"UM!" Ken sighed. "This is going to be a loong day. . ." Then looked at the girl gripping his arm in a lock-hold and smiled inwardly. 'Looks like this is not a bad thing after all."

CHAPTER 3: FAMILY

"What does this button do?" Satori asked as she pushed the button of the doorbell in Ken's place. "Oohhh..." She kept pushing the doorbell.

Ken sweat dropped as he retrieves his key from his pocket. "Stop it Satori. You'll wake our neighbors up... Where is that stupid key?!" Satori kept pushing the button again and again and again. "SATORI!"

"Hey! If you can't sleep, let us sleep for God's sake!!!" "HEY! SHUT UP!" "BE QUIET!!!" "STOP BEING NOISY!!!"

Ken looked at the people shouting and bowed repeatedly. "I'm sorry..." He took his key and pulled Satori's hands away from the doorbell. "See? I told you to quit it!" He whispered to her as he unlocked the door and flopped down on the sofa. "Whew!"

"Ken's angry at Satori..." Ken jumped up from the sofa and looked at the crying Satori. "Ken hates Satori..."

He walked to Satori's side. "No... I don't hate you... Stop crying."

Satori looked at Ken with puppy-dog eyes. "Really?" Ken nods. "Yay! Ken likes Satori!" Grabbed on Ken's neck and huggles him.

Ken blushed. It's not everyday that you can have an 18-year-old girl hugging you... Even though she now acts like a 7-year-old kid. It's as if Satori was growing a year older as an hour pass by. "It's getting late. You should go to sleep." Ken said as he walked to the kitchen for a drink of water.

"Satori not sleepy." Looked around Ken's apartment and saw a silver thing. Satori picked it up and looked at it. "What's this?"

Ken walked out of the kitchen with a glass of water. "What are you..." He saw Satori holding a gun. He dropped the glass and grabbed the gun from Satori. "DON'T EVER HOLD THIS THING AGAIN!" Ken shouted at Satori as he placed the gun back in its case.

"Satori didn't know what shiny thing is. . . Sorry. . ." Satori mumbles.

"It's okay. Just don't touch that thing again. It's dangerous." Satori nods. "You want a drink?" Ken asked Satori while mopping the floor. He stopped when he heard Satori giggle. "What?"

"Satori doesn't drink water. Satori will get sick if she gets wet." She continued to look around Ken's place again.

Ken took this in and sighed. 'I kept forgetting she's a marionette.' He placed the mop back in the kitchen. "Satori you will sleep in the other room." No answer. "Satori?" He turned back and Satori was not in the room. "Satori?" Ken went into his room and saw Satori holding a picture frame. "Satori?"

Satori was looking at Ken's family picture. "Who are these people?" Satori saw a man and woman in their mid-40s. She also saw Ken with his arm around a girl about his age. Satori felt something twist inside her as she stared at the picture. Especially the part where Ken had his arm around a girl.

Ken walked to her side and stared at the picture. "Oh... See that man and woman there?" Pointed at the couple and Satori nods. "They're my parents. That's me in the orange jacket and that girl is my younger sister."

Satori nods, smiling inwardly when she knew that the girl in the picture is his sister. "Where are they?"

"They're gone." Satori tilted her head to her side, still looking at the picture, obviously confused. "They were killed three years ago." Ken sighed. "They are the only family I have."

Satori placed the picture frame back and suddenly turned to face Ken. "But you have Aya, Yoji and Omi... They are your friends but they are also family." She explained. "And now, you also have Satori. We'll all be one family." She added. "They may leave you but I promise that I won't!" She finished, giving him an encouraging nod. Ken smiled, his heart warmed at what she said. Shortly, he blushed after noticing Satori's nearness. She was standing just below Ken's chin. 'If I just lower my head a bit... I can...'

Satori tilted her head up to look at Ken, not noticing that her position is quite inviting for Ken. "Is Ken alright? You're staring at Satori. Is Satori's face dirty?"

Ken blinked as he returned to reality and turned crimson. 'I'm staring at her. I was thinking of kissing her! I'm thinking of kissing a marionette!' Ken ran a hand through his hair. His usual sign of frustration. 'I've been hanging a lot with Yoji. But I really liked that feeling... If she's only human... There I go again!'

Satori blinked at Ken's actions. "I think Ken better sleep. Ken looked tired." She moved back, a little away from Ken. "Oyasumi and... Arigatou again for saving Satori." She said before leaving the room.

Ken stared at the closed door for a moment and smiled. He was about to take off his shirt when Satori went inside the room again. "Ken, Satori want to know where..." She blushed when she saw Ken's current state of undress and quickly closed the door. "Sorry. Satori just wants to know where she is going to sleep." She said through the door.

Ken just blinked and smiled a bit. "Your room is next to mine." He continued to remove his shirt after he heard Satori said 'thank you' and 'sorry'. He changed into his sleeping outfits and stared at the ceiling. 'Yup. I have a family now. Wait... Did I just saw Satori blush? Satori can actually blush?' He smiled at the thought. Satori's image while she was close to him and while she had a blush on her face ran across his mind. 'Kami-sama! She's so cute!' then, he remembered Yoji's remarks. "UNFAIR!. . . You lucky dog you. . ." Ken grinned and mumbles. 'Yup. I'm lucky, Yoji. Eat your heart out!' Ken drifted off to sleep, grinning, and in his mind, the image of Satori's green hair and blue/yellow eyes. . .