Chapter 22: A Strange Love... Diamond?

Ranma lay on his bed reading through his assigned English reading. Iwasaki-sensei had made sure that he was given a copy of Anne of Green Gables for their novel reading assignment when she found out he'd not yet read it. He'd wondered why she'd insisted so much (and why Hibari kept giggling) until he read enough to find out that the story involved a pigtailed redhead sent in place of a boy by mistake. He'd almost put the book down for good thinking his teacher was having some sort of joke at his expense, but then remembered he had to write a report for marks and so relented to read it. To his surprise he found himself actually invested.

Though not too invested to notice Hibari sliding into his room by way of the divider. He stuck a bookmark in place and then turned towards the cute blonde. She was holding something behind her back and wore the smirk he'd fallen so in love with.

"Okay, what do you have behind your back?" Ranma asked as she approached him.

"Well, I know you like undershirts. So... I bought you a special scientifically designed one. It was made for athletes specifically," Hibari explained.

"A scientific undershirt? That's a thing?"

"Will you try it on? For me at least?" Hibari asked innocently.

He knew something was up but nodded. (Hibari was never actually that innocent.) "Alright."

Ranma removed his current shirt and undershirt and then held his hand out. Hibari seemed at least a little distracted for a moment.

"Sorry, just enjoying the view," she giggled before handing the garment she'd held behind her back until now over.

"This seems kinda lacking in material," Ranma muttered as he started trying to put it on. It was a surprisingly elastic and tricky to manage.

"It's stretches to cover everything needed," Hibari replied. She was however giggling furiously by this point.

Ranma grunted a bit as he pulled it on. "Hmph. I can't pull it down any lower than che-wait a minute. Is this a bra!?"

Hibari nodded between giggles and then splashed him with a nearby glass of water. Her giggles turned into a full laugh.

Ranma's eye twitched. While the small redhead wasn't really angry by any definition of the word he was annoyed and embarrassed. Which meant he felt Hibari deserved to suffer a similar annoyance. Noogies seemed a good option.

The sly smile on his face must have been a give away as Hibari managed to dodge his initial tackle attempt. Her speed had only increased with the training he'd been giving her and she was proving remarkably effective at dodging as he chased her around their two rooms. The chase lasted perhaps a minute or two until Ranma stopped, having come to a realisation.

Staring down at his generously sized chest the redhead jumped in place a few times and noted how everything stayed (reasonably) in place. The sensation was such a pleasant shift from usual he could help but smile.

"Hey, this thing actually does help," the curvy teen announced with a smile.

"That's kind of the point of it," Hibari replied flatly.

"I thought bras were just to make things look cute. This actually does somethin'. And isn't frilly or nothin'."

"Of course. I knew what the easiest type to get you to try was. I put some slightly more fun options in your dresser if you're feeling adventurous though."

"I'm not sure-wait, what do you mean fun?" Ranma asked, looking up judgmentally at the blonde.

"Go take a peek," Hibari said with a wink.

Ranma nervously walked over and opened his underwear drawer. His six or so boxers were folded efficiently in one corner. Added in were at least a dozen pairs of colourful girl's underwear (mostly red) and three other bras. One was designed with similar sporty efficiency to the bra he was wearing. The other two were significantly lacier.

"One of them is a push up," Hibari explained. "I'm mostly just curious as to how it would look considering how big your boobs are already."

Ranma turned and gave her a flat stare. "I ain't wearin' anything lacy. And what am I supposed to do with girl's underwear? One splash a hot water and things'll be real uncomfortable."

"Nah, those are boyshorts. Really comfortable really either way."

"Either way? How do-" Ranma froze up. In all his time with Hibari, even when trying (and generally failing) to think of her as a boy, he'd never actually realised certain bits of anatomy were present. "Oh. Riiight. You do know."

Hibari raised an eyebrow before lighting up and giving the redhead a tight hug. "Oh Ranma, you're so cute sometimes."

"I'm still gettin' used to... both of our situations to be honest," Ranma replied. "We're a kinda complicated couple... I still ain't gonna wear that lacy stuff though."

Ukyo was smiling as she watched Seiji and Park slide the sign for Ucchan's into place. She'd have liked to have her grand opening tomorrow now that the restaurant was finished. However, as part of the deal with the Oozora group she had other obligations to handle first. Still, she was getting to open so much earlier than planned she was thrilled.

"Seiji-san, Park-san, you b'ys have both been such a big help. Both of you can eat for free my first month of business. Heck, I owe all of the Oozora group. Tell the rest of them they'll get their first meal free from me," the chef said, beaming.

"Really? You're too kind, Kuonji-kun," Seiji replied happily.

"It's the least I can do after you guys helped out so much," Ukyo replied warmly. Not having to actually pay them made her life so much easier. "Now...I really should get some clothes picked out for my date tomorrow now. I'll see you guys Friday for the opening."

Ukyo waved the two men off before heading upstairs. She really did have to think about what to wear. Her usual gakuran just wouldn't do for a date... even a forced one with her ex. She had standards after all.

Ranma, Hibari, Ukyo, and Shui sat on the roof eating lunch. There was an awkward tension in the air as Ukyo received glares from both Ranma and Shui. Eventually it was too much for her.

"Listen, it's not my idea to call this romantic. Oozora-san's help makes running my restaurant massively easier and that's that. So why don't you guys just let me treat this as a friendly meetup?" Ukyo asked.

Ranma and Shui both muttered quiet responses and turned back to their lunches. Hibari was finding the whole thing annoying. Couldn't they just have a civil conversation? Clearly they needed to discuss someone who wasn't present.

"So, Shui... I was at the Neko Hanten the other day and Shampoo seemed genuinely happy to see me. Despite the fact neither I nor Ranma are ever all that nice to her," Hibari said. "Which got me wondering why she'd have gotten so smitten. I could only think of one reasonable answer, and I thought I should ask you your opinion."

"Shui is happy to try to help."

"Thanks," Hibari replied with a warm smile. "So... do you know if Shampoo's a lesbian?"

Shui nearly choked on 'his' noodles. "Gack... why do you think that!?"

Ranma likewise wore a face of shock.

"Well she's legally obligated to marry Ranma and me, so I'd expected resentment. Especially since we don't get along. The only thing I can see that would make her happy with the situation is both Ranma and I have feminine charms, which she probably couldn't have even hoped for from a husband normally," Hibari explained.

"That... maybe makes sense? Shui will... have to talk to Shampoo about it."

"You know, it would give people a better impression of you if you used watashi instead of your name, Shui," Ukyo said.

"Watashi is too formal," Hibari replied. "It's much more fun to use boku."

"Boku is kinda immature. It's cute you usin' it Hibari, but for a boy it's barely any better than using his name. Ore is much more mature and manly," Ranma countered.

"I still say that with Shui being foreign watashi like I use makes the most sense," Ukyo mumbled.

"This is why Shui doesn't use any. It is all so complicated..."

Ranma pulled Shui aside in the changeroom after Ukyo had hurried out (as she usually did). Shui was confused, but stayed quiet on Ranma's prompting until the change room was empty.

"Listen, Shui. I need a favour. I know Hibari and Ukyo both say they're not plannin' to do anything on this date, but... well they were basically a couple in middle school. An'... I still haven't actually taken Hibari on a proper date yet, so I worry Ukyo might manage to sweep her off her feet. Or worse decide to use Hibari to try to get to me somehow. So I wanta keep an eye on 'em."

Shui nodded. "How does Shui help?"

"Well, they're goin' to a kinda fancy restaurant. I'd look weird if I went alone. So I'll need you to come along too. We'll pretend to be boyfriend and girlfriend if anyone asks. How's that sound?"

"Boyfriend and girlfriend," Shui mumbled. The first image to form in the Chinese teen's head had the roles reversed from Ranma's plan. Then, Hibari's comments from earlier meant the image of two girlfriends together flitted through Shui's head until finally the true set up was properly realised. "Yes. Should be able to do that."

"Nice. Their date is at 6:30. I've got a reservation for 6:15. It's at the Il Toro Italian restaurant. Do you know anything about Italian food?"

"Not really, no."

"Yeah... me neither. Should be interestin'," Ranma said as they headed out of the change room.

"We are just spying no? Or are we eating too?" Shui asked.

"Well, it's kinda rude to make a reservation and then not buy anythin'. Plus I don't think I could sit in a restaurant and not eat."

Hibari found it odd how Ranma rushed through his homework during their study session. She was the girl with the date, yet he seemed to have far more on his mind.

"I'm not going to let Ukyo try anything. Don't worry," Hibari said in her most reassuring voice.

Ranma nodded absently. "It's not that. I've made plans with Shui to keep me from worryin'. I should actually head off soon."

"Oh. Okay," Hibari replied, pouting a bit. She'd hoped Ranma was going to try to follow her to keep an eye on her 'date'."You're not going to let Shui try anything, are you?"

"What!?" Ranma blurted.

"I think he has a crush on you," Hibari said calmly. "Also if you're off with him I'm not sure if Shampoo will be far away. She might cause trouble for you. Apparently she threatened Ukyo already."

"Really? Why did she do that?"

"Something about us being a boxed set? So she didn't like Ukyo trying to split us up. It would be cute and romantic if she hadn't included death threats," Hibari explained.

"Why didn't Ucchan tell me?" Ranma asked, half to himself.

"She just used it as a warning in case Shampoo showed up during the date. I can only guess if she manages to drag you onto one she'll give you the same warning."

Ranma accepted that before excusing himself. Hibari sighed a bit before heading over to dig out a sporty lilac dress with a low back (to make up for the high front). As she went over to pull out some make up her eyes once more landed on the packet of Nyannichuan powder she kept stored away. As happened whenever she saw it she was tempted to use the packet now, but knew to save it until it was needed. At least until the Jusenkyo salesman was back in town and she could buy more (she was saving up quite a bit of cash for that). Instead she focused on applying bold light blue eyeshadow and lilac lipstick.

With her makeup ready Hibari hurried off to wait in the kitchen for Ukyo to call. Tsugumi was happily working away on dinner for the rest of the family. Suddenly Hibari realised she had a chance to talk things over with her eldest sister.

"Tsugumi, I don't want to distract you from dinner, but there is something I'd like to talk about quickly."

"Oh? Give me a moment," the eldest Oozora daughter replied, turning the heat down on the stove so she could give it a bit less attention. "What did you need, little brother?"

"Well, that's the thing. What will it take for you to accept that I'm a girl? You all can accept that Ranma's a boy whatever form he's in, but only Suzume has extended the idea to see me as a girl," Hibari said, a bit of sadness in her voice. There would be no crying though. She was too proud of her mascara job today to risk that.

"Well," Tsugumi began, but found herself at a loss for reasons. "I... Ranma is... I suppose there isn't really a reason now that I think about it. Mostly force of habit... And I never realised you really wanted that? I always thought you were just having fun with everyone. Like that Tsubasa boy."

"No. It's what I've wanted for... well for about as long as I've understood what the differences between boys and girls are supposed to be," Hibari replied quietly.

"Very well. I don't wish to start any fights with father, but I will try to call you sister whenever he is not around. Is that alright?"

It wasn't quite the total victory Hibari had hoped for, but it had also gone far easier than she'd expected. "Sounds good for now. Thank you big sis."

Further conversation was interrupted by the noise of Ukyo arriving to meet Hibari. Hurrying to the front door Hibari say Ukyo looking handsome in a dark green tie, white button up shirt, and black pants that were probably just from her school uniform. Ibari was there to see them off and was clearly struggling to support the pair's choice of outfits judging by the amount of sweat on him.

"Well well, good work Ukyo-kun. You look quite handsome," Hibari said with a wink.

"I was going to wear a jacket too, but it seems a little too warm for that," Ukyo explained, apparently feeling underdressed.

"A perfectly sensible thought process," Hibari replied. "Well, let's get going. I'm craving mozzarella."

"You two enjoy your night out. Haha! Hopefully you can rekindle the love you once felt," Ibari told them both, stiffly giving Ukyo a slap on the back. His voice was tilted and rang false.

Hibari couldn't help smirking and blew her father a kiss as she and Ukyo left. She giggled as he finally tipped over clutching his chest.

Shui fussed with the indigo tie currently around 'his' neck. Ranma was ten minutes late and the cursed Joketsuzoku teen was beginning to worry that plans had changed. As a distraction Shui went through the menu once again, trying to understand these Italian terms explained in Japanese. Sadly none of the waitstaff spoke Mandarin. Or English. Or Russian. The three languages Shampoo had chosen to study as a child due to their seemingly being the most useful should she ever travel were left so wasted in suburban Tokyo.

"Hey, sorry I'm late," Ranma said quietly, sliding into the booth chair across from Shui. "It was hard to find somewhere to change on the way over."

"Do not worry. It is fine," Shui replied while taking in Ranma's outfit. It was a surprisingly modest affair of a white blouse and red a line skirt. A moment's reflection caused Shui to realise Ranma was definitely wearing a bra of some sort, which brought a blush to Shui's face for a moment.

"So, have Ukyo and Hibari shown up yet?" Ranma asked while pulling out a large pair of glasses to put on.

"No, I have not seen them. They are not due for five minutes."

"Huh," Ranma said as he pulled his hair out of its braid to put it in a high ponytail. "You decided to go with watashi?"

"Consulted Japanese learning books that I share with Shampoo. It seemed like best choice. Question though... was I meant to wear disguise too?"

"Oh... Yeah! You probably shoulda... I was too busy worryin' about my own. Oops. Well, they should be sitting behind you, so we don't have to worry much. It's not like black hair is a distinctive trait."

"True," Shui replied, absentmindedly fussing with one of those dark strands which showed only the slightest hint of Shampoo's natural blue.

Ranma felt briefly transfixed by Shui's body language, the redhead once again confused about finding Shui's behaviour cute more and more frequently. The petite martial artist switched awkwardly to reading the menu, not wanting to worry about just what his sexuality might be tonight.

It was so confusing. Ukyo was born a girl, but acted and looked like a boy, and Ranma found her handsome. Hibari was Ukyo's reverse. Yet both said they were really girls. Ranma couldn't tell what that meant for his own sexuality... he didn't need to think about Shui and Ryoga too.

"Ranma? You stare at same page of menu for three minutes," Shui said, breaking the redhead out of his self reflection.

"Sorry," Ranma mumbled as he looked the restaurant over again. Ukyo and Hibari had arrived while he zoned out. "They're here! Quick... look nonchalant."

Shui had no idea what chalant looked like and less idea what nonchalant meant. But the way Ranma hid behind the menu to peak over at Hibari and Ukyo Shui got the gyst.

Across the restaurant Hibari and Ukyo both noticed the redhead trying to seem stealthy while staring at them.

"So he did decide to spy," Ukyo said, mostly to herself, as she casually opened up her menu. "Going to be a boring night for him."

"Wait a second. He's with someone... that's got to be Shui," Hibari whispered. "He's on a fake date with Shui? We just discussed how that boy has a huge crush on him."

"I don't think you have to worry. It's not like Ranma would actually let someone as masculine as Shui make advances," Ukyo replied calmly.

"You didn't see him around Ryoga," Hibari replied simply. "And if you think you've got a chance of winning him you'd better hope Ranma's open to having a boyfriend."

"Those in glass houses should be careful with stones. Let's both agree not to question the other's femininity," Ukyo countered.

Hibari found herself pouting and went back to trying to decide between lasagna and cannelloni. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a waiter approach Ranma and Shui's table.

"Sir, madame, have you decided upon your orders?" the waiter asked nervously. That redhead was stunning, but her muscular and handsome boyfriend showed how out of his league she was.

"Uhh..." Ranma muttered as he flipped through the menu with panic.

"I will have mushroom risotto," Shui replied. (It was rice. Surely even if an exotic cuisine like Italian could only do rice so differently.)

"Fondue?" Ranma said, having effectively panicked and chose the first thing that his eyes landed on.

"Are... are you sure you can handle that, ma'am?" the waiter asked.

Suddenly Ranma's competitiveness flared up. "Of course. I can handle any food."

"Very well," the waiter replied as he took their menus and walked off.

The small redhead suddenly realised he had nothing to stealthily hide behind while watching Hibari and Ukyo. He decided to hope they'd be too distracted to pay him any attention. He noted that they were currently reading over their menus (and missed the way Shui was staring at his cute round face happily).

"I think I'll try a pizza," Ukyo said in an attempt to make conversation. "I've heard it be compared to okonomiyaki, so I should stick with something I know."

"We should give him a show," Hibari replied. "Let's make Ranma think we're having a great date. Since he trusts us so little... only fair we play with him a bit."

Ukyo looked up to ask what Hibari was talking about and found the other girl staring at her with loving eyes. Hibari's eyelashes were batting away innocently, but there was just a tiny smirk to her lips that showed how in control she felt. Ukyo blushed and found her response die in her throat. "Y-you're too good at that."

"Well obviously," Hibari replied simply while still giving the body language of someone in love. "I mastered how to have feminine charm in my behaviour to make up for how my body wasn't planning to put in its fair share."

"You're understating how pretty you are," Ukyo replied, nervously blushing. The chef let out a sigh of relief as their waitress appeared to offer a reprieve from Hibari's playful flirting.

Ukyo ordered a pescatore pizza while Hibari chose the cheese cannelloni. While they waited for the order to return Ukyo tried to make small talk, and found Hibari laughing and smiling away as if Ukyo were the most suave dating partner imaginable. Ukyo gave the occasional brief glance over to Ranma's table and found the redhead growing ever more red in the face as the night went on. By the time the food arrived Ukyo found herself joining in on the act completely. Even if they were both discussing their homework assignments they made sure to make eyes at one another and laugh away like they were flirting. Participating in the ruse helped it feel so much more natural for Ukyo.

Ukyo and Hibari also both had to honestly laugh whenever they looked over to see Ranma trying to grumpily eat a fondue. The stringy melted cheese frequently took the redhead's full attention as he struggled to manage it. The two girls burst into laughter as they saw Shui try to sample a little and get shooed away. The petite cursed boy might not know how to eat his meal, but it was still his meal and Saotomes were not fond of sharing.

As Ukyo and Hibari laughed about a story from Ukyo's third year of middle school the waitress appeared and placed a sheet of paper in front of Ukyo. Looking down the okonomiyaki chef was frightened by the bill's price of nearly 5000 yen.

"Heh... that's going to take a bite out of my finances," Ukyo said, sighing a bit.

"Not at all," Hibari replied before turning to the waitress. "The bill is going on the Oozora family tab please."

"Oh! Very sorry, miss," the waitress replied with a bow.

Ukyo lit up with smile. Saving money was always good news in her book.

Across the restaurant the bill placed in front of Shui had a bit of a different response.

"It is one bill?" Shui asked, looking over nervously at Ranma. Close to 4000 yen was a bit more of an investment than expected.

Ranma, grumpy from watching Ukyo and Hibari apparently flirt the whole night and struggling with dinner, glared at Shui. "Well duh. You're supposed to be my boyfriend aren't you? So you're supposed to pay."

"Oh. Oh yes," Shui replied a bit reluctantly before smiling a bit. If they were keeping up appearances... then Shui might just get something kiss out of this date. Maybe? Hand holding at least, surely. "Is good thing Cologne give decent pay for work at restaurant. Have money to treat Ranma."

When Shui returned from paying Shui found Ranma pacing impatiently by the front door.

"They left already. For some reason they didn't have ta pay... We've got to hurry ta track them down," the redhead said in a mix of a whisper and a hiss.

Ranma grabbed Shui's hand and the pair were soon bounding across rooftops to reach the Oozora compound before Hibari and Ukyo's more sedate pace. The two spies found hiding place in the shadows of a nearby alley as the pair they were pursuing walked into view. Hibari and Ukyo had linked arms (unbeknownst to Ranma Hibari had tried to rest her head on Ukyo's should while they walked, but found it tricky what with her actually being slightly taller than Ukyo).

Hibari glanced around as they reached the door. She couldn't see Ranma anywhere, but felt herself being watched. Leaning towards Ukyo's ear she whispered, "He's definitely watching us. I'm not sure where, but... let's give him what he's waiting to see."

"What do you mean?" Ukyo asked, whispering as well.

"A fake kiss. It'll drive him crazy. He's probably in that alley... Sabu always said it was the best place to watch the front gave from. So follow my lead," Hibari explained in hushed whispers.

"What? No. That's too far. I'm still on sort of thin ice," Ukyo whispered back.

"Fine... I'll do it then," Hibari replied.

Before Ukyo could reply Hibari had placed her hands on the slightly shorter girl's cheeks and leaned in to near kissing distance. Rather than kissing her Hibari just winked.

Only a moment after Hibari leaned in a shout from the alley behind Ukyo caused her to spin around in shock. Ranma came barreling out of the shadows, a panicked Shui hurrying after the redhead.

"Y-you two! You said I had nothing to worry about! And then you flirt the whole night before kissing! Gah!" the petite teen fumed.

"Oh. Ranma. I did not realise you were there," Hibari replied with maximum sarcasm.

"Fine! Fine! If you're going to kiss Ukyo then I'll... I'll..." Ranma looked around frantically, trying to think up some form of revenge. Then he saw Shui.

Before he even stopped to think about what he was doing Ranma grabbed the taller teen by the collar and pulled Shui down into a kiss. Ukyo and Hibari were floored by shock while Shui froze in a confused mix of fear and bliss.

"Hah!" Ranma proclaimed, pulling away from the confused Chinese teen after only a momentary kiss. (Were there tears in Ranma's eyes?) "See, Hibari? I can kiss someone else too! How does that feel?"

"R-Ranma," Hibari said as she stood back up. "Ukyo and I didn't actually kiss. Or flirt. We were just putting on a show because we saw you watching us all evening. We were teasing you because you didn't trust us."

Ranma paled at the revelation. "Y-you didn't actually kiss? Ya just... Ooops."

"Also, Ranma, you just kissed Shui pretty easily compared to how you were with me," Hibari added, trying to swallow feelings of worry. "Do you... do you really prefer the idea of having a boyfriend?"

"What!? No! No! No... I was just panickin' and angry. Thinkin' you were droppin' me for Ucchan," Ranma said.

Shui still seemed too lost in joy to process what was being said.

The sound of spring steel colliding with Ranma's thick skull proved that Ukyo was no longer quite so stunned.

The spatula wielding girl hissed, not bothering to fight back her tears: "What's with only being upset with Hibari? Ain't I your fiancée too?"

"Hey!" Shui shouted, coming out of the daze. "Do not hit ai-er, tongzhi Ranma!"

"Oi! Stay out of this pal! You ain't engaged to him. This is a fiancées only fight," Ukyo shot back, glaring up at Shui.

Shui seemed almost ready to argue that point before backing down. "Fine. Shui leave then."

The cute redhead rubbed his head where Ukyo spatula had hit him and stared at the ground. "Sorry Ucchan... I just... I kinda feel more like you're competin' for Hibari rather than me. We were just kids when we knew each other, but you and her were old enough to actually understand romance and stuff."

"It was a crush. The most I've ever managed after you left me was crushes, Ranchan," Ukyo said softly. "You're the only one I ever actually loved. All those years... I wanted to tell myself I hated you, but I knew better."

Ranma winced as the small redhead realised how much he'd hurt Ukyo, but what could he do? He loved Hibari, not Ukyo. Yet seeing his childhood friend looking at him with a mixture of tattered hope and sorrow left the genderbent teen with the need to do something to comfort her. As he tried to find some way out of the crisis the sharp shout of Shampoo caused the group to scatter a bit.

Shampoo landed in the middle on them with a crash as her chui landed where Ukyo had just been standing. Shampoo stood back up to her full height and pointed one of her colourful clubs at Ukyo.

"You. Spatula boy," she said the last word with such hatred it was clear to all it was meant as an insult, "you hurt both airen. Try to steal one from other. Shampoo warn you."

"I tried to steal one? What about your roommate Shui? He managed to get a kiss out of Ranma!" Ukyo shot back, furious to have the way Ranma had been looking at her with such a soft expression ruined.

Shampoo's eye twitched. "Shampoo... Shampoo punish Shui later."

Ranma rushed between the two girls staring one another down and turned to Shampoo with his (currently rather short) arms spread to block her from attacking Ukyo. "Don't you dare hurt my friend."

Shampoo stared at Ranma with hurt confusion in her eyes. "B-but... chef girl hurt airen Ranma first. Shampoo just want defend both her airen. And defend love both airen have for other."

"I... gah! I can't deal with all this," Ranma said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "How about we call a ceasefire? At least for tonight?"

Ukyo and Shampoo both harrumphed while staring daggers at the other, but begrudgingly agreed before departing their separate ways. As soon as they'd left Ranma let out a sigh and slide down to a seat beside the external wall of the Oozora compound.

"Why is my life such a mess?" the curvy cutie asked to the warm evening air.

Hibari sat down beside the redhead and took his hand. "Hey, it's not just your life. I've been dragged into this chaos too. Let's try to manage this together, okay?"

Ranma squeezed her hand back. "I want to, but... I felt so guilty hurting Ucchan like that. What am I supposed to do?"

"I'm flattered that you think otherwise, but I don't have all the answers," Hibari replied.

"I do wish you hadn't messed around with me so much tonight," the redhead said softly.

"And I wish you'd trusted me enough not to spy," Hibari told him.