Disclaimer I don't own any of the HYD characters nor the original plotline of HYD, but I certainly own this particular plot and all the characters I created for it...

Thanks : to my kind reviewers Juliana (serais-tu Française par hasard ? ;o) ), snuffyTHEmonkey (that was the fastest review ever...) and az09.

Note : I'm not even sure I like this chapter. So don't kill me...

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19-"You never spend time with me anymore"

In the morning, everything got a little more hectic. Between her parents calling to say they had arrived at the airport and would soon be home, Tsukushi calling to check up on her and discovering the fact, Soujiro calling and sulking because she had not thought she had to call him to tell him about it – to which she answered it was maybe better she had not interrupted his latest date –, and Rui calling after Tsukushi had told him the news to know how she was doing, she almost never put her phone down during breakfast.

Akira was somewhat glad about it. He was afraid she would bring up their nightly conversation, and, now that the distress had been erased by the remnants of the night and their encounter, he had not wish to talk about it. Fortunately, she never tried to talk about it. After breakfast, he drove her back home, so that she could meet her parents there.

When he was sure the family was reunited, he left.

Sophie, completely taken with seeing her parents and sister after the fact, did not even notice him leave. And when she finally did, she had to confess she felt a little hurt he didn't think it necessary to say goodbye – but at the same time, it had been the sensitive and sensible thing to do in his situation... She didn't know what to really think about Mimasaka, now. Especially after what he had told during the night. What a strange coincidence that they had been both woken up by their nightmares in the middle of the night. It was a good thing, though, that he didn't notice the extra distress brought by the memories of her past. Because she would have been unable – and unwilling – to tell him about it. She had not spoken about it aloud since the fact – it was too difficult. Well, a good thing he was too absorbed in his own misery to see it. Or maybe he just thought it was the aftermath of the break-in. Either way, it was better that it had been like this.

After the police asked them all for some DNA samples, to check whether or not it was a set-up to touch the insurance money, they were allowed to go inside and call a crime scene cleaning company. The police left and told them they'd contact them as soon as they knew anything – which would probably be never. This was going to be a long day.

"I'm okay, Soujiro ! You don't have to be all mother-hen on me...

- You're still under the shock, and I'm providing all the comfort I can as a friend.

- It's nice of you to invite me to dinner, but stop acting as if I'm not even able to eat my own yakitori. I didn't regress to a drooling childhood state. I'm perfectly able to it, I swear.

- You're just saying that because you won't admit that...

- Soujiro ?

- Yes ?

- Calm down. Mimasaka and I arrived there once all of it was finished. I never saw the people who broke into the house, I just saw the spatter of blood and the shattered window. I'm fine... Mimasaka was surprisingly very helpful, very nice and very gentlemanly."

She added for herself that he had even accepted to watch that movie with her. And that was a proof that he had wanted to be nice.

"I still just can't believe you didn't call me. I would have...

- Yeah, what would you have done that he didn't do ? Come on, Soujiro. You had planned something for your evening. There was no point in interrupting – well, except to protect one woman from your piggish habits, but that's not the point."

Soujiro just pouted. Couldn't the damned girl understand that he had been worried to learn about what had happened ? And that he had been hurt that she had preferred to stay at Akira's place, a guy whom she said she wasn't comfortable with and mistrusted, than call him, the one she said was her friend, in a moment of distress ? Of course, it was a little irrational. And he was perfectly aware of it. She was safe, and Akira would certainly have made sure of it. But still. He felt frustrated.

"It's just that...

- What ?

- Don't laugh.

- I won't, she answered with a smile that contradicted her affirmation.

- It's just that, lately, I feel that we're growing apart. We never get to spend as much time together as we did before the summer break.

- You're kidding, right ?

- No.

- You know what you sound like, Soujiro ?

- What do you mean ?

- You sound like a jealous boyfriend. Grow up ! It's not because I spend time with Mimasaka salsa dancing, and that I may be beginning to see some fiber of a decent guy in him, that I'm growing apart from you. You're my friend, nothing can change that. To tell you the truth, I felt lost, yesterday. I don't know how I would have gone through all of it without Mimasaka's help. And he never tried to take advantage of my state of weakness. So stop worrying. I can have lots of friends – not that I'm saying anything about my relationship with Mimasaka – without it jeopardizing our friendship.

- But...

- No buts, carnivorous."

He smiled. She leaned towards him and messed up his hairstyle with her hand playfully.

"There."

He crossed his arms on his chest and raised an eyebrow.

"There what ?

- You look more like the pissed off kid that doesn't want to share his new toy with someone.

- Sophie ?

- Soujiro ?

- You're thoroughly annoying, you know that ?

- I do, I do. But you like it, even if you'll never admit it."

He rolled his eyes in denial. But inside, he was agreeing. Boy, she was even more annoying when she could just read him like this. But he had to do something. Because, whatever she said, he felt they were growing apart since she had begun to spend all that time with Akira.

The more he thought about, the more he thought he should have said yes and forsaken three date nights a week to get to be her dance partner instead of Akira. And he knew he was being selfish.

After all, he should be glad that two of his closest friends were finally on the road to get along.

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Could Soujiro really be jealous ? What does he plan to do about it ? Why would he even be jealous ? We'll see...

Please review ! I need to know whether or not I shall use this a little more – I'm still pondering if I need to develop it...