A/N: This chapter is a return to the alternate retelling of what happened in the canon – starting off at chapter 218, the "Misaki Arc". Based on what Fumiya says in the chapter this arc starts right before the Spring Semester, the spring vacation being "halfway over" to quote the manga, which based on some quick research would be roughly 03/30-04/02. Per my current roadmap for the story the Misaki Arc should take us through Chapter 14 of A Retelling. I hope everyone who reads this enjoys it!

What?

Afternoon of March 30th...

It had been a busy month and a half since his trip to New York, and Natsuo was currently throwing himself into helping Forester with anything he could, seeing as he wasn't currently able to do the script writing for them. He went from task to task as it was requested of him: painting, applying varnish, checking the lighting equipment, cutting pattern paper etc.

Watching from the side with a hint of longing in her eyes was Miyabi, barely noticing as another member fitted a mock-up of a dress on her. After a few moments of watching Natsuo she was jolted out of her trance by a voice saying, "Talk about a thirsty stare, you're undressing him with your eyes aren't you?

Miyabi squeaked in response as she turned her head in a panic to see Kuzuoka looking at her with a taunting grin. As she felt her face heat up Miyabi asked, "Nene-san?! What are you talking about?!"

"Don't try to fool me," Kuzuoka replied coyly, "You were practically drooling you know."

Miyabi shook her head as she denied, "Don't be foolish, I wasn't drooling..."

"Oh yes you were. It was written all over your face: 'Oh Fuji-kun, hold me close! Kiss me Fuji-kun!'. You can't fool me you know. Have you still not made your move Miyabi?" Kuzuoka taunted with a leer.

Miyabi, having covered her face as it turned bright red, slowly uncovered it and replied, "I won't be making any moves Nene-san."

Kuzuoka tilted her head and gave a deadpan expression as she simply asked, "What?"

Miyabi steeled herself before she answered, "Natsuo-kun... he and his girlfriend had a fight back in January because of me. They worked things out, and then he invited me to lunch in order to talk to me. He made himself very clear: he has no intention of leaving her, he's fully committed to her. He values my friendship, but he doesn't think of me in any way beyond that. I intend to honor his wishes: I'd rather have him as a friend than not at all."

Kuzuoka's eyes narrowed in annoyance as she said, "So you're just giving up, and here I thought you had the backbone to go after what you wanted."

"I... I wanted to be with Natsuo-kun... and I'd be lying if I said my feelings are gone, but when I saw how hurt Rui-san, his girlfriend, was when they fought... that made me question what I was doing. And then once he made his feelings clear... I fully realized that what I was doing was wrong. I want him to be happy... even if that means it's not with me," Miyabi replied, her confidence increasing the longer she spoke.

Kuzuoka was silent for a moment as she studied her face, her expression unreadable. She eventually let out a sigh as she said, "So that's how it is... Well I can see that there's no point in trying to persuade you to keep at it if you've already come to that decision."

"I'm sorry Nene-san, I know you spent a lot of time and energy trying to help me with this..." Miyabi replied with a sorrowful tone and sad smile.

In response Kuzuoka waved her hand dismissively and said, "Don't worry about it. I helped mostly out of curiosity... but it was entertaining even if you've given up."

Miyabi let out a small laugh as she replied, "Well I'm glad to have provided some entertainment, even if it didn't turn out as originally planned. I do thank you for trying to help Nene-san."

Before Kuzuoka could respond someone called out, "Serizawa-san! Can we get your opinion on this costume design?"

"Be right there!" Miyabi replied before she turned to Kuzuoka and said, "Sorry, looks like I'm needed for something. Talk to you later Nene-san?"

Kuzuoka nodded as she replied, "Yeah, I'll talk to you later." She watched as Miyabi waved and then headed off to assist with the costume design. Once she was out of ear shot she mumbled to herself, "She's pathetic." After saying this she gazed around the large room, taking a mental note of the guys she'd added to her count of conquests, more than half the guys in Forester were on that list.

Her eyes lingered on Natsuo as he continued to assist with the most recent project he'd been enlisted on, letting out a sigh as she thought, "So far he's the only one who actually resisted when I tried to seduce him..."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Natsuo looked around and saw her, giving her a cautious expression and wave before returning to his task. With a sigh she made her way out of the room, needing to use the restroom. Once she was alone in the hall she voiced her thoughts as a whisper, "He's fully committed to his girlfriend huh? Well we'll just have to see about that won't we... I've never let a guy get away before. His kind words threw me off, and I wanted to see if I could get that prude to seduce him... But I want to see just how "committed" he really is."


That evening...

Natsuo had just finished his dinner and was about to clean up when he hard a knock on his door. He paused and muttered, "Who could that be?" before he made his way to the apartment door. He opened the door to find an anxious Fumiya waiting.

"Natsuo! Glad I caught you at home!" Fumiya said in a joyful tone before pushing his way into the apartment.

Natsuo closed the door and glanced at his friend in confusion as he asked, "Yeah... everything okay Fumiya?"

"Of course, do I need a reason to drop in on my best friend?" Fumiya asked in return as he took his shoes and coat off and moving further in to the apartment.

"I suppose not, I've dropped in unannounced before after all. But that was usually when I needed to vent or ask for your advice on something," Natsuo countered as he followed his friend, crossing his arms as he leaned against the wall in the sitting room.

Fumiya was silent, but waved for Natsuo to come closer. Being more concerned now, Natsuo approached and was caught off guard as Fumiya got him in a headlock, causing Natsuo to gasp and yell, "What the hell Fumiya?!"

"Don't give me that. You've completely forgotten haven't you?" Fumiya asked in a cold, calm tone.

Natsuo struggled to get out of Fumiya's hold for a moment, when he wasn't able to he asked, "What are you talking about?" Natsuo was not prepared for Fumiya to suddenly release him, and he fell to the floor with a yelp as a result.

Before Natsuo could react, Fumiya grabbed him by the collar and shouted, "You promised to introduce me to a girl didn't you?!"

Natsuo stared at him in confusion, still trying to process this sequence of events, as he asked in a dumbfounded tone, "...What?"

"Don't you 'What?' me! You promised me a while back that there was a girl you were going to introduce me to! I figured with it being spring vacation you would've set something up... but it's already halfway over, so what gives?!" Fumiya fumed as he shook Natsuo by the collar.

Natsuo looked to the side sheepishly as he replied, "Ah, right... I uh... I did forget I promise you that. Sorry Fumiya, a lot happened right around then."

Fumiya stared at him as he asked with a deadpan tone, "So now what Natsuo?"

"Well... she lives next door. I could introduce you now I guess," Natsuo replied with a chuckle.

Fumiya let go of Natsuo's collar, causing him to fall back down with a thud, and walked a bit away as he said, "That would just be awkward. You can't just walk up to her door and say 'Hey here's this guy I wanted to introduce you to' Natsuo."

Natsuo grumbled as he sat back up and rubbed the back of his head, "So what do you want me to do? You yell at me for not introducing you already, then shoot down my offer to introduce you right now."

"It would be better if you set something up for us to meet," Fumiya replied as though it were obvious.

Natsuo sighed as he asked, "So you want me to set up a blind date? That wouldn't be any less awkward if you ask me."

Fumiya nodded in agreement before he said, "I agree, a one on one blind date would be awkward. So I think you should set up a mixer. That way it won't be completely obvious, and if she and I don't hit it off there will be other potential matches."

"I'm sorry, I must have misheard you. Because I know there's no way you just asked me to organize a mixer," Natsuo replied after a moment of silence.

"No that's exactly what I said," Fumiya said simply.

Natsuo was silent again before speaking, "Okay... I guess I could float the idea to Hazuki-san, I'm sure she has friends she could bring. I can get friends of mine to go with you."

Fumiya shook his head as he countered, "That won't do. I've got a pretty plain looking friend I can bring, to make me look better. I'll need you there too, having someone who clearly doesn't want to be there would help too."

"You want me to – No! No way in hell am I going to a mixer," Natsuo retorted in a flustered tone.

Fumiya made a soothing motion with his hands as he said, "I'm not saying go to meet a girl obviously, but having you there being all aloof would be great!"

"You're joking right? After Rui and I almost broke up two months ago, you want me to not only set up a mixer, but go to it as well? Rui would kill me!" Natsuo shot back in exasperation.

"Not if we explain it to her beforehand. If we make it clear you're only going as a favor for me and to fill a seat I'm sure she'll understand," Fumiya said with a cheerful smile.

Natsuo's eye twitched slightly before he responded, "Fumiya... this is not a good idea."

"Let's call her, once she's awake, and I'll explain everything. You'll see Natsuo, it'll be okay," Fumiya restated confidently.


A few hours later...

"What?" Rui asked coldly as she gave Natsuo and Fumiya a death glare through the webcam. She had been concerned when Natsuo told her he needed to tell her something, confused when Fumiya was also there, and now seething after Natsuo told her Fumiya wanted him to set up and attend a mixer.

Natsuo was sweating bullets as he replied, "Rui, let us explain."

"Yes. Please elaborate," Rui said shortly.

Natsuo gulped at her tone, knowing they were on thin ice, before answering, "So... a few months ago I promised to introduce Fumiya to Hazuki-san –"

"The girl who lives next door to you?" Rui asked, cutting him off.

Natsuo nodded as he answered, "Yes, that's her."

"Then just introduce them right now," Rui said with a huff.

"That's what I said to him! I could just introduce them right now!" Natsuo groaned in exasperation as he shot Fumiya a glare.

Rui shifted her glare to Fumiya and asked, "And why is that not acceptable Fumiya?"

Fumiya was nervous, now he fully understood what Natsuo had meant, but managed to calmly explain, "Well, don't you think it be a bit awkward if Natsuo just walked me up to her door, knocked and said 'Hey here's this guy you two should talk'? That would be too weird to be able to start anything."

Rui was silent for a moment as she thought before sighing slightly, but still frowning as she replied, "Okay that's a fair point."

"Then I floated the idea to set up a blind date with her for him," Natsuo added with his own sigh.

Rui's eyes had settled on Natsuo again as he spoke, but then shot to Fumiya as she asked, "That sounds reasonable. What's wrong with that idea?"

"Well... we both kind of agreed that wouldn't be much less awkward overall. I had the idea of a mixer because at least way it's easier for conversation to flow with more people. And if she and I don't hit it off there would be other options..." Fumiya trailed off as he answered.

"That's pretty scummy Fumiya," Rui said flatly.

Natsuo nodded in agreement as he added, "I didn't say it before but... yeah that's pretty scummy."

"Don't you two judge me! We can't all be as lucky as you two!" Fumiya retorted in an animated fashion. His statement caused Rui's frown to falter for a moment, but she reset it quickly.

"Okay, I understand why you think a mixer would be best and I get that Natsuo would have to arrange it with Hazuki-san in order to actually set it up," Rui paused as she narrowed her eyes before continuing, "But what I don't understand is why you're insisting that he attend. I don't want some random girls ogling him Fumiya."

"I get that Rui, I do. The reason I want Natsuo to come along is... well basically to make me more appealing. Natsuo isn't going to be interested in anyone there, he won't want to be there and that will show. It will make them rule him out and focus more on me," Fumiya said in a completely serious tone.

Rui's eyes widened as she processed what Fumiya had said before she let out a groan and asked, "Are you serious Fumiya? That's why? You do understand that's not helping your argument any right?"

"Please Rui, you know you can trust Natsuo. This is just doing a favor for a friend, being a wing-man and filling a seat," Fumiya pleaded with a bow.

Rui's expression shifted to uncertainty as she processed what Fumiya had said, and her gaze shifted to Natsuo; she saw the genuinely apologetic and tired look he was giving her. She sighed before she asked, "And I have your word that you won't let anything happen?"

Natsuo's eyes widened in surprise before he responded, "Rui, you know you're the only one for me. I would never betray you like that."

"Exactly! And I promise to make sure that Natsuo is so miserable being there that they won't even give him a second look!" Fumiya added excitedly.

Natsuo shot him a glare as he muttered, "Gee thanks..."

Both were caught off guard as this actually caused Rui to let out a brief laugh before she said, "Well... since both of you have given me your word, and I can clearly see how much Natsuo doesn't want to do this... fine. I'm still not happy about it, but I trust you."

"Thank you Rui!" Fumiya shouted with tears flowing from his eyes.

"But," Rui stated in an authoritative tone, "Natsuo you will message me the moment you leave the mixer and we're doing a video call as soon you get home. I want you to myself to start my day off." As she said this she crossed her arms and looked to the side with a slight pout.

Natsuo smiled at this as he replied, "I promise... to be honest I'm going to need to see and hear you after dealing with this." This response resulted in Rui also smiling and a slight blush forming.

Fumiya looked back and forth between Natsuo and the laptop before he said, "Well, I think that's my cue to head out. Don't wanna intrude on you two if you're about to get all lovey dovey." With that said he started making his way towards the front door, not wanting to wait to be shooed out.

As he was walking away Rui called out, "You remember you gave me your word Fumiya!"

"No need to worry about that! I don't want to get on your bad side!" Fumiya called out as he finished getting his shoes and coat on. Once he finished he added, "Have a good night Natsuo, let me know the specifics when you get them worked out."

"You too Fumiya, and yeah I'll let you know. I'll talk to Hazuki-san tomorrow," Natsuo said with a grumble, still annoyed at the entire situation. Once he heard Fumiya leave and door shut he quickly went and locked it before coming back to the laptop and saying, "Rui... I really don't want to..."

Rui smiled sympathetically before responding, "I know... And I still don't like it. But we both know Fumiya would keep pestering you... and I do trust you Natsuo. I just don't trust other girls..." As Rui trailed off her pout returned.

Natsuo couldn't help himself and teased, "I know this isn't the best time... but you're adorable."

Rui bit her lip to keep herself from letting out an embarrassed squeak, but couldn't stop the blush as she replied, "You're the worst. You're going to make this up to me when you visit next."

"Of course I will, I'll do anything you want. I'm sorry for this..." Natsuo said apologetically as he rubbed the back of his head, then winced slightly as he touched the spot that had hit the floor earlier.

Rui sighed before stating simply, "You gave me your word. I trust you, And you'll make up for this headache later. So stop beating yourself up."

"You're the best..." Natsuo said happily, earning a smug smile from Rui in response.


Evening of 04/01...

Natsuo was surprised at how quickly Kasumi had secured two guests for the mixer, though she had been confused when he broached the subject to her. Once he had explained it was a favor for a friend, and that he was just filling a seat, she'd gotten on board quickly. This is how Natsuo found himself sitting alongside Fumiya and another guy he had not met, opposite Kasumi and two girls she knew at a buffet restaurant.

Natsuo leaned towards Fumiya and whispered, "Who is this guy again?"

"Ah, he's a friend of mine from college. I told you he was plain looking," Fumiya replied in a whisper as well.

Before Natsuo could say anything else Kasumi spoke up excitedly, "Well since we all have our food and drinks, I think the first thing to do would be introductions! I'll start off: my name is Kasumi Hazuki, I'm nineteen years old, and I'm hoping to find a guy I can have a good, stable life with!"

"A stable life huh? That's a good thing to aim for," Fumiya said with a smile.

Kasumi nodded energetically before she asked, "So Fuji-kun mentioned that you go to Tokyo U, what are you looking to do once you graduate?"

Natsuo let out a sigh, not bothering to be discrete about it since he was there to make Fumiya more appealing by being miserable, as he thought, "So much for introductions first... straight to potential future income..."

Fumiya on the other hand was more than happy to answer, "I'm actually planning on becoming a lawyer."

Kasumi's eyes lit up at this and she practically jumped out of her seat as she exclaimed, "A lawyer? That's great!"

"You really are all about the money..." Natsuo muttered as he shot her a halfhearted look of disappointment.

While Kasumi glared at Natsuo and motioned for him to be quiet, the girl to her right spoke up, "I'll go next: my name is Kana Inamori, also nineteen. I'm from Ibaraki and a coworker of Kasumi's."

"You're from Ibaraki? So am I," Fumiya's friend said in interest before apologizing, "Oh sorry, my name is Yoshida Taro." The two of them quickly launched into a conversation, seeing where in Ibaraki they were each from, favorite places to go, etc.

"Damn it. He was supposed to be plain and not draw attention..." Fumiya thought before turning to the third girl who had remained silent up until now and asked cheerfully, "And how about you?"

The girl didn't reply right away, she seemed to have been snapped out of her thoughts by Fumiya. Once she registered what he'd asked she answered, "Oh me? My name is Misaki Ogura. I was surprised when Kasumi-chan asked if I'd like to attend a mixer, it's nice to meet you all."

"Misaki-neesan is actually a regular customer at the deli that Kana and I work at. She comes in so often that we've really gotten to know each other," Kasumi added with a bright smile, though Natsuo noticed that Misaki's expression remained neutral the whole time.

"Neesan?" Natsuo asked.

Misaki turned her gaze towards Natsuo, letting a small smile show for the first time as she answered, "Ah that's right, I think I'm a few years older than all of you, I'm twenty-one. I hope that won't be an issue."

Natsuo didn't miss that she didn't break eye contact with him during her response and he turned his gaze away as he thought, "Okay then, she could be an issue. Do not engage further. Noted."

"Alright! You two still need to introduce yourselves, may as well start with you Fuji-kun, you did arrange the while thing," Kasumi said in a taunting tone.

With a sigh Natsuo sat up straighter before stating in a flat tone, "My name is Natsuo Fuji, you don't need to worry about me; I'm just filling a seat because someone else canceled last minute. Sorry." He thought that this would be a reasonable excuse to give them to try and deflect attention off himself.

Fumiya gave him a playful shove on shoulder as he laughed, "Don't mind Natsuo here, he's a bit out of his comfort zone."

"Natsuo... Fuji..." Misaki said slowly, drawing everyone's attention to her before her eyes widened slightly and added, "You had a book published back in autumn didn't you?"

"Really?" Yoshida and Kana asked simultaneously.

"Damn..." Natsuo thought to himself before answering with another sigh, "Yeah... I did. If it's alright I'd rather not talk about that though."

The others all nodded respectfully while Misaki replied, "Of course, I'll just say this and leave it at that: I enjoyed it very much."

Natsuo nodded his head towards her in thanks as Fumiya gave his introduction; Natsuo didn't fail to notice that Kasumi was hanging off his every word and thought, "Hopefully she can stop focusing on future income. Would be nice if something good came from this."

As the evening progressed the table was enveloped in near constant conversation: Yoshida and Kana had seemed to really hit it off, Fumiya and Kasumi even managed to talk about things not directly involving money – even finding some common interests. Misaki would occasionally engage in conversation with the others, but mostly asked questions of Natsuo to prompt him into speaking. Natsuo however had fully committed to his "unwilling miserable friend" role and only spoke when someone directly asked him a question, and even than gave answers as short as possible.

Realizing he was still a little hungry and deciding to get some dessert, Natsuo got up and walked towards the table he had seen a few cakes on earlier. While trying to decide which looked best he thought, "This should be winding down soon... thankfully. I feel bad for Misaki-san, but it's almost over."

Natsuo was snapped out of his thoughts by a female voice asking, "You really don't want to be here do you Natsuo-kun? And you even set the whole thing up."

Natsuo turned and saw that Misaki had followed him, and was also looking over the various desserts. Natsuo sighed, deciding it best to be honest and replied, "Sorry Misaki-san. Truth is I set this up as a favor to Fumiya, I promised him I'd introduce him to Hazuki-san... and I got roped into this."

"I see... and your girlfriend is okay with this?" Misaki asked in a whisper.

Natsuo recoiled slightly before asking, "How did –"

Misaki laughed at his reaction and pointed to his watch with the moon charm wrapped around it and said, "It wasn't hard to figure out. I've also been meaning to ask why your watch is set to the wrong time."

Natsuo smiled fondly as he looked at his watch and answered, "It's actually set to her time. She's overseas right now for culinary training. And to answer your other question: she's not thrilled about this, but understands I'm just helping Fumiya out."

"I see, overseas culinary training... that really is something..." Misaki trailed off before suddenly leaning in closely and whispered in a sultry tone, "So since she's away... do you want to sneak out of here together?"

Natsuo's eyes widened in shock as he yelped, "What?! Of course not!"

Misaki stunned Natsuo once again as she let out another laugh, patted him on the cheek and said, "Just kidding Natsuo-kun. I just wanted to see how you'd react." With that said she picked up a small plate with a slice of red velvet cake on it before she calmly walked away.

Natsuo wordlessly watched her away before he muttered to himself, "I knew this was a bad idea..."


A little later...

After that strange exchange with Misaki, Natsuo decided he'd had his fill of the mixer, and since it was going so well he figured Fumiya wouldn't care if he left. Fortunately not too long after he decided this the group opted to go to karaoke, and Natsuo took his leave of the group. Unfortunately his relief was short lived as he'd noticed Misaki following him, insisting she wanted to spend more time with him. He'd spent the better part of an hour trying to shake her, not wanting her to follow him to his apartment.

"I think I finally lost her...she's persistent," Natsuo thought to himself as he exited the station in his neighborhood. He then let out an audible groan as he saw Misaki leaning against a streetlight ahead and waving at him before she approached.

"You sure didn't want to be followed. I knew you'd show up here if I waited though," Misaki said smugly as she smiled.

Natsuo's eye twitched as he asked, "How?"

"Oh, Kasumi-chan mentioned you two are neighbors and I know she lives in this neighborhood," Misaki answered happily.

Natsuo facepalmed as he muttered, "Of course she did..."

"So it's after-party time right?" Misaki asked asked coyly as she batted her eyes.

Natsuo shook his head as he walked passed her, abandoning the hope of her not finding where he lived, and replied, "Absolutely not. I thought I made myself perfectly clear back at the restaurant: I have a girlfriend, I was only there as a favor to Fumiya and I'm not interested in you."

"Oh boo.. you really mean it huh?" Misaki asked with a sigh and slight sway as she followed him.

Seeing this Natsuo thought to himself, "Maybe it's the alcohol making her act like this? I didn't think about it before but she had quite a few beers at dinner..."

"Okay fine," Misaki said, snapping Natsuo out of his thoughts, "I get it, sorry. Can I ask a favor before I head home though?"

"Okay..." Natsuo replied hesitantly.

Misaki shuffled nervously before asking, "I actually really need to go to bathroom... Can I use yours?"

Natsuo grumbled to himself before answering, "Fine. I may be annoyed but I'm not heartless. You can use the bathroom and then you go home." Ignoring the thankful cheer Misaki threw his way as he continued towards the apartment with her in tow.

Ten minutes later he was sitting at his kotatsu mindlessly flipping through channels on his TV, waiting for Misaki to finish in the bathroom so she could leave and looked at the recent message exchange between him and Rui.

Natsuo: Hey, just leaving the restaurant now. Fumiya and Hazuki-san seemed to have hit it off, so mission success. I'm heading home now.

Rui: Glad to hear that. I have to admit I didn't sleep well... I trust you. I don't trust other girls.

Natsuo: It's okay, I made it very clear I was just there filling a seat, not to meet anyone.

Rui: Good! We'll talk when you get home!

Natsuo: Can't wait, I think I need it just as much as you do.

Rui: :)

Once he had noticed Misaki was following him and he started trying to shake her he had sent a follow up message.

Natsuo: Hey, running a little late getting home. It won't be much longer though, sorry Rui!

Rui: It's okay, my shift isn't until this afternoon. No rush, but don't take too long!

Natsuo's attention was drawn from his phone as he heard Misaki exit the bathroom and say, "That's much better, you're a life saver! Here's a tip for when you turn twenty: beer can go right through you," she paused as she moved into the sitting room before continuing, "Oh! You even have a kotatsu, they're the best!" Before Natsuo could she had sat herself down at the kotatsu opposite him.

Natsuo blinked a few times before asking, "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"What do you mean? I'm sitting," Misaki replied with a happy smile.

"You said you were going home after you used the bathroom..." Natsuo muttered as his eyes narrowed.

Misaki nodded before saying, "I did say that... just not how long after."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Natsuo asked, annoyance quickly building into full blown anger.

Misaki laid her head down on the table and drowsily added, "And to be honest, I don't even have a place to go home to. So you'd be kicking me out on the street for the night if you made me leave now."

"What?" Natsuo asked in a dumbfounded tone.

"You heard me," Misaki replied smugly.

Natsuo jumped to his feet, grabbing his phone as he did, and began pacing while muttering, "No no no no, this is not happening." After a moment he had an idea and quickly selected one of his contacts and called them, muttering, "Please don't be drunk or asleep..."

After a few rings a female voice came through the speaker, "Natsuo-kun? Is everything okay?"

Natsuo sighed in relief before responding, "Hey Hina-nee, sorry to bother you."

"It's no bother, what's going on?" Hina asked in a curious tone.

Natsuo hesitated before answering, "I've managed to get into a weird situation and was wondering if you could help? If you could come over right away I can explain better in person."

"Oh... Uh, sure. I just got off work so I'll be there soon!" Hina exclaimed reassuringly.

"Thanks Hina-nee, see you soon," Natsuo replied before ending the call. After doing so he turned his attention to Misaki who was watching him intently.

"Calling your big sister on me, should I be scared?" Misaki teased as she made it clear she was very comfortable.

Natsuo just glared for a moment before saying, "You sit there and don't move. I have another call to make." Having said this he made his way towards the apartment door to head outside, thinking to himself, "I knew this was a bad idea. Rui's going to explode when I tell her about this..."

A/N: In the manga Fumiya's friend isn't given a name, so I gave him one. I'm not crazy about the mixer scene – I ended keeping a lot of the dialogue close to the original, but I hope giving a different reason for Natsuo's presence and making his aloofness purposeful was enough of a spin on it.