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CHAPTER 8

The next day there was rain.

Buckets poured down onto the streets, splattering on the window shields and onto the roof tiles covering Shiho's roof. She opened a tired eye and shut again. It was fifteen minutes later when her alarm sounded when she opened a sleepy eye once more. She watched the alarm clock with slitted eyes for a full minute until the alarm died away when she shut her eyes again.

" Shiho!" came her sister's voice at the door. " You're going to be late!"

She opened her eye again, before shutting it again.

The dog next door was barking at some cat, person or tree stump.

Shiho opened her eye before shutting it again.

" Crap." she muttered.

She rubbed her tired head and sat up right on her bed, trying to allow her eyes to get used to the bright light shining into her room. A burp tried to erupt through her throat but she merely groaned and fell back down, hitting her head hard against the pillow. " I think that burp died trying to get out of my mouth." she muttered to herself, massaging her chest uncomfortably.

Well, this was awkward.

" Shiho!" came her sister's voice again, this time more concerned.

" Yeah, I'm coming." Shiho moaned, but made no motion of getting up.

Around five minutes later, Akemi got the hint and opened the door, stepping across the room to her sister. " What's wrong, Shiho?" Akemi asked worriedly.

" Nothing." Shiho muttered. " Just tired, that's all."

Akemi bit her lip and pressed her wrist against Shiho forehead.

" Oh my, you've come down with a fever." she said. " I'll make you some chicken soup."

" No, I'm fine." Shiho said stubbornly, struggling to get up, but after much wasting of her enegry, she plonked back down onto her bed, exhausted.

" You don't look so fine to me." Akemi said, pulling up the blankets of her tired sister's bed to her neck and smiled down at her. " Just lie down and relax." she said confidently. " I'll call the school for you, and after that you can have some of my homemade chicken soup, okay?"

Shiho knew her sister well enough to know that there was no use arguing.

" Okay," she said. " Thank you."

Akemi walked to the door, before pausing.

" Come to think of it, you don't fall sick that much." she said.

" No." Shiho said, yawning. " I don't."

Akemi let out a mysterious smile.

" You only got a fever. . .that time, I think."

Shiho opened a tired eye once more.

" When?" she was about to ask, but before she opened her mouth, her sister had already swung the door shut, and left the room without a sight.

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" Where's Miss Miyano?"

" She's called in sick today." the replacement teacher said, coughing unnecessarily. " Now, Kudo-kun, would you please get back to you seat?"

Shinichi bit his lip and walked back to his place next to Ran, and sat down. Ran and Sonoko leaned in towards him questioningly. " Well?" Sonoko asked him eagerly. " Where did Miss Miyano go? Don't tell me she left already."

" Nah," Shinichi said, twirling his pen with his fingers. " She's on leave. I think I'll vist her later on. See if she's alright."

" You know where she lives?" Ran asked.

" Yeah." he said casually. " She told me."

Ran felt a pang of jealously for a slight moment but shook it off. " Do you want to go there together?" she asked hopefully.

" No." he said so sharply that the both of them jumped. " I want to visit her alone."

Sonoko would have slapped him if the teacher didn't let out a loud cough that cracked paint off the walls. ' How dare he be so cold to Ran? Does he not love her anymore? What on earth is his problem with her?'

Those were all half right.

He was cold to her in the beginning because he wanted her to be jealous of him and Shiho and thus fall in love with him once more. But as the days passed, he didn't care if she hated or liked him anymore. He was just about ready to tell Miss Miyano that he didn't have to got for her 'lessons' already, as he did not love the objective anymore.

But he liked being around her.

There was something about Shiho that made him feel happy around.

And she didn't make him feel sad.

And she didn't break his heart.

At that moment, Ran sneezed.

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Akemi was not the sort of person who forgot things easily. All the way from when she was five years old, she would jot down everything down into her multiple diaries, all catoragised by the good and the bad. But it was not just because of her diaries that she remembered almost everything, but was because of her fantastic memory.

She knew where everything was kept, put, and taken.

It was just in the afternoon while she was making her chicken soup for Shiho when the doorbell rang. She blinked and walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. Just after a small glance, a grin spread across her face as she opened the door.

About ten schoolgirls were at the door.

" Good afternoon," she said brightly. " May I help you?"

" Oh, hello." one of them said, looking sheepish. Apparently she thought that they had reached the wrong household. " Is this the house of Shiho Miyano?"

" Yes, it is." Akemi said, nodding.

Their faces split into obvious grins.

" She did not come to school today," one of the girls said eagerly. " We thought we would just stop by and ask what was wrong."

" Would you like to come inside?" Akemi asked.

" It's okay." some of them said, shaking their heads furiously. " Since you answered the door. . .we guessed that she was sleeping. . .and we don't want to trouble her or anything. . .so could you pass this to her?" In one of their hands was a can of porridge. " We made it together." they chirped. " Tell her to get well soon, so she can come back to teach us."

Akemi smiled warmly at them.

" Okay then. Thanks for caring for my sister."

They bowed, and ran off, chatting excitedly.

Akemi watched them enter the lift and disappear before shutting the door, placing the porridge on the table. " Will HE come too, I wonder?" she whispered, looking at the picture on the kitchen table once more.

She smiled to herself.

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Sanshriyuki stood before Shiho's house, chewing on his bottom lip.

" So this is where Miyano-sensei lives. . ." he muttered, digging his nails into his palms. He watched the ten young students, giggling non-stop, walk out of the lift past him. He raised his eyebrows. Looks like Sonoko really had all the resources he needed. He looked at the pad of paper she gave him. Not only did it have her full name and age, but her address, phone number and handphone number too.

It was almost scary.

He took in a deep breath and shoved the sheet of paper back into his pocket.

This was it.

The point of no return.

He was about to step into the lift when someone dashed past him, running up the stairs.

His eyes followed the person before he vanished out of sight.

His eyes widened.

" Kudo?" he whispered.

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Akemi was about to finish making the chicken soup that she had made previously when the doorbell rang once more. She raised her eyebrows and crossed the fridge, which now held an extra bowl of porridge inside. She opened the door slowly and expectantly, and an grin filled up on her face.

' Well, who do we have here?' she thought to herself, amused. He certainly was good-looking. Especially with that nervous, squirmy look on his face, she knew he must have been one of her admirers. Or friends, to the least.

" Yes, may I help you?" she asked, grinning.

" Er. . .yes, my name is Shinichi and I'm a student of Shiho Miyano." he said. There was something oddly familiar with him; something she just couldn't point out at the moment. Even with her fantastic memory, something slipped her mind for the slightest of a second, and she just blinked, looking at him. " I was wondering if I could come in to meet her."

She was sleeping.

Akemi would have told that to him and he would leave like the girls before.

But something stopped her.

It was strange, but something stopped her.

" Why, of course," she said, unlocking the gate. " Come right in."

He smiled at her and walked in, a can of porridge in his hands. She would have swooned if she didn't realize the fact that she was way older than he was at that moment. He pulled off his shoes and placed them on the shoe rack before looking around at the house from where he stood, confused.

" First door on the right." she said.

" Right."

He walked off, her eyes staring at his back, biting her lip.

" Have we met before?" she asked.

He turned around, blinking.

" Not that I know of." he replied.

She seemed satisfied with his answer for the moment, before nodding. " Alright then." she said. " I'll be in the kitchen if you need me."

" Thank you." he said, before entering the door and shut the door.

She just stood there, eyebrows raised.

After a while she got back to her senses and walked back to the kitchen. She let out a yawn and picked up the ladle to taste her soup when she stopped, her head darting sharply to the door where it held Shiho and Shinichi.

" No," she whispered. " Not. . .Kudo Shinichi?"

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Oh, Hell no.

Shinichi had entered the room, shut the door, and found out that his teacher was sleeping on her bed, totally unaware of his presence. But it was not only that. It was the way she was dressing that made him want to both pounce on her and run out at the same time. There was a skimpy tanktop draped on her shoulders, with pants that barely went lower than her thighs. He bit his lip and diverted his attention to other parts of her room.

Her paintings. . .

Her books. . .

Her wardrobe. . .

He mentally slapped himself.

His eyes went back to her paintings, and he smiled. They were roughly sketched, and seemed to be pencil or charcoal drawn. Did she make them herself? He stuffed his hands in his pockets, stealing a peek of her sleeping figure, and smiled.

She just looked so sweet when she was sleeping. There was a strange feeling of dominance watching his teacher sleep there, her eyes shut peacefully, totally unaware that he was standing there, watching her.

" Miyano-sensei. . " he started, but stopped.

Slowly and quietly, he drew a chair from her desk and sat down on it.

And there he sat.

And there she slept.

Alone in the room, enjoying the presence of each other.

Maybe not for Shiho, that is.

But Shinichi guessed he would just have to live with that for the meantime.

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Sanshriyuki looked at his watch impatiently, clicking his tongue. Shinichi was in there for over half an hour, and that was way longer than the girls before him took. He frowned up at the heavens as if it were their fault.

" Damn," he muttered, turning his heel to leave, when he noticed a car pulling up on the drive. He watched the owner step out of it with the corner of his eye. The man wasn't too bad looking; he was around his age, must probably. But his face was colder than anyone's he had ever seen, his hands tucked in his back pockets. He slammed the car door shut, and made his way up the small slope leading to the apartments.

He brushed past Sanshriyuki, barely looking at him.

Sanshriyuki turned his head slightly around, watching him walk out of sight.

Who was HE?

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Shiho opened her eyes before shutting it again.

Five seconds later, she was doing the same routine again.

And then again.

And again and again and again.

" You're awake." came a male's voice.

Her eyes widened as she sat up in surprise.

" Kudo?" she said, rubbing her tired eyes.

He smiled at her warmly.

" How long have you been here?"

" Just five minutes ago." he lied.

She sat upright, a strap of her tanktop slipping off for a second before she pulled it up nonchalantly, not noticing Shinichi's beet red face.

" So. . .you have a fever?" he asked, concerned.

" Yeah." she said carelessly. " But I'll be back tomorrow."

" That's good to know."

There was an awkward pause.

A knock on the door saved the both of them from starting a new conversation, and Shiho let out a small breath of relief. " Come in." she said.

Her sister stood at the door.

" Oh, are you awake already?" she said.

" Yeah." Shiho said. " Why didn't you tell me my student arrived?"

Akemi raised her eyebrows, surprised.

" I didn't think you would have minded. He was here for over an hour already."

That was it.

Shinichi wanted to just die on the spot.

Shiho looked at him, eyes wide.

" Whoops. . ." Akemi said apologetically, but by the smile on her face that was widening by the minute, the two of them knew that she did not regret what she just did at all. " I guess I'll just leave. I'll put the chicken soup I made for you in the fridge."

She shut the door behind her.

Shiho's shocked expression remained on her face.

Shinichi bit his lip, looking away.

" I. . .I didn't want to wake you up." he muttered, blushing.

A smirk filled her face.

" Awww. . .how sweet." she said mockingly.

He blushed.

" hey, I got you something to eat." he said. " I made it myself, so I don't think it would taste as good as your sister's. Plus, it's cold."

Her face turned crimson.

He. . .made it himself?

" It's alright." she said. " I'm hungry anyway.'

He smiled and opened the top of the lid, tasting a bit.

Darn, it was cold.

" Try it." he said, lifting the spoon to her lips.

She nodded and opened her mouth, allowing him to place the spoon in her mouth before drawing it out.

" Is it cold?" he asked nervously.

" No." she said, blushing.

No it wasn't cold.

It was so hot that it was almost scalding.

Or maybe it was just because of Kudo.

She smiled at him.

And he returned it.

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The man outside lit a cigarette and pulled out a picture of the familiar girl.

He dropped the cigarette onto the ground and stepped on it.

He smirked.

" I guess she still lives here." he whispered, looking up at the skies.

END OF CHAPTER 8

Who's the mysterious character?

Please keep reading and reviewing!

Thank you!

ReViEw rEsPoNsEs

wayupi. . . .Whoa, maybe you're right. But that's just plain weird, right? Lolz. Thanks for reviewing my stories all this while, sorry for making you wait long, once again.

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Adilla. . . .Well, take a rough guess, I'm not telling anything.

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