Author's Note: I apologize in advance for my horrible writing skills. But please, bare with me.

Disclaimer: Ayashi no Ceres and all its characters belong to the Almighty Holy One, Yu Watase. I don't own anything but myself. But I sure as hell wish I owned Yuuhi Aogiri. *grins*

Yuuhi saw that Helen was asleep so he carefully laid down on the floor and let her head rest on his chest. His arm was still around her, but her hand that was around his waist was now resting on his chest next to her head. It feels like we're married, Yuuhi thought, giving a smirk. He took in everything around him: the scent of her hair, the rhythm of her breathing, the entire moment. They slept like that for quite some time until Yuuhi woke up and noticed that the sun was coming up in a few hours. It's still dark out, but everyone's gonna wake up in a couple of hours.

"Aya," Yuuhi said. "Aya? Wake up." Not an answer came from Helen, who was still sound asleep.

"Stubborn, eh? I guess I'll have you carry you to your room then." Yuuhi carefully stood up, trying not to wake her. He put his right arm under her back and his left under her legs. He lifted her up so that her head was resting on his upper arm. "Alright. I feel like Superman." He smiled as he began to struggle a bit.

Yuuhi quietly carried her to her room and opened the sliding door with his foot. He set her down on the futon and covered her with her blanket. "That was easy enough," Yuuhi said, panting. He looked at her sleeping face as he sat beside her. "I don't know why," he began, "but I can just sit here for hours, even days, and look at you sleeping peacefully like this." He moved her bangs away from her face and put his hand by her cheek. He looked at her lips and bent down lower. When his lips were close enough to hers, he gave her a gentle but long kiss. "Goodnight," he said as he got up and walked to his room.

* * *

"Aya, wake up," Mrs. Q said. "Aya. It's almost eleven. You should wake up."

Not a single sound came from her. Mrs. Q poked her several times but she still didn't wake up.

"AYA!!! WAKE UP AYA!!!" Mrs Q yelled. After several moments of no response, Mrs. Q finally concluded something. "OH NO...!!! IT CAN'T BE!!! AYA'S DEAD!!! AYA'S DEAD....!!! BUT SHE'S STILL SO YOUNG!!!" She sobbed as she sat near her side.

Footsteps were heard running to the room. "Mrs. Q, what's going on?" Yuuhi asked as he pushed open the door.

"AYA'S DEAD!!!!" she replied, hanging onto Yuuhi's leg.

"WHAT?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER??? DID YOU LET HER SEE YOUR FACE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT?!" Yuuhi yelled.

"I tried to wake her up, but she wouldn't wake up!"

Yuuhi froze. She can't be dead, Yuuhi thought. I was just with her last night... Tears of fear began to come from his eyes.

"What's all this noise?" Suzumi said as she entered the room.

"AYA WON'T WAKE UP!!!" Mrs. Q and Yuuhi said in unison as they fell to the floor with tears running out of their eyes.

Suzumi graciously walked over to the young lady and kneeled beside her. "Helen, wake up. It's about eleven o'clock," she said with a normal voice.

Yuuhi and Mrs. Q stopped sobbing when they heard a yawn. "Is it eleven already?" Helen asked while stretching her arms.

"She answers better to her real name," Suzumi said. "It's only common sense, knowing about this situation, to call her by her real name if she doesn't answer to Aya."

Helen sat up and saw Yuuhi and Mrs. Q with red eyes. "What's wrong? What's with the tears? Did someone die?"

Mrs. Q got up and ran out of the room with tears of joy yelling, "Aya's alive!!! She's not dead!!!" Suzumi followed behind, leaving Helen alone with Yuuhi.

"Yuuhi, what's going on? Why were you--" Helen was cut short when she suddenly felt Yuuhi wrap his arms around her and embrace her tightly and lovingly. He embraced her as if he never wanted to let her go or be away from her. She sat on the futon for a while as he hugged her, not knowing what to say or do next. She felt his hand rest on the back of her head. "Yuuhi...what's all this special treatment for?" she was finally able to ask with a smile.

"I was...so scared," Yuuhi said, still embracing her. "My heart was pounding so hard and so fast. Mrs. Q sounded so serious. I was hoping it wasn't true. I didn't want it to be. I don't ever want it to be. Just thinking for a moment that you're going to leave me scares the hell out of me. Please, Aya, don't ever leave me."

"Yuuhi," Helen said as she pulled herself out of the embrace. She looked at him and saw his emotions in his eyes. She put her hands on his cheeks and said, "I'm not Aya." She ran a hand through his hair and dried what was left of his previous tears. That's right, Helen began to think. Whatever emotion he shows for me, is actually for Aya. He doesn't love me. How could I even think he could love me? He doesn't really know me or how I look like. I shouldn't get involved in a relationship with him. He'll think it's Aya that's showing affection for him like this.

Helen slid her hands off Yuuhi's face and began to cry softly. A soft cry of hopelessness. Tears just began to fall.

"What's wrong?" Yuuhi asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just happy to see that people care," Helen lied as she dried her own tears. "I should stop crying so much and get dressed."

Yuuhi just sat there. "Um, Yuuhi, that means 'I need some privacy now'."

"Oh, yeah, I knew that," Yuuhi said as he got up and walked out of the room. "You know, you're a bad liar," he said to himself when he left the room.

When Helen finished dressing, she ran to the kitchen to find Yuuhi and start their day together.

"YUUHI! ARE YOU READY YET???" she yelled as she ran down the hall. She entered the kitchen and creeped up behind him. He had his headphones on, so he couldn't hear anything. She looked over his shoulder to see what he was cooking and was amazed by how fast his hands were moving with the knife. When he stopped cutting, she poked him hard in the ribs and he let out a cry.

"AH!" Yuuhi yelled as he turned around and pointed the knife at Helen.

"Yuuhi, it's just me," Helen said, standing stiff with her hands by her side and trying to keep her face as far away from the knife as possible.

"Oh, hehe, sorry," Yuuhi apologized as he put the knife back on the counter. He washed his hands and dried them with a nearby cloth.

"I should apologize. I was the one who poked you. Sorry. It's a habit of mine. I find it fun to poke people. So are you ready to leave yet?"

"Let me change first," Yuuhi said, rubbing the spot where Helen had poked him as he left the kitchen. She pokes hard...

Yuuhi wore a baby blue flannel that was unbuttoned to show the white muscle shirt he wore under and khaki pants. He walked to the car gate so that Mrs. Q could drive them into town and finally noticed what Helen was wearing.

"You're gonna go out in THAT?!" he questioned. His eyes widened and he tried to avoid drowning in a pool of his own saliva.

Helen looked down at the black spaghetti strap tank top and dark blue denim shorts she was wearing. "You mean Aya doesn't wear this? I found it in her room."

"B-b-but...you're revealing so much skin," Yuuhi said, partially satisfied.

"It's okay, right? It's a hot day afterall," she replied.

"Yeah, you're right. So where do you wanna go?"

"Where do you wanna go, Yuuhi?"

Yuuhi shrugged and said, "Beats me. I live around here, so I don't find anything very exciting anymore. Let's just go where you wanna. It'll be a day for you to explore the city and get used to things around here."

"Are you sure?" Helen asked with a sparkle in her eye.

"Yeah."

Moments later in the car, Yuuhi said, "I can't believe we're going SHOPPING. I should've known. She's a girl, afterall."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Helen asked as she put her face right in front of his, cornering him to the door on his side of the car.

Mrs. Q turned a corner sharply, causing Helen to fall on top of Yuuhi with their lips almost touching.

"Yuuhi, get off of me. You should learn to control your teenage hormones."

"Take a closer look at this! You're the one that fell on top of me!"

"Uh huh, that's what they all say," Helen said sternly as she retreated to her side. They both looked at each other and gave a light laugh. Mrs. Q looked somewhat satisfied in the front seat.

Helen and Yuuhi got out of the car when they reached the entrance of the shopping center.

"Thanks, Mrs. Q," Helen said as she closed the car door.

"Yuuhi, you should learn to treat me with the respect I deserve from Aya," Mrs. Q. suggested.

"Just hurry up and drive off already!" Yuuhi yelled.

"She's right, you know," Helen said as Mrs. Q drove off.

"Let's just go," Yuuhi said. A light breeze blew by and he watched Helen as her hair blew along with the wind. The trees were swaying as they entered the shopping center.

"Wow! It's so huge!" Helen said with big eyes when she took a look around. She saw a number of people carrying shopping bags, drinks, food, etc. People were walking in all directions, giving it the usual atmosphere of a mall.

"Yuuhi, let's go in this store!" Helen said excitedly as she walked towards a store to the right side of the mall that sold men and women's clothing, dragging Yuuhi by the arm.

"Look! It's Aogiri and Mikage! I never knew they were an item!" a male voice yelled from the left. Yuuhi stopped, causing Helen to postpone some browsing.

"What the hell are you saying?!" Yuuhi yelled as he walked towards the boy with Helen following closely behind. "We're not! Ishida, you dumbass!"

"Is that true Mikage?" the boy asked.

"Huh?" Helen said, looking completely clueless.

"Tell Ishida the truth, Aya," Yuuhi said as he elbowed her gently.

"Oh, uh...o-of course it's not true," Helen said as she laughed nervously.

"Sure..." Ishida said as he eyed the two with suspicion. "Well, I'll see you two at school! Bye!"

"Bye!" Helen and Yuuhi said in unison.

"I don't know the people Aya's supposed to know," Helen said as she feared what might happen at school when the boy walked away.

"It's alright. I'll help you out," Yuuhi said as he put his hands in his pockets.

"Great! Now, let's go shop!" Helen dragged Yuuhi to the store with excitement. Helen looked through racks and racks full of clothing, but found nothing she liked. She saw a shirt that caught her eye and walked over to the men's side of the store.

"Yuuhi, I think this'll look great on you," Helen said as she examined a red plaid flannel shirt with a smile on her face. "Or maybe this one!" She picked up a dark blue flannel shirt.

"They're all flannel shirts," Yuuhi said.

"You're right. They are." Helen looked at the shirts she picked out. "I guess it's only because I have a flannel fetish."

"Flannel fetish?"

"Yeah, flannel fetish. I just love it when guys wear flannel. Especially the way you wear it." Helen gave a big smile as she checked out Yuuhi's outfit.

"Oh really? Then I should wear things like this more often, huh?" Yuuhi teased.

"Sure," Helen said as she winked at him. "Let's go to a different store." She dragged Yuuhi out of the store by the arm. She smiled and thought, This is great. I get to spend the entire day with him. He's such a nice person. She stopped and let go of his arm. I shouldn't get too close. I'll just end up hurt. She frowned and looked at the floor.

"What's wrong? Why did you stop walking all of a sudden?"

"Oh, nothing!" Helen said as she turned around. "I was just thinking that if we go to fast, we wouldn't have as much fun." She put on a fake smile.

"Okay...whatever you say," Yuuhi said. She's hiding something, he thought.

She walked a few steps ahead of him and stopped when something shiny caught her eye. She walked back a couple of steps to look through the window of a jewelry store and saw a beautiful white gold necklace with a heart-shaped pennant that was covered with small diamonds. "Wow..." Helen said in awe as she looked at the necklace and put her hands on the window. "It's so beautiful. I'd like to get something like that from someone I love."

Yuuhi took a look at the necklace and said, "It's just a heart-shaped necklace with shiny rocks on it. Nothing special."

Helen hit the back of his head and said, "You idiot. You don't know much about girls, do you?" She walked off.

"Wait," Yuuhi said as he took one last look at the necklace before walking off. "I'm sorry," he said when he caught up to her. Helen looked straight ahead and said nothing. "Please, don't be mad at me. I'm a guy. I don't know better."

After a pause, Helen said, "Yuuhi, is there anything special or significant I should know about Aya?"

"There's Ceres. Have you been hearing voices in your head?"

"No, I haven't."

"Um, she likes karaoke."

"Yuuhi, is there anything more important?" She stopped walking and looked Yuuhi in the eye. "I know Ceres is an important thing, but I want to know something as important as that."

"There's Tooya," Yuuhi quickly replied as he turned around.

"Tooya?"

"Yeah, Tooya. He's the one Aya loves." Helen saw that Yuuhi had clenched fists as he said this.

"Yuuhi..."

"I swear, I don't know what she sees in him. He's never there for her when she needs him. She's always crying because of him too. It just hurts me so much to see her like that."

"Yuuhi, I don't think you'll be seeing her cry as much for a while. I don't think I love Tooya like she does. I just--" Helen stopped when she felt an excruciating pain build up in her body. She began to tremble and wrapped her arms around herself.

"Aya! Aya, what happened?" Yuuhi said in great concern. Helen collapsed to her knees and tried to overcome the pain. "Aya!" Yuuhi rushed to her side as she fainted to the floor.