Professor Todo stared across the lawn and sighed. He couldn't get the past out of his head. He had loved Kohana's mother and he never told her. Her sparkles were just so overwhelming to him that he couldn't work up the nerve to say anything.

Now he taught her daughter and he loved her too, just this time it was so different. This time she was like a precious daughter to him. One he knew he couldn't claim.

He knew her father and he hated him. It was because of one major thing he had done —he married Sakura. His family name had been nothing, in fact, he didn't even have a sparkle. He was a regular man who had the most precious woman out there. Then he died. Todo realized Sakura must have loved him very much and never remarried. Still, he died before Kohana was born; it was a motor vehicle accident that left him broken and in ICU, and then he died six days later. Not surprisingly to Todo, Sakura was strong; even seven months pregnant, she soldiered on.

He knew he was selfish, thinking of her like a daughter when he had no right to her. Still, he hoped Sakura would forgive him. After all, what mother doesn't want their child looked after and cared for?

He frowned as his former committee member walked up to him. "Hello, Manasa."

"The centuries old feud is over. Our only family goal —where Kohana is concerned, is now to make her one of us."

"Isn't she too good for that?"

"Than our family? Probably. Than my brother's love for her? Never. Are you going to lie to me and tell me you don't see it?"

Todo sighed. "No, I see his love. What bothers me is that I see that she could return it. We both loved her mother. It makes me feel like you could have won."

Manasa shook his head, "for my brother's sake; I'm glad it turned out the way it did."

Todo's shoulders sagged, and he said, "she is amazing."

One week later, Teika had the keys to the Porsche in his hands, and he looked at his stern reflection in its shiny black paint. His brothers were counting on him to fulfill his own desires for the first time in his life and It felt good. He was grateful for their support.

When Louis had first seen the car, he asked if Teika had planned on doing sexy driving. And for the first time in his life, he was hoping for sexy.

He closed his eyes and imagined driving around with Kohana in the passenger seat. He pictured her green eyes wide with excitement as he sped through the countryside. He hoped she would grip his arm for support and even crack a smile as he took a sharp bend in the road. A gasp would positively drive him wild.

When he signed for the delivery of the car, he also received a thick packet titled "opposition research," he rolled his eyes, but really, he appreciated what it meant. He wasn't the only one in the family fighting to make her part of it.

He flipped the keys with the ring around his pointer finger and set off to find Kohana. It was time to set his ambitions in motion.

He had resented his brothers' zeal and determination before —he wouldn't make that mistake again. They were fighting to help him, even in ways he didn't need.

He wasn't a fool. He didn't consider Kohana as his, not by a long shot. He knew she didn't need any of them. She had a sparke all on her own, and it didn't rely on others the way theirs did hers.

He found her walking the path through the woods by the pond, and her smile, even not directed at him, was captivating.

"Allies?" He asked suddenly.

She spun to face him with a light in her eyes. "What?"

He held out his hand to her and said, "we aren't enemies. Can we be allies?"

She smiled at him, and her eyes shined. "Allies," she vowed.

As she placed her small hand tentatively in his, he smiled. Then he grasped her hand and tugged lightly. "Let me take you to dinner to celebrate the end of the centuries of feuding between our families."

She gave him a sweet smile, and his insides melted. "I have a feeling it was your family that kept the feud going. My mother and grandmother weren't the type."

He pulled her to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "I agree. Let me make it up to you."

She looked up at him with wide green eyes and said, "you are forgiven already."

He frowned down at her severely and said, "if you forgive me too soon, you might not agree to dinner." She blushed to the roots of her hair.

"B-but…" she fidgeted with her hands. "You d-don't have t-too."

He smiled at her tenderly, a look she missed, and said, "I want to."

When he showed up at Kohana's dorm room to pick her up, the sight of her in her pale pink dress took his breath away. She was stunning. "You look beautiful," he whispered wide-eyed. She blushed and looked up at him nervously. "I'm glad you like the dress."

He couldn't help himself; he placed his hand on the small of her back and pulled her towards him half a step. He then looked deep into her green eyes and said, "you are beautiful. The dress is lovely too."

He watched her swallow hard and fidget with the fabric on her dress. "Th-thank you."

He didn't release her or his gaze, and he gently brushed her cheek with the fingertips of his left hand. "You're mesmerizing."