"Right here."

Hiro pushed open one of the 2nd floor doors to reveal a simple room containing a bed, television, drawers and a nightstand.

"I hope it's to your liking," Hiro continued.

"It's nice," Natsuki assured her. "Thank you."

Hiro tried her hand at scratching her right cheek as she watched Natsuki drop her backpack on the bed.

"Well… If you need anything, just let me know."

"Okay…"

Hiro took her leave, meeting eyes with her son as she walked to her room. The moment she closed the door behind her, Shujinkou stepped into the guest room.

"Shujinkou…"

"No questions," he interjected. "I was just wondering if you had your clothes for school tomorrow."

"Yeah. I make sure to leave a pair outside just in case," Natsuki explained.

Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. His natural curiosity and worry demanded that he question the circumstances regarding her need for a place to sleep, but he wanted to respect her desire to stay quiet more.

He felt he owed her that since she did the same for him after the afternoon he spent with his father.

"Welp…"

Natsuki suddenly turned around. No longer did she bear the sorrowful eyes she had when he found her at his doorstep, but ones brimming with curiosity.

"Hey… What was with you riding home in a limo?" she asked.

"Oh that? I kinda got a job today."

"What kind of job?"

"Tutoring someone in drawing and helping them make clothes."

"And that person happens to have a limo?"

"Yep."

Natsuki's eyes narrowed, prompting him to wonder if he should have explained what happened later.

"Glad someone had something good happen to them," she sighed.

Natsuki then looked into Shujinkou's eyes. He thought she was about to say something, but she instead quickly turned away.

"Look, I'm tired, so…"

"I get it," Shujinkou accepted. "Good night, Natsuki."

"'night."

Once she heard the door shut, Natsuki climbed into bed and closed her eyes.

…

Natsuki opened her eyes; the first things they were drawn to were the tiny stains littering the pillow her head rested on.

She then rubbed her eyes, solemnly wiping the tears from them.

"Ugh…"

Natsuki stumbled out of bed and walked out of the guest room. An enticing smell graced her nose the once she was in the hallway and she followed it all the way to the kitchen.

There she found a table filled with an assortment of waffles, pancakes and bacon.

There's gotta be every single waffle/pancake ever made here!"

Natsuki could only look on, bewildered by the spread.

"Morning, Natsuki," Hiro greeted.

Seeing the smile on Hiro's face brought a sense of tranquility to her.

So that's where Shujinkou gets it from.

"Are you okay, Natsuki?"

"Y-Yeah. What is all this?"

"Oh. Well, I didn't know what you wanted so I just whipped up everything we had."

"That's…" The petite girl didn't know what to say other than a succinct, "Thanks."

She assembled a plate of food and took a seat.

Been awhile since I had this…

Soon after that thought, Shujinkou walked into the kitchen. Like their guest, he was taken aback by the amount of food on the table.

"Wow…"

"I went too far, didn't I?"

"Um…" Scratching his right cheek, Shujinkou took a moment to sneak a glance at his visiting friend. "Honestly, I'd probably do the same thing. Or at least, I would if I can cook."

He then made his own plate and took a seat next to Natsuki. Contrary to the night before, there wasn't a hint of worry or sympathy on his face.

It was clear to her that he was just putting up a front for her.

"Dummy…"

"Hm? Did you say something, Natsuki?"

"No…"

It was only for a brief moment, but she was able to spot the small crack in his calm demeanor. Despite appreciating his attempts treat today as if it was any other, seeing that sliver of worry brought a small smile to her face.

"Natsuki, do you have lunch for school today?" Hiro asked suddenly.

"N-No," Natsuki solemnly admitted.

"Oh… Well, is there anything you would like?"

Natsuki's chest tightened at Hiro's question. I… I'll be fine with whatever you make."

"Okay."

Natsuki could only look on as her friend's mother began making lunch for her. Kindness and hospitality really is a thing in this family.

Shujinkou grabbed his plate of food and walked out of the kitchen.

"Does he usually do that?" Natsuki questioned.

"Not often. He must multi-tasking with something he really wants to finish as soon as possible," Hiro answered.

"Oh…"

Disappointment slowly seeped into Natsuki's heart, thought that would be the last thing she would want to admit. It seemed clear that she would have to eat breakfast in awkward silence until Hiro spoke up.

"I heard you're the baker of the club."

"Pretty much. Though it's kinda hard to make sure everyone gets their equal share when Sayori keeps trying to hoard them all."

"That's right… Sayori told me that you had to restrain her with a pillow once."

Natsuki slumped back in her seat. Knowing what impression that story could inspire, she could only weakly mutter. "She had it coming…"

"Oh, I don't blame you," Hiro awkwardly assured her. "From what Shujinkou told me, you gave her a fair amount of warnings."

"Yeah, she really did bring that on herself."

The guest felt nothing but relief that she wasn't chastised for a playful act.

"But I can really see why she and Shujinkou love what you make so much. They really activate my dormant sweet tooth. Plus, I really like how you decorate some of your stuff. It's really cute and creative."

Hiro looked up at the ceiling, thinking back to something she watched.

"I think as cooking shows would say: you nailed the presentation along with the taste?"

Natsuki shrugged at her comment. "I wouldn't know. I don't really watch cooking shows."

"Really?"

"Yeah. It was just something that I tried and worked hard on. I actually had to learn a lot of the stuff by myself."

"That's sounds a lot like Shujinkou and his drawing. He didn't really have anyone teach him either and had to learn things on his own."

"Really? I kind of thought it he was a natural."

"He was better than most kids his age but that was because he spent most of his time drawing before he met Sayori. What he was a natural at was sewing."

"Shujinkou knows how to sew?"

"Mm-hmm. I think we were both surprised by how easily he was able to do it. Though I was happy since for a little while him teaching me how would-"

Natsuki noticed a brief expression of pain appear on Hiro's face. It the same hurt expression Shujinkou had sported when they first met.

"Sorry. I kinda trickled into uncomfortable worrisome mother mode."

"It's fine. Parents are supposed to worry about their kids, right?"

"Though I'm sure it's the same on his side. I'm sure that he sometimes worries if he has to come home and free his mother from 'aggressive pieces of yarn'," Hiro laughed.

Natsuki could only marvel over how Hiro quickly moved on from old wounds for her sake.

"Well, I don't want to take up more of your time before you and Shujinkou leave for school."

A sense of envy and confusion welled up in Natsuki as she ate her breakfast and would remain as she got dressed. I can't keep acting like this… Not when they're-

"Ready to go?"

Those were the first words she heard from Shujinkou when she met him in the 2nd floor hallway.

"Yeah."

The two then went downstairs and collected their respective lunches from Hiro. They said their goodbyes and the students walked through the front door.

"Hey…"

Natsuki spoke up the moment Shujinkou closed the door behind him.

"Could you keep me staying over here for the night a secret?" she requested.

"Yeah. Sure."

"Thanks. And…" the color of her cheeks soon matched her hair as she struggled to say more. "Thanks for not making a big deal about… me being here."

Shujinkou awkwardly scratched his right cheek. "Um… No problem… I mean, you never forced me to open up about anything so…"

An awkward silence fell over them.

"Oh, that reminds me!" Shujinkou pulled out a sheet of paper from his backpack. "I made this for you."

He handed it to her, letting her look at it as he zipped his backpack closed.

On it was a drawing of a chibi version of her holding a cupcake. Looking closer, she realized that it was the one of the cupcakes she made when Shujinkou had first visited the club.

"What's this for?" Natsuki asked.

Shujinkou once again scratched in his right cheek."I know you didn't want me to make a big deal over you being here, but I still wanted to do something cheer you up."

"Dummy…" Natsuki's body trembled, prompting Shujinkou to wonder if he shouldn't have done anything like she had implied she wanted.

She avoided eye contact as she slowly approached him. "You're not supposed to tell me that."

Natsuki wrapped her arms around Shujinkou, drawing him into a tight embrace.

"Natsuki…?"

"You owe me a surprise hug from that one weekend, Dummy."

"Oh…"

Shujinkou then followed suit and hugged her back. Natsuki's cheeks grew brighter as-

"Natsuki?"

A familiar and confused voice called Natsuki's name. It belonged to-

"Sayori!?"

The tranquility their embrace gave her soon turned into horror. How'd I forget that they walk to school every day?!

Natsuki quickly broke away from Shujinkou's arms, desperately trying to find a way to avoid the inevitable.

"What're you doing here, Natsuki?" Sayori asked.

The only response Natsuki could think of was to avoid establishing any further eye contact with her. Though she knew it wouldn't stop her from asking.

"Natsuki's walking to school with us."

Natsuki quickly looked at Shujinkou, surprised by his quick response.

"Really? How come?" Sayori further questioned.

"Well… Because she wanted too. She had to remind me again that she didn't need a reason to do something like this with friends."

"Oh…" Sayori blankly stared at the two before a bright smile stretched across her face. "Well, let's go!"

Taking the lead, Sayori skipped ahead of the two. Shujinkou soon followed behind her, leaving Natsuki to ponder the brief interactions she's had since she had shown up the night before.

The attempts Shujinkou and Hiro made to cheer her up while respecting her wishes affected her more than she thought it would.

She then recalled the last night of her first visit to Hisa's spa resort; the night after Shujinkou had spent an afternoon with his father.

I called him a dummy for putting on a brave face but… At least he could put on a brave face. Maybe… It was a mistake to come over here. They already had their own issues; the last thing he and his mom need is deal with some of mine. But…

She looked up at Shujinkou's distant back.

Who else can understand?