Staring up into Midori's kind eyes, Tachibana always found it so difficult to believe that such a seemingly gentle man could be capable of doing such evil things, if she hadn't of seen them first hand, she would have never accepted it. She knew exactly what he was like and yet, she still wanted to have him as a friend.

After their first meeting at the shop where he had helped her in picking out her first gun, she would be a big fat liar if she didn't admit that she fell for him a little bit then.

It was like a school girl crush that would stay with her forever. He was extremely handsome and friendly that day, who would be able to ignore that?

Despite his behavior during the TGC where he turned into a sadistic maniac, that thrived on the pain and fear of others, he was relatively normal. Or so she thought.

She simply respected his skill at the game and wanted to learn from him, along with the members of Toy Gun Gun. Whenever their teams went against each other she always learnt something new, it was a truly enlightening experience.

"Thank you Midori, it's great to be back. But you didn't have to get me a gift." Her eyes told a completely different story to the words coming out of her mouth, as her fingers felt the small box that he had given her, they were full of excitement and she held the present tightly against her chest while smiling up at him.

"I will open it once we are inside." Midori felt his eyes narrow as he watched the new and improved Tachibana walk inside her apartment, closely followed by her body guards, Yukimura and Matsuoka.

They were both purposely avoiding his gaze as they disappeared inside.

"She looks very grown up doesn't she Midori?" Fujimoto seemed happy as always, oblivious to the world around him and the vibes everyone was giving off.

"She's still just a stupid kid though, I don't see why everybody's making a deal about her." And Ichi was as miserable as always, creating the said negative vibes.

Grasping her small chin gently between his fingers, Midori stared down at his work and team mate with a sinister smile on his face.

"The only one making a big deal here is you." She pouted at the painfully true statement but Midori continued speaking before she could try to defend herself or dig the hole she was in even deeper.

"Let's try and have a fun night hm Ichi? For our good friends at team Toy Gun Gun?" Staring deeply into her eyes, he patiently waited for her response.

There was no rush though, she could be as stubborn as she wanted, he just loved to see her squirm.

She barely lasted ten seconds before she pulled herself out of his grip and took a step back.

"Okay fine, we'll have fun. But I'm not socializing with that scruffy four eyes or the pretty boy host." Grabbing Fujimoto's arm, the tiny woman kicked him solidly in the shin to vent some of her frustration and then continued to pull him alongside her, leaving Midori to follow slowly behind them.

As they entered the apartment, his eyes locked on to Tachibana who was floating around the room, greeting all of her friends and looking extremely happy.

Sat in the corner of the room, Midori didn't converse with Tachibana for the rest of the party but instead, followed her movements with a cold, calculating gaze. If she noticed, she didn't make it obvious or known to him.

He just couldn't figure her out, she wasn't the same girl she used to be, not even close. Everything he knew about her one year previous was all wrong now.

"Why are you sat over here by yourself?" Fujimoto bent over to stare curiously at his friend who had been in the same position for the past hour, with Ichi sat close by, mimicking his movements without realizing.

She was someone who looked up to him for all the wrong reasons, why did he attract decent people? He just wanted everyone to stop assuming that because he looks kind that he will treat them well.

'I want to see you all burn.'

Didn't these idiots know that evil always hides behind a pretty face?

"Just getting a little tired Fujimon." Faking a yawn, he stretched his muscular arms behind his head and smirked when he noticed that he had gained the attention of the parties guest of honor.

"Working all those nights at the hospital are catching up to me, maybe we should get going." He could feel his eyes light up at the disappointed look that was now etched on Tachibana's face.

'If you don't want me to go, come talk to me little girl.'

"Yeah. I don't know why you insisted we come. Coming to a child's party, how ridiculous." Ichi's voice was cold and stunk of jealousy, it seriously ticked Midori off.

"Why don't you learn to bite your tongue sometimes Ichi? We're leaving." The petite woman seemed hurt at the harsh bite to his words, he had never snapped at her before. It was like seeing a whole different side to her leader, who in her eyes, could not do any wrong.

Glancing over at the three members of Toy Gun Gun, his eyes only focused on Tachibana's emerald ones that shone as bright as the moon that was hanging in the sky above them.

It had never been her looks that had intrigued him, it was her spirit. Never had he seen one so strong, oh how he wanted to break it.

She was very intriguing, he wanted to know everything about her. Inside and out.

But he couldn't do that with those two always hanging around her all the time like flies on shit. His eyes examined Matsuoka and Yukimura who were strangely close to each other.

From watching Tachibana all night, he had unknowingly been watching them too and he couldn't help but notice how they were always touching each other, be it theirs hands were interlocked or their thighs touching. Something had definitely changed there.

Other people might not have noticed but Midori saw everything.

It was common knowledge that Yukimura was obsessed with his teammate whereas Matsuoka had been obsessed with Midori for years, after all, he was the reason that Matsuoka always took part in TGC.

But now, his eyes didn't seek the leader of Hoshimori anymore, they stayed focused on his best friend. In the past, he might have been jealous of someone else stealing Matsuoka's attention away from him but he had a new toy now.

A much more fun one that was ready and willing to give him hours of entertainment, she just didn't know it yet.

"Hey Fujimon?" The white haired male dropped the food he was eating and focused solely on Midori as he spoke to him. "Go get our stuff, I'm going to go say goodbye to Tachibana." The large man nodded his head obediently and disappeared into the adjoining room to collect their coats, Ichi followed behind him with her head tucked against her chest.

'She looks like a dog that's been scolded.'

He smirked at he imagined her with a tail tucked between her legs.

'Maybe I should get her a collar for her next birthday.'

"Midori, are you leaving already? I've barely spoken to you, I feel so rude, especially after you came all this way to see me." Tachibana had snuck up behind him and poked the soft spot between his ribs and his hips to gain his attention and it seriously tickled.

'Speaking of collars, here's another person I wouldn't mind keeping on a leash.'

A soft laugh fell from his lips at the wide eyed stare she was directing at him. She really was too cute sometimes.

"I'm afraid we all have very early shifts tomorrow, it's that time of year where all of the children come for their shots and sadly he." Midori pointed over at Fujimoto with a small smile on his face. "Frightens all of the little kiddies and sends them running to me. So I need my sleep otherwise I might be grumpy tomorrow and have to punish him for doubling my workload because he can't deal with children."

Tachibana's face grew pale as she looked over at the oblivious white haired man who was holding Midori's jacket and trying to make small talk with a completely uninterested Ichi.

"Punish him? It's not Fujimoto's fault that he scares children, I think he's very gentle and friendly."

Midori raised his eyebrows at her. "Oh do you really? What else do you like about my dear Fujimon?" He knew he was teasing her but the blush that was spreading across her cheeks was something he was rather fond of so anything that got it to appear.

"Oh no, I didn't mean I liked him like that, not at all. Not that I don't think he's not a nice person it's just-"

Interrupting her adorable babbling, Midori leaned close to her face, close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath tickling her cheek.

"What do you think of me, Tachibana?"

"She thinks you're a dick, back off." Feeling himself being shoved back, Midori let out a short laugh and stared at the person responsible.

"Haruki, always making yourself known aren't you." The fourth member of Toy Gun Gun had obviously not liked how close the two of them had been getting and appeared like her knight in shining tin foil.

"Haru-Haruki" Tachibana seemed mortified at the spectacle they were now making and began to whisper to try and deflect the unwanted attention from all the other people in the room. "I don't think that."

Throwing a glare directed at Midori over his shoulder, Haruki squeezed Tachibana's hand and whispered something in her ear, then walked across to where Yukimura and Matsuoka were absorbed in their own little world.

They hadn't noticed their little Tachibana being caressed by the big bad man?

'Yep, something is up with those two boys.'

"I am so sorry." Tachibana apologized. "Haruki does have a bit of a temper but he should never-" Cupping her cheek in his hand, he pulled the softest of expressions and winked at her.

"Open your present and let me know your answer before the end of the week. I'll be waiting, Tachibana."

Leaving her with a confused expression, Midori swept past the furious looking Haruki and couldn't help what happened next. It was simply out of his control, he couldn't be expected to keep his sadistic tendencies in check.

As he tutted softly, Haruki's eyes narrowed at the man as he tapped him on the end his nose.

"If you keep up that type of behavior, you're practically giving her to me."

A growl that a lion would be jealous of rippled from Haruki's mouth and caught the attention of the rest of the room.

"Is everything okay?" Fujimoto had appeared behind Midori with a menacing aura that only ever came out when he felt like one of his comrades were in danger, otherwise he was as harmless as a fly.

"It's fine, isn't it Haruki?" Grinning, he left the man stewing in his own thoughts and disappeared along with his two friends.

"What the hell was that about Tachibana? And what on earth is this." He flicked the long strands of hair that were falling down her back with his fingers and pulled a 'what the fuck' face.

Still grasping Midori's present in her hand, she tucked the hair behind her ears and frowned.

"Don't what the hell Tachibana me, what the hell were you thinking? Midori didn't do anything and you shoved him."

"He exists, that's more than enough for me to want to shove him." It was like Haruki was a completely different person, someone full of hate and she didn't like it, not one bit.

"Are you tired? Do you feel ill? Want to come lie down in my bed? It might be a little dusty but otherwise fine."

Shooting her a questioning look, he couldn't even respond as she pulled him along to her bedroom.

"I knew it." Tachibana closed the door, leaving them in complete darkness and pushed him backwards until his legs hit the back of her bed and he fell to the mattress with a soft thud.

He could feel his face growing hot as she crawled on top of him and pulled his jumper up his stomach.

"W-what are you doing? Tachibana?" His fingers felt numb as he tried to push her off him.

"Oh calm down, I can't see anything and you are clearly too sleep deprived to take off your own jumper." As she removed his outer layer of clothing, he was relieved when she left him with his shorts on and his vest top on.

"If you sleep fully clothed, you will not feel rested. You've been working too hard with your exams, I can tell." He let his head relax against her pillow and let out a soft sigh. She continued to talk to him which made him very happy.

He'd been so busy with studying for his med school exams that he didn't quite realize how much he had missed her and her voice over the past year.

"Tachibana, I'm sorr-" Something soft covered his mouth and stopped him from talking more. She had pressed his jumper over his face, succeeding in smothering his speech.

"No talking, go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up. I promise."

Despite wanting to stay awake and talk to her for the rest of the night, he couldn't stop the heaviness of his eyes overpowering him and sending him into a dreamless sleep.

As soon as Haruki's breathing had evened out and she knew he was asleep, she turned on the small flashlight on her cell phone and silently opened her present, gifted to her by Midori.

'I wonder what he could have gotten me.'

As she removed the small ribbon and lifted the lid off the box, her mouth fell open slightly. Lying against a single piece of tissue paper was a panda phone charm and a leaflet.

It was a pamphlet for the upcoming TCC tournament that she had taken part in last year, sadly cosplaying as a panda.

'How did he know?'

A small, handwritten note was at the bottom of the page. It was an elegant script that she could imagine Midori using, he was a very graceful man most of the time, it suited him.

It simply said:

'We fought very well at the last TCC didn't we Tachibana? How would you like to give it another go this year, together?' - Horse/Midori

"No way." She stuttered out.

Dropping the note to the floor, her heart began to beat at an abnormally fast pace. Could she fight along side him, without her team there? She'd already done it once before, granted she wasn't aware it was Midori who was behind that horse mask.

As her eyes looked at the piece of paper once more, she noticed he had also added his number in the corner for her to contact him.

Flipping out her phone, she let her fingers slide across the keyboard and pressed send before she could try and convince herself otherwise.

"Good night Midori, see you bright and early in the morning for breakfast." Nodding at his friends, the leader of Hoshishiro stripped out of his clothes and turned the lights in his apartment off.

A soft buzzing from his trousers pocket on the floor caught his attention. He rarely used his cellphone so hearing it vibrating could only mean one thing.

As he stared down at the phone screen, he couldn't hold back the grin that swallowed his face whole.

"That was quick Tachibana." He mumbled as he closed the phone and retired to his bedroom.

'I look forward to it.' - Panda/Tachibana