Woooo, next chapter! And it's with Ai-senpai! Ahhhh! XD

Now you all voted, and flower garden won! Yay!

I hope you all enjoy the chapter!

"Alright everyone, we'll have the guests settled in the photo area where you may take pictures with them! After that, they will be available to sign autographs, but only for two hours!" Staff members explained the rules of the pictures and signings as the idols got ready in the picture area, the back drop showing the logo for the IDOL START concert that was held that same day, as Mallory shuffled on her feet lightly, surrounded by the other girls that had performed. She saw news photographers getting ready with their equipment as she noticed Ai standing near the back of the crowd, simply watching everything be set up, his hands in his pockets as he gave a blank stare out at the scenery.

"Ne, what are you staring at Mal-chan?" Nami asked curiously as she looked in the direction that Mallory was looking, giving a sly smirk towards her friend. "Oh I see, your boyfriend huh?"

"What?!" Mallory exclaimed, turning to Nami as she tore her gaze away from her teacher to her friend, a blush coming to her face. "No, no way! He's just my teacher is all!" Nami gave a surprised look, giving a sheepish grin.

"Oh your teacher, whoops! Sorry, but you were just staring at him for so long that I just kinda assumed." Nami looked back at Ai, seeing him stare back at the two as she gave a small wave to him, to which he simply looked away. Mallory gave a small huff, the blush on her face starting to fade as she glanced at Ai for a few moments, seeing him turn away before turning back to Nami.

"It's...ok. Besides, you should know that I'm not allowed to date anyone, with that weird rule and all." Mallory said back, muttering the sentence Nami, but almost to herself as well.

"Oh yeah, something about Saotome Agency not letting their idols be allowed to date or something. I could see why he would have that rule, but it's kinda weird though." However, before the two could talk any longer, the photos and the autographs had begun. Each girl sat in their own seat as people would get in line to get a picture or an autograph signed by one of the idols. Each of the lines was rather long but as each moment passed, Mallory couldn't help but think back about what the two had been talking about.

"I don't like Ai that way, I don't. I mean...even though my heart goes fast when I'm near him, and I get nervous when he looks at me, it doesn't mean anything serious."

"That was a lot of work, I think my hand is cramped." Nami said with a sigh as the autographs and pictures were finally finished with guests. "Now all we gotta do is do our photo shoots for the fan book and we'll be done for the day!" Mallory gave a yawn, but nodded to her friend as she wiped her eyes. She was rather exhausted from the days work and the concert, she was sure she had never been this tired in her life. "Come on, let's go find out what the locations for our shoots are gonna be!" The two girls made it over to the scheduler, looking over the clipboard as Nami gave a smile.

"I get to have my shoot at the Crepe shop!" She gave a grin as she danced around for a few moments, obviously excited. "Let's see what you got Mal-chan! Hmm...ah, here it is! Ooh, you got the flower garden!"

"Flower garden?" Mallory asked curiously, looking at the clipboard; she had been around most of the park, but the whole time she hadn't seen a flower garden around. Well, whether there was one or not, that was where she was going to be heading.

"Yeah, it's a giant park filled with different flowers! I heard that a lot of people go there to take their special someone out on a date!" Nami rummaged through her bag as she handed Mallory a pamphlet from the attraction, having activities, and even different facts on the flowers in the gardens.

"Wow..." Mallory trailed off, seeing all the different things at the flower garden; she was starting to get curious now. Her head tilted up however when the staff called for the girls to get ready, Mallory giving a small frown. "Ah, I guess we have to get going to our locations. I'll talk to you later though, ok?"

"Of course! I got your number so I'll text you later." Nami gave a wave goodbye to her as she ran off to get ready with the photography group, as Mallory folded the pamphlet into her bag.

"Nakagawa-san." Mallory jumped lightly when she heard a voice behind her, turning slowly to see Ai, as she gave a sigh of relief.

"Ai-senpai, you startled me." She gave a weary smile, holding a hand to her chest as she took a breath to calm herself; she had almost dropped her bag and all her belongings.

"I'll be following you over to the photo shoot area to make sure you stay on schedule, is that clear?" Mallory gave a nod, before the crew called her over to get ready to leave towards the flower garden. They would have an hour or two to get the right shots before the park would begin to close, and Mallory was as determined as ever to get the perfect shots.

"Great job Nakagawa-san! We'll be taking a twenty-minute break, so feel free to take a small break!" Mallory gave a nod to the photographers, as she looked around at the flower garden. She wasn't sure how she would miss this in the amusement park, but she was sure glad that she got to see it. Flowers were all around as brick pathways lead to groups of different flowers in season, almost all of them in full bloom as Mallory took a deep breath; she remembered how flowers would help her cheer up, especially during those hard months in her youth.

"I hope you can see this mom, I'm sure you would love this." Mallory muttered, seeing all the bright exuberant colors around her, a light breeze blowing past her as she heard footsteps behind her. She turned, and gave a small smile. "Ai-senpai, I think I'm almost done with the shoot, we got some good shots, and I think we just need to do a few more before we're finished."

"As long as we're not off the schedule, than I'm fine." He took a small breath, glancing at all the flowers around them, before turning back to his student. "Your song at the concert, it was good."

"R-Really?" Mallory asked, stuttering when she heard Ai. She saw him give a small nod, as she gave a grin.

"You do need more practice though, some notes were a bit off-key, but it's something we'll work on." Mallory gave a nervous look, but a nod none the less. She was just glad that he thought she was good; he thought she was good! It made her feel happy inside, even if he didn't know it.

"Alright senpai, I'll work on that when I get back." She stretched for a few moments as she gave a yawn, before deciding that break would be something that she needed. She sat down on the soft grass below her, before moving slightly to lay her body completely on the ground beneath her. The sky above her held clouds of all shapes and sizes, giving a smile as she began to imagine the clouds as animals or shapes, tilting her head slightly as she did so.

"Nakagawa-san, what are you doing?"

"I'm watching the clouds." Mallory answered with a smile, looking at all the clouds pass by, "It's fun to see what shapes they turn into; sometimes they even look like animals." She gave another yawn again however, her eyelids starting to feel heavy; she really was exhausted after the concert. She had used so much energy in her song from trying to get everyone excited, herself included, that she had tired herself out; she was actually rather surprised that she had lasted this long without passing out on the ground.

"It sounds rather childish." Ai simply said as he watched his student with a rather perplexed look, before looking up at the sky. He turned back to Mallory to continue further, but stopped as he looked down at the girl to see that she had drifted off to sleep. He looked down at her, seeing her chest rise and fall as she breathed slowly, unaware that he was watching. "She must had been exhausted after what had happened today", he thought, "it was only natural that she would fall asleep after everything that she had done.

"Honestly, it seems like I'm always having to watch over you." Even though he had said it, he didn't mind watching her, much to his confusion. What was it that made her so interesting? It was so perplexing, something he couldn't solve with simple calculations or data that he had on his student; why? Why was it so difficult? He simply breathed in deeply, before settling himself next to Mallory, glancing at the clouds as a breeze passed by them once more. What made her such an enigma?

His hands were settled at his sides, and their fingertips bumped lightly against one another.

"Hmm?" Light shined through Mallory's eyes as she squinted lightly, giving another yawn as she slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes before she looked around. "Ah!" She jumped when she turned her head to see a pair of cyan colored eyes staring back into hers, and sitting right next to her no less. "A-Ai-senpai! How long have you been sitting here?"

"Approximately ten minutes and fifty-two seconds." He said back rather plainly, despite the exact number that was given as Mallory blinked lightly. "You fell asleep, so I watched you to make sure no one disturbed you." Mallory was about to speak, but stopped herself, her face blushing lightly at the realization that her teacher had to take time out of his schedule to watch over her.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't even know I fell asleep." She gave a sheepish look of apology, bowing her head lightly to her teacher. He glanced away for a few moments, before looking back at Mallory.

"Just don't let it happen again." She gave a nod, before she heard the photographers call for her. She hastily got to her feet as she ran over, careful not to trip or fall as she walked over to the crew.

"Ah Nakagawa-san, we have all the shots we need for the fan book, so you're free to walk around the park until closing." Mallory gave a grin, nodding to the crew before she gave them a bow, thanking them for their hard work. She ran back over to Ai, who was now on his feet, giving a blank stare to Mallory when she came back over.

"They said I was done with the shoot, so they said I could walk around the park until closing." Mallory gave a small smile, shuffling on her feet lightly, shyly looking back at Ai. There was no harm in asking him, but she was sill nervous regardless. "Mikaze-senpai?"

"What is it?" He asked bluntly, looking back at Mallory as she straitened up slightly, blinking as her face flushed a light shade of pink.

"Um, well, since we have some free time, I was wondering if you wanted to walk around the flower garden...with me." Why was she suddenly in the habit of getting nervous around Ai? This had never happened before when the two had gotten used to each other, why now? He was just her teacher, a mentor to teach her the necessary steps to becoming an idol. There was nothing more to it!

"Or is there?" Mallory wondered, still troubled by the thoughts of her teacher.

"I have time." Her thoughts cut off when she heard him speak, but she looked back at Ai, her eyes widened slightly. She must had heard him wrong, or maybe she wasn't paying attention to him when he had answered her, but she could have sworn he heard him agree to her proposal.

"I-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" She must have sounded rather dumb when she asked that question, considering that when he had answered he was right in front of her, but Ai stared back into her brown eyes, his cyan eyes softening lightly.

"I said that I had time." Ai answered once more to Mallory, turning to look at her. "We can look around if you would like, I have nothing else to do for the day." Her heart began to beat a bit faster when she heard his answer, feeling as if her heart would burst from her chest. Why was this such a big deal to her? Well, they would be alone together, but that didn't mean anything. They had been alone together before, was it because they were in public? Or maybe it was because they weren't near any of the other members; they were in fact, truly alone. "Nakagawa-san?" Mallory turned back to look at Ai, her face flushing a light shade of pink again.

"A-Ah, I'm sorry, I heard you Ai-senpai! Well then, let's get going then, shall we?" She saw him blink towards her, his eyes giving her a calculating gaze, studying her, wondering what making her act this way. She didn't fully understand either, she just hoped it wasn't what she thought it was. He simply stayed quiet however, as Mallory began to walk along the brick paved road, as Ai followed behind her. Mallory stayed silent, hoping that the thoughts that lingered her in her mind would go away.

"It's very pretty." Mallory mentioned aloud as she walked along the pathway, her heels clicking lightly against the bricks to create light sounds as she walked. The two had been silent for a good few minutes, with Mallory only giving small comments here or there to make small talk, but nothing had really come up for the two to have a real conversation; they would simply comment once or twice on a subject and then be back to silence once more. To say the least, it was rather irritating to Mallory, but what could she do? The two were rather quiet when alone, conversations rarely going longer then a few minutes before one either had to leave or awkward silence would take over. She gave a small sigh, her attention turning to see a small group of flowers nearby as she walked over to them, kneeling down lightly to look at the detail of the flowers, smelling the light aroma they possessed. "Carnations are beautiful, aren't they? I remember my mother used to tell me they stood for something...what was it again?"

"Divine love." Mallory turned from her spot as she looked at Ai, seeing him next to her, crouched down as well to study the flowers. "In general they stand for divine love, but other colored ones have their own meanings." Mallory blinked lightly at her teacher, his gaze still fixated on the flowers as her eyes sparkled lightly in the light.

"How'd you know that, Ai-senpai?" She was curious how he knew about flower language, maybe it was a past time of his to know them, or maybe he had simply read up on the subject before. He gazed turned to glance at his student, stoic and rather plain, with no emotion shown in his expression.

"I've learned of every flower and it's meaning on my days off. It's simple enough to read and memorize." Mallory blinked at the statement, her mouth agape lightly as she looked at her teacher; memorized all the flowers, and their meanings? When did he possibly have all that time to read such things, and how could he possibly remember all the flowers, there were so many!

"A-Ai-senpai, you're saying that you've memorized every flower and their meaning? Seriously?" No one could be that smart or memorize that easily; it would take someone months just to be able to memorize half of the list of flowers!

"Do I need to repeat myself?" Ai sighed lightly, getting to his feet as he glanced away, a small almost unnoticeable pout on his lips. "I told you the truth, it's not like I'm lying." Mallory blinked once more, giving a small nod to her teacher, though wondering to herself; did he really memorize all the meanings? A thought struck her mind as she opened her purse, digging through it lightly until she pulled out what she'd been looking for; the brochure that Nami had given her. She opened the folded pamphlet as she looked through the flowers, glancing at the Carnation before finding it on the brochure, seeing it's meaning was in fact 'Divine Love'.

"I guess you do know your flowers Ai-senpai," Mallory said as she looked at the brochure, "though that was only one." She looked around their surroundings, seeing another flower in her sights as she pointed over to it. "What's the meaning of daisies?"

"Innocence." Ai simply said, as Mallory looked through the brochure, seeing that he was right, once again.

"What about those?" Mallory asked,pointing to a small group of violets.

"Modesty." He watched as Mallory gave a small pout, seeing that he was, again, correct. "How long do you plan on being proven wrong?" He asked, raising an eyebrow lightly towards his student as Mallory gave a frown, folding the brochure back into her bag as she looked back at Ai.

"Fine, fine, you win; I guess I shouldn't doubt my teacher when he says something."

"You're right, you shouldn't." His bluntness was rather uncanny, and she gave a small sigh, but a small smile as well; the two were bonding, somewhat, and were having a good time; well, Mallory was hoping Ai was at least.

"I'm glad that we got to see all this, I would have missed out if I hadn't." Mallory commented with a smile as the two were sitting at a small table within the flower garden, a small café being held with the theme of flowers. The two had decided that a break was needed, and they both ordered a pot of rose tea to share. "A-Are you having a good time, Ai-senpai?" She saw him take a small sip of his tea, swallowing before glancing back at Mallory, his eyes staring back into hers.

"It's been fine so far." He said bluntly, setting his cup down as he settled in his chair, glancing around to watch other guests pass by them, some glancing at Mallory every so often; she was still in her stage outfit after all, and people had recognized her from the concert earlier that day. Mallory gave a small sigh, relieved that he wasn't at all bored by her company, before giving a small smile back. She began to notice as some people walked by, some women and men were carrying bouquets of flowers.

"I've seen them a lot today actually." Mallory said to herself aloud, chin resting in her hand as she watched people walk by with them.

"Seen what?" Ai asked, wondering what his student was muttering about; she usually muttered from time to time, and it would become annoying to him every so often, having to tell her to stop or to simply keep it to herself.

"These bouquets of flowers that people have been holding, maybe they get them from the gardens maybe?" She was generally curious; all of them looked so unique and beautiful, she wished she could see them for herself.

"The flower garden has a booth where you can buy bouquets here, or make one yourself as a gift. It's in that brochure you have, I'm sure." Mallory blinked as she took out the brochure, wondering she hadn't thought of checking herself as she looked through it, and low and behold, her teacher was right again.

"It seems to be a special event that they do every few months in the spring...but it's ending today? No fair." Mallory gave a small huff as she set the brochure down lightly on to the table, slouching in her chair lightly at disheartening news.

"You know you still have time to go and see it before we have to go back." Ai said bluntly, "Just make sure to make it quick." Mallory gave a smile, her face beaming as she bolted to her feet, excited to see the bouquets in person.

"Let's go now then!" Mallory said with a beaming smile, her eyes almost sparkling from the pure joy she was feeling in her chest. She saw Ai simply get to his feet, seeing him drink the last of his tea before looking back at Mallory.

"Lead the way."

"Woah, there's so many people..." Mallory trailed off, her face showing a look of nervousness as she saw a crowd of people around the booth that she had searched for.

"Of course a lot of people would be here stupid, it's the last day." Mallory thought to herself, scolding herself mentally for not thinking to come earlier; if only she had thought to ask about the bouquets earlier, maybe she would have had a better chance of seeing them. She gave a small grimace to herself, her thoughts reminding her of a certain silver-haired teacher of hers, he would have surely said something similar, if not the same thing, to her. She gave a small sigh, looking back at Ai with an apologetic look. "Ah, gomen Ai-senpai, I dragged you all the way here for nothing; I'm not sure we'll have enough time to look at the bouquets after all."

"There's nothing to be sorry about; we can simply wait." Mallory blinked lightly, before giving a small smile, nodding to Ai. "Right, thank you, Ai."

The two waited behind the large crowd of people, seeing people leave with or without bouquets, until the two got to the front of the booth to preview the different options they had.

"W-Wow, they're beautiful!" Mallory awed, seeing the many bouquets on display to buy from the venue. She could see all kinds of different flowers; roses, daffodils, violets. It was an explosion of color and scents, and it was as beautiful as Mallory had pictured it. The smile never left her face as she looked over the bouquets, her eyes scanning them until her eyes stopped to look at a particular bouquet containing a flower she knew all to well, the Primrose. Her smile began to fade, until it left her face to be replaced by a frown, her eyes no longer holding the sparkle that they held before. Her eyes lowered lightly, her face giving off a more sullen look, her mind remembering back to what had happened the day she bought those flowers.

"I'm sure mom will love these!" Mallory, now eight years old, exclaimed happily, holding a small bouquet of yellow-orange primroses in her arms as she ran to the hospital where her mother was being taken care of. It had been a rather tough year for her family after her mother had gotten sick, but no matter what, she went to the hospital every day to visit her mother.

She ran towards the hospital as the doors opened for her, giving a grin as ran to get to the elevator, bouncing in her steps, though making sure she didn't ruin the flowers in her small arms. When the elevator doors opened, she jumped out with a smile, jogging over to her mothers room with the flowers tucked neatly one arm. She gave a small breath, a grin on her face as her other hand reached for the door handle, opening the door as she grinned.

"Mom, I'm here! I brought you a bouquet of-" Her voice was cut off when she noticed the room that her mother had been occupied was empty, her mother no where in sight. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked at the empty bed, her heart feeling as if it had stopped.

"Mom?"

"Nakagawa-san?" Mallory jumped lightly, her trance on the flowers broken as she turned suddenly, seeing Ai looking back at her. He leaned in closer towards her, his eyes staring back into hers as she looked back at Ai, her face holding confusion, her face feeling warmer as his face came closer to hers.

"You were staring into space for a while; five minutes and fifty-two seconds to be precise." He said simply, watching her as she glanced away.

"It's nothing, just...remembering something about my mom, is all." Ai looked at Mallory but turned away from her to look at the bouquets as well, looking at the fresh flowers that graced their eyes. He didn't say anything after that, and Mallory gave a small sigh, trying to push away the thoughts of her memories coming back to her; she didn't want to remember that memory in particular, a stinging sensation shooting through her heart when it came back.

"Would you like a bouquet?" Mallory heard a voice and turned to see a vendor from the booth, looking at Mallory and Ai curiously.

"U-Uh, I'm not sure actually." Mallory answered back, stuttering lightly as she looked at the bouquets; there were so many, how would she even choose? "Um, how much are the bouquets, if I could ask?"

"They vary in price, but our starting price for our basic bouquets are four thousand five hundred yen." Mallory jumped lightly, a shocked look on her face; that much, for a starting bouquet?! Even if it wasn't that much of money to one person, Mallory didn't have a lot of money to spend to begin with, mostly saving it to send to her father while he lived at their childhood home, plus having to pay for some of the expenses for living in the dorms, and sewing supplies...

"U-Uh, I'm good actually, thank you though." The vendor gave a smile and a nod as she left the two, as Mallory gave a small sigh, turning to Ai. "I thought I could maybe get one for my room, but they're too much money. Besides, the others are probably waiting for us, so we should probably get going now." Ai simply gave a small nod, as they both made their way out of the garden. The sun began to set as the park gave out the message that it would be closing soon. Mallory gave a sigh, a slight breeze passing by the two as she looked around, stopping in her tracks when she looked to see a ferris wheel a few feet away from the two. "I wonder if it's still open?"

"You mean the ferris wheel." Ai stated, looking at the ride with a blank look. "You want to go on it." It wasn't a question, more of a sentence, as Mallory gave a small nod.

"We don't have to, if you don't want to I mean." Mallory said, though it was clear that she did want to ride on it. With a small sigh, he began to walk towards the ride, as Mallory quickly followed after her teacher. Just in time to get to the last call for the ride, the two waited in line to get on to the ferris wheel.

"Why this ride?" Ai wondered, glancing over the ride in front of them as Mallory leaned against the metal railings beside them, looking down.

"My mother really liked this ride, it was actually her favorite." Mallory glanced up at the ferris wheel in view, a small smile coming to her lips. "She always loved seeing the town from a high view, especially when it was right at a sunset like this." The line began to move as the two waited for the next capsule to come in front of them, before the attendant opened the ride for the two. Both Mallory and Ai walked in, however the two had to end up sitting next to each other, due to the capsule only having one seat. Mallory was rather quiet now, her face flushing red; the two were in a ride together, and the space in the capsule was rather small, along with sitting next to Ai, and so close to him as well. She tried not look at him, to nervous to even try to speak.

"You always talk about your mother, she was that important to you?" Mallory's head turned as she glanced at Ai, looking at him slightly surprised; she didn't think he would even ask a question about her mom; it always sounded like a touchy subject to them when she spoke of her. She glanced down at her feet for a few moments, before nodding.

"She's the reason I love to do what I do; she told me to never give up on my dreams, and that I could be whoever I wanted to be." A small smile came to her lips as looked out the window of the ferris wheel, "She always helped me with my homework, or made me feel better when I got a bad grade or wasn't feeling well; she was always there for me, until the end." Mallory turned back to look at Ai, a smile still on her lips. "I wish I could see her again one day; if I could, I would just want to thank her for everything that she did for me."

"I see." Ai simply said back, as Mallory looked back at him, silence filling the air around them. Before Mallory could try to speak again, the ride had gotten to the top as the sunset shined over the clouds, creating a beautiful scene. Her eyes sparkled as she took in the beautiful sunset, the yellows and oranges from the sun shinning along the clouds as it took her breath away.

"Beautiful." She muttered lightly, before she yawned, rubbing her eyes to try to keep herself awake; this was the third or fourth time now that exhaustion had tried to claim her.

"You're tired." Ai simply said, observing his student as she rubbed her eyes, looking rather exhausted, as if she were about to pass out.

"Yeah, I wasn't joking on stage when I said I had tired myself out." She muttered, yawning once more as began to nod off, trying to stay awake. She began to lean her head against the window beside her, but it was rather uncomfortable, and she sat back up, groaning lightly. If she were to sleep against the window, her shoulder would surely be stinging once the ride had ended. She gave a sigh, sitting up as she closed her eyes, trying to get in a small nap before the ride ended so she would have some energy left to get home.

Ai had noticed that Mallory had gotten rather quiet a few moments, ago, but didn't think anything of it. He simply watched the sunset begin to fade, as the sky began to turn dark, seeing the sparkling lights in the sky begin to appear. The sight was rather beautiful, something that many people didn't take time to experience, but it was something to behold when you took the time. Ai was still looking at the sky when he blinked lightly feeling something heavy against his shoulder as he glanced beside him to see that Mallory had dozed off, asleep. Her body had slumped over lightly to her right, her head now resting on his shoulder as her chest rose and fell every few moments.

"Nakagawa-san." Ai called to Mallory, hoping to wake her up to tell her that she was invading his personal space, but she didn't stir, continuing to sleep as he gave a sigh. "You can be such a bother sometimes..." Even as he trailed off, he continued to let her sleep against his shoulder, glancing down at her as she slept, watching her breath slowly. His eyes softened at her petite form, turning his head to look down at her, observing her. Why was she so confusing, so hard to figure out? She was doing something to him that he couldn't understand, and it always frustrated him. His heart was beating faster when the talked, and just the small gestures she made always made his eyes linger on her for a few more seconds, before realizing what he was doing. "And before..." He trailed off, remembering what had happened when he had seen her at her dorm room.

"M-Mikaze-senpai!" Mallory breathed out, sniffling lightly as she tried to wipe her tears as fast as possible with her hands, hoping not embarrass herself any further then she already had. "I'm sorry, I must have been really loud..."

"Why are you crying?" He asked this rather bluntly, but he was curious, wondering why his student was in tears. Mallory was silent for a few moments, before giving a small laugh, a fake smile coming to her lips, though the tears still flowed down her cheeks, the sight rather heart breaking.

"I was just talking to Kurosaki-senpai is all; I know about his past and I went to confront him about it. I-It didn't really turn out well and he ended up yelling at me, but it's fine! It was my fault anyways..." Even as she said this, trying to brush the incident aside as if it was nothing, she still hurt every time she thought about it.

"Blaming things on yourself solves nothing." Ai said back to Mallory, watching his student try to blame herself for what happened. In truth, he had heard yelling coming from Ranmaru's room and went to investigate, but by the time he had gotten there, Mallory had already been walking back to her room, crying. "It was brave of you to face Kurosaki-san, though the chances of you getting through to him were below thirty percent." Mallory gave a small frown, still trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, in front of her teacher no less.

"T-Thanks, I guess." She sniffled lightly again, before she felt a hand push her hands away from her face, before feeling a cloth be put into her hands. She glanced up to see Ai handing her a handkerchief, as she gave a small nod. "Thank you." She muttered, before wiping away the rest of her tears, giving a small sigh once she had finished. She gave a small sigh, holding the handkerchief in her hands softly as she glanced up at Ai. "Uh...thank you again, Mikaze-senpai." She gave a small bow to her teacher, her face beginning to heat up, embarrassed beyond belief.

"Don't you have a meeting to get to?" He asked, watching his student. Mallory stood up straight, gasping lightly as she gave a look of worry.

"Oh, you're right." Mallory wiped away any tears that were still on her face, before giving a small smile to her teacher. "Thank you again Mikaze-senpai; it...means a lot that you talked to me."

"Why did I feel a pain in my chest when I saw your tears?" He whispered into her hair lightly, remembering what had happened. The scent of vanilla came to him once more, sighing lightly as his eyes closed for a few moments, hearing her breathing lightly as he thought to himself. He opened his eyes as he slowly sat up, making sure not to disturb the sleeping girl next to him as he took out his phone, pushing a few buttons lightly before he settle the phone to his ear. A faint ringing was heard from the end of the phone, before it stopped, and the caller finally picked up.

"It's me. No I'm fine, but I think I need a check up soon." Ai glanced down at the girl next to him, simply watching her sleep peacefully, unaware that he was watching over her. "It's something I'll discuss when I come and see you in a week." Ai glanced down for a few moments, his look becoming solemn as his turned to the window next to him, the moon starting to come into view.

"I know. I'll make sure to be careful, Professor."

"Nakagawa-san." Mallory stirred lightly in her sleep as her eyes began to open, her vision blurry as she heard a voice call her once more.

"Hmm?" She sat up as she rubbed her eyes, seeing her vision to become a bit clearer as she turned to see Ai next to her, a blank star eon his face once more.

"You fell asleep." He simply said, and Mallory became fully awake, her face flushing madly as she gave an apologetic look.

"Gomen Ai-senpai, I was just so exhausted that I needed to take a small nap; I'm sorry if I annoyed you or anything." He simply gave a small sigh, as glanced away from her gaze.

"It's fine." Mallory's eyes widened lightly as she heard Ai, but before she could bother to speak again, the two were ushered out of the ride. Mallory decided to keep quiet however, watching the night sky be illuminated by the moons beautiful shine. The two were quiet once more, and Mallory couldn't help but glance at Ai every few moments she could; the moonlight complimented Ai so well, it was as if it's gaze was made for him and him alone.

"The other will be waiting for us, right?" Mallory asked, as Ai gave a small nod.

"We'll be home in time to see them." Mallory gave a nod to her teacher, as the two left the park, the moonlight shining on the two as they walked.

Even after all the fun Mallory had back at the amusement park, it didn't end after she left. When the two had gotten back, the whole rest of Quartet Night and STARISH had helped to set up a small congratulations party for Mallory in honor of her first live, to which she was truly surprised about. There was food and music and fun all around, and she couldn't have been more thankful to have such wonderful friends, and even more thankful to have such amazing teachers.

"They really are the best." Mallory muttered to herself as her night of fun was about to end, walking along the carpeted floors to the girls dorm as she gave a sigh. Finally making it to her dorm room, she opened her door and turned on the light as she gave a sigh, stretching lightly as her gaze turned to her desk however, noticing something colorful. She glanced over, seeing a vase with a bouquet of flowers resting on her desk, as she walked over to it, looking over the gift. Pale pink thornless roses, rosebuds, stocks of white and purple, yellow tulips, orchids, and white carnations filled the lovely glass vase, Mallory's eyes widening over the sudden gift; how did it get into her room? And who was it from exactly? She glanced over the vase, seeing a small white card in between the flowers as she reached out to grab it, plucking it lightly in her fingers as she looked over the message, a smile coming to her lips as she gave a small laugh.

"Thank you." She muttered lightly, setting the card down on her desk as she began to get ready for bed; she would need to be ready for whatever would be coming her way over these next weeks.

A congratulations gift from teacher to student.

What did you think? :D

I know I kinda lied, I actually did both! Once reviewer, Otoya Ichinose, made a good point in their review about why the flower garden should be chosen. I do agree that it would have felt like it would just be switching Haruka and Mallory around, but I have never actually seen the scene before in Ai's route, only read on it, so I decided why not do my spin on it?!

And to note, Primrose means "I can't live without you"; it was kinda intentional, but sad none the less.

And yeah, the Professor has been mentioned! Ooooooooh.

I think you all know what that means, hmm? Ai's past start to pop up more, an who knows, maybe Mallory will find out something about Ai-senpai~

School is coming back up for me, so updates my be slow, so don't fret, I'll try to get updates done as soon as I can!

Also, I'm tempted to do a three person pairing for this story. Not like for the whole story, but as side chapters for this story, as in AixMalloryx?.

Not sure if I'll do it or not, but they idea has been lingering in my brain for a while now. Only time will tell!

Until next time, bye bye!