ayato turned to Yuri, furrowing his forehead. "That's a good sign, right?"

"Professional smile," Mrs. Nakamura said from the passenger seat. "People can't see you through the phone, but they can hear goodwill and cheer. It's emotionally contagious."

"I see…"

Goodwill and cheer? Kimito built up an immunity to that years ago.

Another full minute later, Mr. Nakamura ended the call and slid into the driver's seat. He was laughing and shaking his head.

"I think that's the first time I felt like the salesman with that man," he said, starting the engine. "But Ayato, I guess you're coming home with us."

Ayato's eyes widened. "He said it was okay?"

"Couldn't get into the business world without learning my own persuasion tactics."

Yuri shrieked in triumph and lunged around the front seat's headrest to give him a hug. Her dad made dramatic gasping and choking sounds, flailing and rasping for air.

"Kaishou, please drive," Mrs. Nakamura said, hiding a smile.

When Yuri let go, Mr. Nakamura rubbed his throat and hyperventilated for good measure, then cut himself off abruptly. "Okay, let's go."

The beach slowly disappeared behind them.

Ayato had never been inside the Nakamuras' house before.

On the outside, sure, it had a mansion feel to it. Beautiful trees and a garden surrounding it, elegant glass front door, window seats, and a fenced back patio. On the inside, there weren't grand ballrooms or intricate twisting staircases or anything like that. But it was well-furnished, with paintings and figurines and a TV the size of a small child. One locked glass case in the hallway had multiple shelves of cats, flowers, birds, and more, all made of ceramic, crystal, or colored glass.

Mrs. Nakamura caught him admiring it.

"We used to keep it unlocked," she said, lightly tracing the wooden frame, "but twelve-year-old Yuri had butter-fingers."

Yuri frowned guiltily. "It was a lily, I couldn't help it. It was my favorite."

"Until a piece of its glass petals got lodged in your foot." Mrs. Nakamura laughed. "I'll never forget your phone call that day. The screaming in the background, and you, completely calm, asking, 'Mom? Where's the gauze?'"

"It's like they'd never seen their big sister bleed before."

Ayato wasn't always sure what he believed in regards to the paranormal. But, just now, a certain energy cooled in the house like a plunging temperature. It was as if two ghosts had entered the room, and from the looks on their faces, Yuri and her mom knew they were the ones who let them in.

"That sounds like Yuri," he noted aloud. "Five years later, blood gushing down her palm, and she says, 'Oh, it's just a cut.' Some things never change."

The color returned to Mrs. Nakamura's cheeks.

"I guess not." With a faint smile, she took Yuri's chin in her hand and gave a playful squeeze. "And anyway, I've still got my favorite lily."

Yuri blushed, quickly ducking out of her grip.

"Mom," she mumbled sheepishly.

Mrs. Nakamura mussed her hair in passing and disappeared into the kitchen. Once she was satisfied by the sound of amiable chatting and distracted cabinet scrounging, Yuri led Ayato by the arm into the TV room.

"Thanks for cutting in, by the way," she said, plopping down on the couch. "I thought she was going to bum out for a second there."

"My mom's like that too," Ayato admitted, joining her. Yuri bit back laughter as he misjudged the softness and almost sunk into the cushions. "Have you ever heard her hesitate before she says my name? She was about to say Hayato's."

Somehow, he didn't feel as embarrassed as he thought he would, confessing that to her. Not even when her eyes widened with a sudden epiphany.

"That's…"

She got up abruptly and went straight to a bookshelf. Kneeling down, she opened a cabinet underneath the shelves. Once she found what she was looking for, she returned to the couch with a photo in hand.

It was a family photo, from maybe three or four years back. Yuri was leaning on her dad's armchair, while Mrs. Nakamura had a little black-haired boy's head resting in her lap. The boy's feet were propped up on the lap of his older sister. If Ayato hadn't already spotted her, he might've guessed that this girl was a younger Yuri. She had the same wine-colored hair, grown much longer like their mother, and unmistakably green eyes. Only the face shape was different – narrower, like her dad's.

"When she looks at me, she probably sees the teenager Ajisai might've been." Yuri tugged a little at the ends of her hair. "I don't think I'll ever grow it out."

Ayato stared hard at Yuri, trying to picture her with waist-length hair. Somehow his creative wells were coming up short.

Catching his stare, she laughed it off.

"But still, you're an identical twin." Her thumb glossed over the photo in thought. "When she looks at you, she sees—"

"—a ghost," they said at the same time.

"Exactly."

Neither of them was sure why this made them chuckle. But at least it lightened the mood. Yuri put away the picture, and while she was up, she turned on the TV. Her lingering near the TV case drew his attention to a couple of shelves stacked airtight with DVDs, and he eyed them greedily. While Kimito had once allowed his sons TV time, the one they had was outdated and bulky with a significantly smaller screen. It was used for cartoons, news, and weather, and Kimito had stopped buying movies after Hayato died. His collection was about a third as big as Yuri's.

While Yuri channel-surfed, Ayato took a quick scan of their surroundings. "Hey, where's your dad?"

"Probably in the kitchen with Mom."

Ayato blinked. "He cooks?"

"They cook. Together." Yuri said, eyeing the channel info on a crime show episode. "One of their favorite things to do as a couple. Something to keep her busy and him peaceful at the same time."

"How do you live like this…?" Ayato muttered, making Yuri snort into her fist.

He and Yuri got sucked into the crime show episode for half an hour, winding up in twisted lounging positions as they bounced guesses back and forth on who they thought was the actual murderer (Yuri blamed the neighbor, but Ayato had his suspicions about the aunt). Then the house started to smell like chicken, sauces, and chocolate, which lured them into the kitchen.

Sitting at the Nakamuras' table under a vibrant purple and green "Happy Birthday" banner, Ayato found it hard to remember the handful of days he'd spent without Yuri this summer. All he could focus on was green tea, oyakodon, deep fried chicken, and Yuri doing her best to balance chatting with her parents about school and indulging in the chocolate raspberry cake on her plate.

Luckily, he managed to steal her parents' attention, and they started asking him about school and work. She spoke up a few times only to masterfully steer the conversation away from Kimito, which he was grateful for.

"Alright, Yuri, we get it," Mrs. Nakamura said good-naturedly. "You're a fan of this Naoi and not the other."

"He's much easier to get along with, anyway." Mr. Nakamura poured him a refill of tea, and winked. "Don't tell your old man this, but when you take over the family business, we'll start browsing twice as often."

Although a little embarrassed by the sentiment, the thought made him grin. And that grin stayed with him even through the present-giving part of the night. Her parents showered her with pretty things: headbands and hair ties, floral-covered journals and school planners, thigh high socks and shirts and skirts. A decorative lily-covered lavender container filled with money.

They were nice, affectionate tokens. He just felt regretful that she wouldn't end the night reveling in her loot while sipping contentedly from a homemade coffee mug.

He managed to get in another movie's worth of time with the Nakamuras (it was Yuri's favorite disaster movie, so she'd insisted) before Mr. Nakamura admitted it was the time he'd agreed to return Ayato home. He offered to drive him there since it was quicker, but Yuri wore him down until he agreed to let her walk him back. He only accepted on the grounds that it would still be light out by the time she got back – though Yuri pulled the "I'm seventeen now" card a number of times.

"It was nice really getting to know you today, Naoi," said Mr. Nakamura as he and his wife saw the two to the door.

Mrs. Nakamura nodded her accord. "I'm surprised this doesn't happen more often."

Ayato and Yuri exchanged glances. He doubted the Nakamuras truly understood their incompatibility with Kimito's parenting style.

"Kimito likes to keep me busy," he replied. That was probably the safest way to explain it without fear of maligning.

Yuri decided to jump in for him then.

"Work is nonstop with Naoi's dad, even in summer," she added. And then, decidedly more crisp: "You know how that is."

Ayato struggled to keep a straight face, even as the Nakamuras' eyebrows lifted considerably. Their parental radar had probably gone off, but they weren't sure if they'd just been sassed.

Noting her error, Yuri cleared her throat and tried on a more humble demeanor. Hands clasped innocently in front of her, she looked at her shoes and spoke in a quieter voice, "Sadly Ayato and I don't get to see each other as much as I'd like."

He couldn't help but sneak a glance her way. Going for the sympathy approach? Damn, she was good.

Her parents met each other's eyes and seemed to have a telepathic conversation. After a moment, they both succumbed to empathetic smiles.

"I think that's a shame," said Mrs. Nakamura, while she was restlessly tying her hair up in a bun. "Maybe we can work something out."

"Maybe," Mr. Nakamura agreed with a sly wink.

They said their goodbyes, and Ayato and Yuri trotted down to the sidewalk. Intrigue had embedded itself in Yuri's features and lasted all the way to the end of the block. Ayato wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"You think your parents are going to try to meddle?" he asked, after he couldn't take the contemplative silence any longer.

Yuri laughed, almost wickedly. "Ooohh, big time." She grabbed his arm and shook it a little excitement. "Did you see my mom tie her hair up? She has a lot of compulsive habits, but that one translates as 'I mean business.' Or she has an idea. Or both."

He couldn't deny that the way Yuri tented her fingers was a little stirring, but now his stomach was doing a few gymnastic moves.

"And…" He narrowed his eyes at her. "And your dad's persuasion skills worked on Kimito once. But do you really think he'll be able to do it again?"

Yuri smiled.

"We'll see," she said.

A bead of sweat trickled from Ayato's forehead. He knew that tone all too well. Although she'd promised to be careful back in June, once she got something stuck in her brain it would take dark magic to dig it out. And while he found that determination more fascinating as he got to know her, the perceived invincibility was still terrifying. He had no idea what would happen to her – and even him by association – if one day she stumbled from that high.

Maybe he'd just have to trust her not to stumble.

When it came to the point of the trail near his house where she had to turn back, he paused and pulled her in for a hug.

"Happy birthday again." They parted, but he let his hand linger on her shoulder. "I'll see you… when I see you."

Her eyes twinkled with something sharp and familiar, and a small grin to match.

"Yes. You will," she said, sounding particularly cheeky. On that note, she turned in the opposite direction and walked off with a dismissive wave.

It took him all the way up to the workshop to realize where he recognized that twinkle. Her father's game face.

"Challenge accepted."

Preview:

"You act like you have all the time in the world."

"I would have killed to see that."

"Let's deal with your indecisiveness."

"That is such a boy answer!"

"It's good practice."

"You're right on time."

"Ready to take over Akuma tomorrow?"

[Chapter 16]: Turn of the Tide.