As per usual, please inform me of any errors you spot. I'm not the best at finding them.


Kuro yawned and laid his head down on Ash's shoulder. Ash reached over and rubbed a finger under the small cat's chin.

"I know buddy, I'm tired too. And I really don't wanna be here." Ash muttered to Kuro.

"Ash, I'm right here. I can hear you." All Of Love said, looking away from the rack of clothing to pout at his eldest brother.

"I know. I don't wanna be here. I made a mistake letting you two force me outta the house." Sleepy Ash retorted.

"Well if you got out more you'd get used to it." The Mother said, walking up behind Ash with several dresses draped over her arm.

"Ooohh! Let me see those! They look so lovely!" All Of Love leaned in to get a closer look at his sister's selections.

The Mother held up the dress at the top of the stack and placed it in front of her body. "Do you think this one is black enough? It looks more like a dark gray to me."

"Oh, you're right. It does." Love agreed.

"Uuugghhhh…" Ash groaned and pressed his face into a nearby wall.

The Mother sighed and placed down the dress in her hand. "Listen Ash, why don't you go look around for something for yourself and whatever it is I'll get it for you. Just please, don't start doing that groaning thing."

"Eh." Ash replied and trudged away from his siblings to see what he could find.

"Ugh, this was supposed to a girls day out. Remind me why I agreed to let him come?" The Mother questioned.

"Because I begged you since I was worried that Ash might need some fresh air and sunlight." Love answered.

"He practically lives off darkness and inhaling cat fur. He doesn't need sunlight. Trust me, he's like a vampire." The Mother complained.

"Hehe, I think vampire is a bit of a stretch." Love replied with a nervous giggle.

Ash glanced around the boutique. It wasn't really his style, quite literally, and he didn't think he'd have any luck finding something he'd actually be interested in enough to want to buy. There wasn't even anything that he thought would look good if he ripped the edges or made a few holes. He really regretted believing All Of Love that he'd 'enjoy' going out for the day. At least he wasn't suffering alone, he had Kuro with him after all. He thumbed around at a rack of pants, but nothing caught his eye. Probably because he was still on the women's side of the store. He made a slow beeline for the other end where the men's clothes were.

Kuro perked his head up and let out a meow. While walking Ash glanced down at the cat on his shoulder. "Somethin' wrong, Kuro?"

Sleepy Ash, without knowing, walked right in front of a young man, causing him to bump into Ash. Ash, being the bigger person, only stumbled a little, but the boy practically bounced off Ash and onto the floor.

"Oh geez, Mahiru! Are you alright?" Asked the taller of the two accompanying Ash's 'victim'.

The boy on the ground, Mahiru, rubbed his head and stood up with the help of his taller friend. "Uh, yeah. Hehe, I'm okay. Thanks, Koyuki."

Ash stood there nervously, too embarrassed to get a word out.

"...Uh… Um. I-I'm s-sorr-" Ash froze when the boy looked up at him and the two made eye contact.

Ash went wide eyed and his face felt like it was starting to burn. This guy, Mahiru, gave Ash a sick feeling in his stomach and his legs almost went out on him. He felt dizzier the longer he stared into Mahiru's eyes. It was like everything around Ash disappeared and all he could see was Mahiru and his perfect hair, his perfect eyes, his perfect face, his perfect everything. Those beautiful brown eyes stared right back at him and despite how cliche it sounded, Ash really did feel lost in Mahiru's eyes. And that voice. He may have only heard one sentence from Mahiru, but to Ash it already sounded like the voice of an angel.

"-sh! Ash! Earth to Sleepy Ash!" The Mother snapped her fingers in front of Ash's face.

"Huh? Wha…?" Ash muttered as he flinched and came back to reality.

"I said apologize to the kid! It was your fault wasn't it." She complained.

"Oh no, really! It's okay! It was probably my fault anyway." Mahiru protested.

"Really, Mahiru? I totally saw that guy keep walking without looking. It was in no way your fault." Mahiru's shorter, blonde friend piped in.

"Regardless of whose fault it was, I'm still sorry. Oh, my name is Mahiru Shirota. These are my friends Ryusei and Koyuki." Mahiru introduced himself and held out a hand.

All Ash could do was glance from Mahiru's face to his hand. The gorgeous smile on the brunet's face was distracting Ash. He could hear Love giggle and The Mother groan behind him at having to watch their brother stare at the other with a completely red face.

"You'll have to excuse him. He's shy. This is Sleepy Ash. I'm his brother, All Of Love, and this is our sister, The Mother." Love stepped in and spoke for Ash.

Mahiru put his hand down and the three friends gave the three siblings some very odd looks. Those certainly weren't names you'd hear on a daily basis. Ryusei opened his mouth to make a quick joke, but Mahiru spoke before his friend could do so.

"It's nice to meet you all. May I ask your cat's name?" Mahiru asked.

"K-Kuro… Y-you can pet him if you want!" Ash replied, albeit with a bad stutter.

Kuro turned to Ash with a shocked and slightly annoyed expression. The problem was that Kuro absolutely hated strangers touching him, but Ash almost never let it happen so it wasn't ever a problem. It was a problem now, however.

"Are you sure?" Mahiru questioned.

"Yeah! Of course, it's fine." Ash reassured him in a cheerful tone that was completely uncharacteristic of him.

Ash picked Kuro up off his shoulder and held him out for Mahiru. Mahiru and his friends' faces lit up as Mahiru gently took Kuro from Ash's hands. Kuro glared at Ash and begged for his owner to take him back. Ryusei and Koyuki rubbed Kuro's head while Mahiru held him. Koyuki kept baby talking to Kuro, which made the cat even more uncomfortable.

"I can't believe you're letting them pet Kuro." The Mother whispered.

"What can I say, chicks dig cats." Ash responded.

"But… they're not chicks Ash." Love stated.

"What can I say, cute guys dig cats." Ash corrected himself.

His younger siblings simply stared at Ash in astonishment. He'd never shown interest in another person like that, let alone confessed it to others.

"His fur is so soft. He's the fluffiest cat I've ever felt, haha!" The sound of Mahiru's laugh made Ash grip at his chest.

The boy stopped petting Kuro for a moment when he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out to check his messages and frowned when he read it.

"Sorry guys, my uncle is here to pick us up." Mahiru said.

Ryusei and Koyuki both groaned in response. Mahiru held Kuro out for Ash to take him back. When Ash took him back he could see how distraught Kuro was. He felt a little bad about allowing Kuro to be forced into a bad situation, but if it won him points with Mahiru the poor guy would have to put up with it.

"We have to go now, but it was nice meeting you all, even if it was due to bumping into each other. And thank you for letting me pet your cat, Sleepy Ash." Mahiru smiled at Ash.

"Uh… Y-you can just call me A-Ash. And… It was nice m-meeting you too." Ash mumbled out.

As Mahiru and his friends left the boutique Ash stared at Mahiru the entire time. He realized he started squeezing Kuro in his arms and the cat jumped up to lay on his shoulder.

"Alright, talk Ash. What the hell was that?" The Mother questioned.

"Do you think he noticed how you could barely form a sentence properly?" Love wondered.

"He's the most beautiful, perfect, pure thing I've ever seen in my entire life." Ash stated.

The Mother put a hand over her eyes. "Oh no. He's in love."

"Awww~ Ash is in love with a cute human boy!" Love giggled as he lightly clapped in celebration.

"D-don't say anything to the others. Especially Lawless and Old Child, they'd have a field day about it if they knew." Ash warned, feeling embarrassed.

"I hate to burst your heart shaped bubble, but I don't think falling for a human is a good idea. They die easily. Plus if he didn't know who you were by your last name alone then once he finds out the truth he'll be scared off." The Mother advised.

"Says the widow." Ash retorted.

His sister punched him in the arm. Not with all her strength, but enough to make sure Ash would regret saying that.

"Ow! Can't deaal…" Ash whined and rubbed his sore arm.

"I said it because of that. Even if he was willing to be with you despite knowing who you are, you'd still lose him. Humans die and we don't." She stated.

Ash frowned and looked away from his sister. Of course she had to be the one to point out reality. He knew she was just trying to look out for him, but that didn't mean he had to like it. All Of Love tried to butt himself in between his two older siblings.

"U-um… Let's keep in mind that you might never even see him again so none of this actually matters in the first place." Love said, hoping to ease the tension he was feeling from them.

Sleepy Ash and The Mother realized he was right. Kuro meowed and nodded his head, meaning he was agreeing with Love. Neither of the elder two said anything and Love felt like he completely ruined their time in town together.

"Whhhy don't we go home, huh? There was nothing interesting here anyway and you decided not to get any of those dresses. I'm sure Ash and Kuro would like to go home too." Love added.

Kuro meowed again and this time it was a lot more excitable. After being forcibly pet by three strangers he was definitely ready to go back home and lay in his bed.

"I'm always up for going home." Ash stated and started to walk to the entrance of the boutique without waiting for the other two.

The Mother sighed and followed after Ash. "Fine, might as well."

"Wait for me!" Love shouted as he chased after them.

Back home Ash laid wide awake in his bed. Unlike the rest of the house, Ash couldn't sleep, although usually that was normal, it was just the reason this time that made it odd. He tossed and turned but couldn't find a position he was comfortable with.

"Kuro. I can't sleep." Ash said, staring up at the torn up ceiling of his room.

Kuro opened his eyes and tried to stay still in his own bed. Maybe if he didn't move Ash would stop talking.

"I can't stop thinking about Mahiru."

Clearly that wasn't going to work then.

"Mahiru Shirota… That's a beautiful name."

Kuro shoved his face down onto his bed and flattened his ears.

"Do you think he likes cats? He really seemed to like you."

Kuro bit into his bed.

"What if he's a cat person? We'd have a lot in common already if so."

Kuro let out a soft hiss.

"Oh? You don't think so? Well, you are a cat. I suppose you'd be able to tell that sorta thing."

Finally fed up with it, Kuro got up from his bed. He made his way to the window that was always left halfway open for him and jumped up on the windowsill. Ash sat up and watched as Kuro glanced back at him before jumping out the window.

"What was that for?" Ash questioned.

It was several days later, ten in fact, when Ash came downstairs during the afternoon to grab a snack from the kitchen. He entered the main room to see All Of Love, Lawless, and World End.

"Ay, look who finally left his cave. Nyash!" Lawless announced.

Ash scowled and made his way to the fridge.

"Oh, Ash! Perfect timing! We were just about to leave." Love said.

"No! Don't you dare invite him! He's no fun!" Lawless protested.

"Wow, gee… Thanks." Ash grumbled sarcastically as he looked in the fridge.

"Eh, the more the merrier, right? Besides, Sis and Doubt didn't wanna go, Old Child looks too young, and we don't invite Tsubaki out to drink anymore. Not after last time." Wor said.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Ash asked and turned around.

"We're going to a bar downtown. You really should come with us." Love answered.

"Ugh, why do you keep inviting me to do stuff? You know all I do is complain the whole time." Ash said and closed the fridge door, no longer interested in getting a snack.

"Well, it's important that you get out and socialize. You can't keep yourself cooped up in your room twenty-four seven. It's just not healthy." Love explained.

"It's not gonna kill me." Was all Ash said even though he had plenty of other excuses he could list off.

"Drinking won't either!" Wor shouted.

Ash momentarily opened the door to the fridge again to show off the small number of beer cans inside. "I can drink at home. Besides, it's not my prefered activity."

"The place we're going to is next to the arcade." Love stated, knowing that would win Ash over.

"I'll grab my rolls of quarters." Ash said as he sprinted out of the room to head upstairs.

"Why ya gotta invite Ash!?" Lawless complained.

"Can you put aside your differences with him for one night, please?" Love asked in a stern tone.

The assertiveness of his second youngest brother actually startled Lawless, which caused him to grow silent as they waited for Ash to return. Upstairs, Ash walked into his room to find Kuro coming in through the window.

"Hey, goin' to the arcade. Wanna join?" Ash asked the cat.

Kuro meowed and nodded his head. As Ash was picking up rolls of quarters from his desk and a little something extra, Kuro climbed up his leg then his arm to hang off his shoulder. Ash stuffed the quarters, which he kept specifically to use at the arcade, into his coat pockets and left his bedroom. As he shut the door, across the hall Old Child walked out of his own room.

"Hey Ash! Up to something?" He wondered.

"Uh, yeah. Love, Law, and Wor are going to the bar so I'm going with so I can go to the arcade." Ash responded.

His younger brother's face lit up and flashed a big smile.

"Can I join!? Please, please, pleeease!" Old Child begged.

"Mmn… but you don't care for games." The elder stated.

"So!? If you're going somewhere then I wanna go too!" The younger exclaimed.

Ash groaned. He really didn't feel like babysitting Old Child at the arcade and the kid wouldn't be able to go with the other three since he looked like a toddler.

"Uh… Yeah, sorry Old Child, but-"

"Aaaash! Please take me with you!" Old Child interrupted and latched onto his brother's leg.

"Oh c'mon! Uugh, can't deal… Seriously Old Child, at least act your age about it." Ash grumbled and lifted his leg up.

"If you want me to act my age then I might as well lay in a coffin six feet under! Please, Ash! We do everything together!"

"Not everything. Just most things. In the house. At home. Here. Not out there."

"It's not fair, Ash! It's not faaair!"

"Please let go…"

At the end of the hall, Doubt Doubt's bedroom door opened. The eldest two knew they messed up when they saw him calmly walk down the hall towards them. He stopped next to Ash and they both were silent as he stood there for a moment. Doubt grabbed Old Child by the back of the collar of his shirt and pulled the boy up. He let go of Ash's leg and Doubt placed him on the ground.

"Stop." He muttered before turning around and going back to his room.

Old Child, Ash, and Kuro simply stared as Doubt's bedroom closed. It was a moment of silence before Old Child glared at Ash.

"Look what you did!" Old Child shouted.

"Me? I wasn't the one yelling." Ash stated.

Doubt's door opened again and he poked his arm out holding up one of his paper bags with a frowny face on it.

"Sorry." The two brothers apologized.

The door closed again and the eldest two turned to glare at each other.

"I'm leaving now." Ash whispered and began to walk down the stairs.

"Fine! I see how it is! Abandon your favorite little brother then!" Old Child whisper-yelled.

Ash made his way down to the first floor without another word. He went back into the main room to find the other three staring at him curiously.

"Was that you and Old Child arguing?" Love questioned.

"Yeah." Ash said.

World End leaned back in his chair at the dining table and looked at Ash from an upside down perspective.

"Eh? It's not normal for you two to argue." He noted.

Ash looked off to the side. "I know… Can we go before I change my mind?"

"Oh, yes. Finally!" Lawless cheered as he got up from his place at the dining table and began to make his way to the hall.

World End quickly jumped up and followed Lawless. All Of Love started walking too, but stopped next to Ash.

"Thank you for agreeing to go out more often, Ash." Love said.

Ash nodded. "Ya might as well consider yourself lucky that I've been in the mood to go out lately."

Love giggled and held out a hand. Ash looked at his baby brother's hand then up to his face. Love had a seemingly innocent smile, but Ash knew there was something serious behind it. It dawned on him that he'd been caught before he even tried anything.

"You see right through everything, don't you?" Ash muttered as he sighed.

He pulled out a quarter attached to a string from his jacket pocket and reluctantly placed it in Love's hand.

"I babysit children for a living, Ash. I'm good at telling these things." Love stated and put the quarter in his own pocket. "Now come along."

Ash was dragged out of the room by Love pulling on his wrist. The blonde's grip seemed a little too tight as they walked to the front door where Lawless and Wor were waiting. Without another word between any of them, the four brothers headed out of the house. Kuro got an odd feeling and looked over his shoulder. At the top of the stairs he saw Old Child crouched down and peeking between the bars of the railing. Once the boy realized he was spotted he immediately backed up and ran into his room. Ash noticed Kuro seemed distracted so he rubbed a finger behind the cat's ear, causing Kuro to let out a happy purr.

The walk downtown took a long while. Their house was on the edge of town and their sister didn't let anyone else drive her car, mainly because no one else had a license in the first place, plus World End's moped could only uncomfortably fit two people. By the time they even got downtown Ash was already regretting leaving the house. He hated walking, he hated being in town, and he hated not being shut in his room. He had to keep reminding himself that it was all for the sake of the arcade, which was pretty much the only reason he left the house. Well, that and buying new video games, which he didn't trust anyone else to do for him.

Downtown wasn't even all that big of a deal in the first place. The town was pretty small so there wasn't much to see downtown. It was just where all the shopping and entertainment was located. There was a nice plaza though, with an actual working fountain unlike the broken one in the courtyard of the Ash household. The bar the youngest three were heading to was one that been there for over a century. It changed hands a few times, but it was one of the few places in town that the siblings were always accepted at. The arcade next to it was only a few decades old, but already Ash was considered a regular there. Most of the people there were teenagers and kids too so very rarely did Ash ever come across somebody that knew who he was.

The four brothers stopped in front of the entrance to the bar and Love turned to Ash.

"You sure you don't want to come in?" The blonde asked.

"Yeah. I'll have more fun by myself in the arcade anyway. Plus I brought Kuro and pets aren't allowed in." Ash said.

Kuro looked annoyed at the mention of being classified as a pet.

"Ya just brought the furball so you'd have an excuse not to go in." Lawless accused and Wor snickered.

"Hey, he's useful for more than just that." Ash stated, remembering how Kuro was treated ten days ago.

Kuro let out a clearly aggravated sounding meow and World End scratched the top of his head.

"Anyway, I'm gonna go now." Ash said as he started walking off to the arcade.

"Don't go anywhere else, Ash! It's not safe to wander off!" All Of Love called out.

Ash turned around as he kept walking. "I'm not one of those stupid rich kids you babysit, ya know… And I'm older than you."

"Right, sorry. Force of habit. I just worry!" Love apologized.

"C'mon! Ash can handle himself! Let's have fun!" Wor shouted as he tried to pull Love into the bar by the arm.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Kuro, please keep an eye on him!" Love requested and let himself get yanked inside in the bar.

Kuro meowed as a sign of acknowledgment, but didn't actually intend on doing such a thing. He was more Ash's responsibility than Ash was his and he wasn't planning on putting forth any effort to do anything except hang onto Ash's shoulder. Anything else wasn't worth it.

Ash stepped inside the arcade, which kept its door open, and noticed that there weren't many people inside. He was glad that it'd be less likely that someone would bother him. He slowly but immediately made his way to the back of the arcade where his favorite game was. The end of one of his coattails wrapped around the leg of a stool and he dragged it with him to the game machine. Positioning the stool in front of the machine, Ash took a seat and Kuro jumped down to lay in his lap, getting in a comfortable position so he could take a nap. Ash felt relieved to finally be sitting down after walking such a long distance. He pulled a roll of quarters out of his jacket pocket and immediately regretted letting Love take his trick quarter. Taking a few of the quarters out, he inserted them in the machine and started playing the game.

Kuro woke up from his nap an hour later and yawned. He looked up at Ash to see that his owner hadn't move an inch since he sat down. He seemed too distracted by the game to notice anything else around him. Kuro jumped down to the ground and started stretching his small body. Ash's game ended and he looked down at his cat on the floor.

"Yeah, I should probably stretch too." Ash said and raised his arms all the up to stretch them.

"Kuro!?" A slightly familiar voice shouted in a very happy tone.

Before the startled cat could do anything, a young man ran up and dropped to his knees. He picked Kuro up and held the tiny furball tightly against his chest. Kuro flailed his front paws and desperately meowed for help. Ash looked over and was pissed for a split second until he realized who it was that was assaulting his cat. Ash went wide eyed and he suddenly like his face was on fire.

"M-M-M-M-Mahiru!?" Ash shouted.

Mahiru looked up from the adorable cat in his arms and saw Sleepy Ash. He seemed a bit surprised, but still smiled at Ash. The sight of Mahiru smiling and holding Kuro was enough to make Ash melt on the inside. Behind Mahiru, his friends from before, Koyuki and Ryusei, walked up and joined Mahiru in petting Kuro.

"Hey, Ash! Good to see you and Kuro again." Mahiru greeted.

Ash awkwardly got up from the stool and nervously stood there for a moment. He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He was a bit too shy and anxious to say anything right away and he felt even worse since he was alone unlike last time. There was no All Of Love around to speak for him and it wasn't like Kuro would miraculously start talking in order to back him up.

"Uh… H-hey, Mahiru…" Was all Ash could get out.

Mahiru stood up and rubbed Kuro's fluffy cheek against his own. Kuro tried not to hiss, but he really wanted to, and Ash had to look away or else risk having an imaginary heart attack. Koyuki focused on waving Kuro's tail around and Ryusei stepped away to look at the machine Ash was just playing.

"I feel like I shouldn't be surprised to see you here. You kind of do look like the type of person who plays a lot of games." Mahiru said, taking note of the dark circles under Ash's eyes, his poor posture, and ragged looking jacket.

Koyuki walked over to bother Ryusei.

"I… uh… guess I could say that you don't seem like the type to play video games." Ash muttered, realizing how proper Mahiru looked in the clothes he was wearing. It matched with the clothes his two friends were wearing and seemed like a uniform. Ash could've sworn he recognized the outfit, but couldn't remember where it was from.

"Ehehe… I'm not really. I mean, I've played games before with friends and stuff, but it's not something I'm all that interested in. I only came here because it was our friend Sakuya's turn to pick the hangout location." Mahiru explained.

Ryusei walked off for a moment and Koyuki followed him halfway until stopping next to Mahiru. Everyone watched the blonde curiously as he glared at a few unoccupied machines then came back. He glared at Ash, then the game he was playing earlier, then back at Ash. The hooded man worried that he messed up something and Ryusei was mad at him over it. He couldn't imagine what he might have done though.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute! Cogs turning, wheels moving, brain thinking… No! You're- You're the Ash that tops the leaderboards on every game here!?" Ryusei shouted and held his arms out to motion towards all the other machines in the arcade.

"Oh... Yeah, that's me." Ash stated rather bluntly.

He was glad he didn't do something wrong, but he was now confused over why that was such a big deal to Ryusei. Mahiru took a step forward to look at the screen. The first score on the leaderboard belonged to an Ash and was at least ten times higher than the second place score, which belonged to someone going by Sky. Those two names filled up all ten slots on the list. Mahiru flinched upon realizing that he knew who Sky was. Unbeknownst to him, Kuro was frantically kicking his back paws in an attempt to get Mahiru to release him.

"Is that a problem?" Ash asked, realizing no one was saying anything anymore.

Ryusei was going to speak, but something else in the arcade stopped him.

"Dammit!" Someone angrily shouted from the front of the arcade.

The three friends knew what happened without even being there, but Ash had a very confused expression on his face. They quickly walked off and Ash was unsure if he should follow them. He decided that Mahiru still holding Kuro was enough of an excuse so he followed the group to the front of the arcade where they crowded around someone sitting at another machine.

"Did you lose again?" Koyuki asked.

"Lemme guess, second place?" Ryusei assumed.

"I'm sorry. Maybe you'll get it next time." Mahiru tried to say in a positive way.

Ash saw another guy get up from his spot in front of the machine. He had green hair in an odd messy style and dark gray eyes. He also wore a jacket the matched the one Mahiru and Ryusei were wearing. Ash leaned forward a bit to see the leaderboard of the game he was just playing. First place was a new record Ash got a few weeks ago and second place was also new, but it belonged to Sky. The person Ash knew as someone that was always trying to beat his scores, but he didn't actually know the person. Well, until now.

"It's always next time!" The green haired guy complained.

"No, really, Sakuya. One day you'll do it. I know it!" Mahiru tried to cheer up his friend with a bright smile.

Sakuya blushed and looked away from Mahiru.

"Wait. You're Sky?" Ash questioned.

Everyone turned to Sleepy Ash and he suddenly felt embarrassed to have the group's full attention. Sakuya especially didn't look too happy to see him. Neither Ash nor Sakuya were willing to say it, but they both actually recognized each other. Sakuya knew Ash as Tsubaki's eldest brother and Ash knew Sakuya as a member of Tsubaki's gang. Mahiru, who happened to be in between them, held a hand out towards Ash.

"Oh! Sakuya, this is Sleepy Ash." Mahiru moved his hand towards Sakuya. "Ash, this is Sakuya Watanuki. I suppose you two sort of already know each other in an odd gamer kind of way."

Ash and Sakuya glared at each other. They had barely ever even spoken more than a handful of words to each other, but neither of them liked a thing about the other. Finding out that they were actually gaming rivals at the arcade made them dislike the other even more than before. Ash didn't actually have anything against Sakuya, but since the first moment they met he could tell Sakuya was annoyed by him. He never knew why, but he never really bothered to find out why in the first place.

Kuro knew exactly what was going on, but Mahiru just looked back and forth between the taller males with a confused expression. He finally glanced over to Koyuki and Ryusei. Koyuki shrugged, but Ryusei took a step across from Mahiru to also stand between them.

"This, Mahiru, is a gamer's rivalry. Seeing one with your own eyes is about as special as spotting a unicorn." Ryusei explained with obviously fake knowledge.

If Kuro could talk he would've let Ryusei know that seeing a unicorn wasn't as special as humans thought it was.

"I say this is a good opportunity to watch two gamers duel each other!" Ryusei continued.

The two so-called 'gamers' looked at Ryusei in confusion.

"What are you getting at?" Sakuya questioned, sounding obviously annoyed.

"What I'm getting at is that you and Cat Boy over here should play a game you both can play at the same time to prove who the better gamer is." The blonde suggested.

"Not to be rude, but... why?" Ash wondered, also confused over why he was called Cat Boy.

"Because Sakuya is always dragging us to the arcade just so he can try and beat your high scores. I don't consider it any fun so he might as well entertain us at the arcade for once." Ryusei explained.

"But Ryusei! If Ash doesn't want to do that then you shouldn't rope him into something like this." Mahiru tried to scold his friend.

"Nah, it's fine. I have confidence that I'll win anyway." Ash muttered, only half trying to trash talk Sakuya.

Sakuya flinched and glared at Ash. "Fine then! You! Me! Nekken 9! Now!"

Ash looked off to the side and shrugged. "Okay, works for me."

Sakuya practically stomped away and took a seat in front of the Nekken 9 game machine. Ash started to walk over to it, but Mahiru stepped in front of him.

"You really don't have to do this, Ash. Sakuya can get very competitive when it comes to games." Mahiru told him.

Ash shook his head. "It's fine, I swear. I don't get many opportunities to fight against someone in a game in the first place. And I am kinda like his arch nemesis in a way. At least to him."

Ash walked past Mahiru and took a seat on the other side of the machine. Koyuki and Ryusei walked up to Mahiru.

"So, whose side are you guys gonna take?" Ryusei asked.

"I'll pick Sakuya. I like rooting for the underdog!" Koyuki said with a big grin.

"Yeah, I'm picking Sakuya too. I just wanna get a good look at his face when he loses." Ryusei admitted.

"Mahiru, you should go be on Ash's side." Koyuki suggested.

"Huh? Why? Who says I have to pick a side in the first place?" Mahiru deflected.

"Because you've been holding his cat this whole time." Ryusei stated.

Mahiru flinched and looked down at the cat he'd been holding in his arms. The black cat looked up at Mahiru. He completely forgot he picked up Kuro.

"I'm sorry, Kuro!" Mahiru apologized.

Kuro meowed as an acceptance of Mahiru's apology and wormed his way out of the brunet's arms. Instead of jumping to the ground to go be with Ash, Kuro climbed up Mahiru's arm. It startled Mahiru, who didn't expect Kuro to do such a thing. Kuro hopped up from his shoulder to the top of Mahiru's head and sprawled his little limbs out. Mahiru froze as Koyuki and Ryusei laughed at him. On one hand, he felt blessed by the cat gods to receive such an adorable gift, and on the other he felt embarrassed thanks to his friends laughing at him. Mahiru couldn't bring himself to remove his new 'cat hat' so he let Kuro be.

The three friends made their way to the competitors who were already selecting their fighters. Koyuki and Ryusei stopped to stand on either side of Sakuya while Mahiru kept walking to the other side and stood by Sleepy Ash. Ash looked up at him, surprised once to see that Mahiru wasn't with his other friends and surprised again to see Kuro on Mahiru's head. The only other people Kuro willingly sat on were Old Child, Doubt Doubt, and All Of Love. And he found it especially odd that Kuro was okay with lying on a human since the cat always seemed to have an aversion to them.

"Well!? Are you ready or do you wanna chicken out?" Sakuya interrogated.

Ash flinched and nodded, finalizing his selection. Mahiru didn't know anything about the game so he didn't realize how odd Ash's selection was. The first round started and their opponent's selected fighter was revealed to them. Koyuki couldn't help but start fawning over Ash's choice. Ryusei snickered a little, but still had full confidence in Ash. Sakuya started laughing uncontrollably.

"Lucky Katie!? Really? Are you just gonna hand me the win? I mean sure, bring the cat aesthetic full circle all you want but you still gotta take this seriously, ya know!" Sakuya mocked him.

Without a word or even glancing away from the screen, Ash used his character to knock down Sakuya's character, Shin Kazuma, while Sakuya wasn't paying attention. Sakuya flinched and tried to get his bearings, aggravated that he let his own guard down so easily. Obviously Ash was able to back up the reputation his high scores gave him. Sakuya desperately tried to get a hit on Ash, but all of Ash's blocks, dodges, and counters seemed perfectly timed. Every time Ash started a combo there was seemingly no way Sakuya could get out of it.

"Wow, you're really getting your ass kicked there, Sakuya." Ryusei noted.

"Shut! Up!" Sakuya shouted as he tried to focus.

"Aw! Be nice, Ryu." Koyuki said and pouted at Ryusei.

Mahiru looked from his friends and down at Sleepy Ash. The blue-haired man seemed so focused to Mahiru. He didn't move at all except for his hands, his face remained blank and emotionless, he barely blinked, and Mahiru was starting to believe that Ash wasn't even breathing. It kind of impressed Mahiru even though it was just a video game. The first round ended with a win for Ash and Sakuya slammed a fist down on the machine. Ryusei snickered behind his back which elicited a disappointed expression from Koyuki. The only movement Ash made was a long yawn.

"Don't mock me, dammit!" Sakuya shouted at him.

"I'm not mocking you. I'm a guy with naturally low energy, I'm just tired right now... Feel like I could take a nap…" Ash quietly stated and rubbed his eyes before the next round started.

Mahiru was actually surprised. If Ash was as tired as he claimed to be and yet still managed to win the first round with barely a scratch then Mahiru couldn't imagine how good he was with full energy.

The second round started and Sakuya pulled out all the stops. He blocked and dodged with almost precision timing, but Ash didn't give him any chances to get a hit in. In fact, neither of them could hit the other. Sakuya was getting more frustrated as each second ticked away on the timer while Ash was still as calm and motionless as a robot. They were close to running out of time when Sakuya glanced at the timer for less than a second, allowing Ash to hit him. By the time he could react, Ash wouldn't allow him to get out of the combo. He couldn't get it together by the end of the combo and Ash was able to right into a second one. It left Sakuya with just a bit of health left, but luckily it was more than enough to activate Anger. Without thinking, Sakuya immediately attempted to use Shin's Anger Art. Ash simply blocked it and started a final combo that defeated Sakuya. Without waiting for the match to be officially over, Ash stretched his arms out and popped his knuckles. Sakuya just sat there in disbelief, not uttering a single word.

"Guess what? You just lost to Lucky Katie!" Ash's character in the game said, which echoed in Sakuya's head.

"Oh, I was hoping he'd fly into a rage or something." Ryusei muttered, disappointed at the anticlimactic reaction from Sakuya.

"Well… I hope that you can still finally stop trying to beat all of Ash's scores now. You've been spending way too much of your time here lately." Mahiru noted.

"I think Mahiru has a point, Sakuya. I bet your parents would like it if you were home more often too." Koyuki advised.

Sakuya flinched and didn't move a muscle. At hearing Koyuki's mention of parents, Ash also froze. Sakuya abruptly stood up.

"Fine." Sakuya said and began to walk to the entrance of the arcade. "I'll just go home then."

No one tried to stop Sakuya, but Mahiru really wished he could bring himself to chase after his friend.

"Ya don't need to be such a poor sport about it!" Ryusei called out.

He looked back to his other friends to find Mahiru and Koyuki glaring at him.

"What? Geez, I just mean that if we all came here together then there's no reason to leave by yourself over something so petty." Ryusei claimed.

"You suggested they play a game in the first place, Ryu." Koyuki said in frustration, but wasn't that good at being upset at his friend.

"I didn't make Sakuya lose." Ryusei mumbled.

"Well, knowing Sakuya he'll cool off tonight and be back to normal by tomorrow." Mahiru said.

He glanced down at Ash who hadn't moved or said anything since winning. Ash didn't care that he won, he barely even tried in the first place and now he couldn't stop fixating on what Koyuki said. Those words weren't meant for him and yet it just didn't sit right with Ash. Then again any mention of parents never sat right with him. Ash felt a hand touch his shoulder and he looked over to see Mahiru. His face turned bright red at the realization that Mahiru was touching him.

"I'm sorry about Sakuya, Ash." Mahiru tried to apologize.

Ash immediately jumped up and stepped away from Mahiru. "A-again, it's fine… really."

"You know… If Sakuya left then there really isn't a reason for us to be here anymore, is there?" Koyuki wondered.

"Nah. We only come here 'cause of him. Might as well go home too. I don't think there's much time left to do something else before I have to go home anyway." Ryusei said.

"Yeah, we have been out for a while today." Koyuki stated.

"Want me to text my uncle to come get us then?" Mahiru asked.

His two friends nodded and he pulled out his phone. Mahiru stopped for a moment and glanced to Ash.

"Do you need a ride, Ash?" He questioned.

The idea of riding in a car with Mahiru sounded absolutely lovely to Ash, but he remembered his younger brothers were next door at the bar and leaving them alone to walk home probably drunk wasn't a smart idea.

"Uh, no… It's okay. I actually came here with some of my brothers so I shouldn't leave without them." Ash declined.

"Wait, really? Where are they?" Mahiru asked.

"Next door." Ash replied.

"But next door is a bar." Ryusei said with a confused expression.

"I know. I only came with them so I could come to the arcade." Ash explained.

"Oh, it's good to be the responsible one." Koyuki happily said, not realizing how wrong he was.

"I feel ready to go home myself so I don't mind waiting with you guys if you want." Ash suggested and turned away a bit.

"That sounds nice. If it's not too much of a bother then I'll like that." Mahiru said with a smile.

Fortunately Ash couldn't see the smile on Mahiru's face so he didn't have to risk fainting over something so sweet looking.

"Come on, Ryu! Let's wait outside!" Koyuki grabbed Ryusei by the hand and pulled him out of the arcade without waiting for a response.

Mahiru began to slowly follow his friends while texting his uncle. Ash walked with him, but lagged behind by a few feet. He realized Kuro had fallen asleep on Mahiru's head. It was pretty adorable to Ash, enough to make him blush, so he kept his eyes focused on the ground while walking. Outside, Koyuki and Ryusei had already crossed the street to stand at the fountain in the plaza. They were looming over the edge of it and staring down at the water. It was dark outside now so the lights for the fountain kicked on. The four waterspouts were also shooting water out of the base and into the pool below. On top was a bronze statue of the town's founder. To the three humans it was a beautiful sight to look at even though they were used to seeing it. To Ash, looking at the statue on top just pissed him off. Now that he thought about it, there was a plaque somewhere on the fountain that had the founder's full name on it. It sort of baffled Ash that other than Sakuya, none of the humans knew who he was. It was actually pretty hard to live in the small town and not ever hear or see the name Ash somewhere. He thought for a moment that Mahiru, Koyuki, and Ryusei were just playing dumb because it didn't matter to them who Ash was. It still didn't make sense to him either way, so he dropped the subject from his mind and kept walking with Mahiru. The brunet put his phone in his pocket and hopped onto the edge of the fountain to sit down. Ash simply leaned against it, hating the cold touch of the fountain that seeped through his clothes.

"My uncle said he'd be here in like fifteen minutes." Mahiru announced.

Koyuki and Ryusei nodded. Ash glanced up at Mahiru to look at Kuro on his head again. Mahiru noticed Ash looking at him and tilted his head up to figure out what Ash was looking at. It dawned on him that Kuro was still on his head. He didn't want the cat sliding off so he tried to keep his head still. He wanted to pick Kuro right up off his head, but he didn't know Kuro was sleeping and he didn't quite know the best way to get him off.

"Here, lemme get him." Ash said.

He stood in front of Mahiru and reached his hands up to gently slide his thumbs under Kuro. He felt his fingers lightly brush Mahiru's short brown hair and he had to use every ounce of his willpower not to show on his face how much he wanted to keep his hands there. So he could get it over with, Ash quickly scooped up Kuro, which woke up the small cat and he flailed his limbs for a moment before realizing what was going on. Ash held Kuro in his arms and the cat adjusted himself until he was comfortable, although nothing could compare to the comfort of Mahiru's head. Mahiru smiled are started petting Kuro. Ash wanted to move so he wasn't standing in front of Mahiru, but he couldn't bring himself to stop Mahiru from petting Kuro.

"Um Mahiru… There's cat fur in your hair." Koyuki observed.

"Oh, really? Aw man." Mahiru grumbled.

Mahiru bent over a bit and aggressively rummaged his hands through his hair. Ash could see dark blue fur falling off of Mahiru's head. When the brunet was satisfied with his work, he stood up straight a bit, but not too much.

"Did I get all of it?" Mahiru asked Ash.

Ash flinched and looked wide eyed at the top of Mahiru's head. There were a few strands of cat fur left in Mahiru's hair. He wasn't sure if he should remove the cat hairs himself or not. Kuro felt Ash's hand twitch underneath him.

"U-um… there's… a few left." Ash said.

He hoped that was good enough.

"Could you get them for me?" Mahiru requested.

Ash flinched again. That was exactly what he was trying to avoid. He hesitated before nervously reaching a shaky hand out. Ash gently removed the last few remaining strands in Mahiru's hair. Every time his fingers grazed the brown hair he had to hold himself back even more from freaking out. By the time he was done, Ash felt like he was going to implode.

"Okay… T-that's all of them… S-sorry about that… He, uh, he sheds a lot." Ash nervously explained.

Mahiru stood up straight and started fixing his hair. "Thanks! And it's no problem. I like cats too much to let shedding bother me."

So he was a cat person. Ash felt too happy over the revelation that he and Mahiru actually did have something in common. There was so much he wanted to start talking about. About Kuro, about different cat breeds, the best food brands, cat toys, and if Mahiru had any cats. Unfortunately, Ash was stopped before he could say anything by the worst possible thing happening.

"Hey, look at those drunk guys." Ryusei said and pointed at some people coming out of the bar.

The other three focused their attention on the people Ryusei was pointing at. Upon realizing who they were, Ash immediately wished he was capable of dying. It was All Of Love, Lawless, and World End and they looked absolutely hammered. Love had his coat and scarf off, but it turned out Wor was holding them and trying to tie them around the younger one's waist. Love kept moving around though and Wor was clearly too drunk to know what he was doing. Lawless got down on his hands and knees and started patting at the ground. The only thing Ash could assume that he was doing was looking for his glasses, which were on his head. He could hear Love giggling over something. Ash turned around and hoped they wouldn't spot him.

"Hey Ash, isn't that your brother from before?" Mahiru questioned, referring to All Of Love.

"You think? Um, I don't know. I can't really tell from here." Ash lied.

"One of them's waving at us." Koyuki noted.

Ash cursed under his breath and looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, World End had finished sloppily tying Love's clothes around him and was now frantically waving at Ash.

"Heeeey! Brooo!" Wor shouted.

Ash looked back to the humans and sighed.

"Okay, yeah. That's my brothers." He reluctantly admitted.

"How many of you are there?" Ryusei questioned.

Ash paused before answering. "...Eight."

"Eight!?" Mahiru repeated.

"Your parents must have their hands full." Koyuki assumed.

Ignoring how horrible the mention of parents made Ash feel, he glanced back over to see Love now yelling and waving at him too.

"You have no idea." Ash commented.

"Why don't you go over and help them? It seems like they want your attention anyway." Mahiru suggested.

Ash really didn't want to do that.

"Are you sure? They'll be fine. I can… keep waiting with you." He said, hoping Mahiru wouldn't force him to leave.

"Its okay, really! My uncle should be here in a few minutes anyway. Besides, they're your brothers." Mahiru reassured him and reached out to pet Kuro one last time.

Ash knew the appropriate thing to do was go help his drunken brothers, but staying with Mahiru even for just a few more minutes was what he really wanted.

"Um… I guess… I'll just… see you again some time then? Maybe?" Ash said nervously.

"Sleepy Aaaa~ash!" Love called out, making Ash tense up.

"Heh. Yeah, sure. I'd like that." Mahiru said with a smile.

Ash blushed. He couldn't believe Mahiru was actually okay with seeing him again. He certainly didn't think of himself as fun or entertaining to be around. Perhaps Mahiru was just trying to be nice. Still, it made him happy nonetheless.

"M'kay… Um… B-bye then." Ash muttered.

Without giving Mahiru a chance to reply, Ash ran off to his brothers. Koyuki and Ryusei looked at each other with confused expressions then to Mahiru, who just stared at Ash as he ran away.

Ash stopped in front of All Of Love, who was now sitting on the curb. The blonde had a cigarette in his mouth and he snapped his fingers in front of it to light it. There was a ridiculously goofy smile on his face. Wor stumbled over to Lawless and grabbed his elder brother by the shoulders, turning Lawless to face him.

"What!? Wha da ya want?" Lawless practically shouted.

Wor sort of smacked Lawless in the face, but only because he missed.

"They're on… uuuhh… yer head." Wor tried to tell him.

The glasses slipped down and landed back in place over Lawless's eyes. They were a bit crooked so Lawless tried to fix them, but he ended up making them crooked on the other side instead.

"Thanks man. I-I… ugh… I freakin' love you man! You're- you're- you're- you're-... uuuhh… Oh yeah, you're… cool." Lawless struggled to say.

World End wrapped his arms around Lawless's neck and slumped down on him.

"I love you too, man! I l-l-love our muuusic! I don't ever wanna w-work with someone else… except… you! We'll never have creative differ-diff-di-uh, diffences!" Wor shouted as loud as he could and sounded like he was going to cry.

Ash just stared at them as the two brothers clung to each other.

"If you two are done bonding, why are you already out? I assumed you guys would be in there for more than… what? An hour and a half? And I can't believe how drunk you guys already are." Ash questioned.

"We-we got… uh… we got kicked out 'cause Lo-Love started... stripping!" Lawless announced.

Love giggled and started trying to button up his pink shirt.

"It's not indecent exposure if you're preeetty~ Hehehehehe!" Love tried to justify it and laughed.

Ash sighed and Love scooted closer to him. The drunk blonde latched on to his eldest brother's leg, which startled Ash and he tried to back up, but Love wouldn't let him go.

"That's the huuuman boy you liiike, isn't it Aaash?" Love said in a teasing manner.

"Ssh. Don't talk about that." Ash whispered.

"Whaaat!?" Wor yelled.

"Ash likes a h-human!? Which one!? Which one!? The b-brunet you were… t-talkin' to!?" Lawless shouted and pointed at Mahiru, who thankfully wasn't paying attention.

Kuro jumped out of Ash's arms and onto his shoulder. His owner grabbed the edge of his hood and tried to pull it over his eyes.

"Shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Ash demanded.

"Heeeeey! My b-brother wants to fu-"

Lawless was interrupted by one of Ash's coattails wrapping around his head and covering his mouth. He yanked the coattail off of himself and gagged a bit over the taste of fabric that's been dragged on the ground and rarely washed. Wor uncontrollably laughed at the sight.

"Don't. Ever. Say that again." Ash aggressively warned.

He glanced over his shoulder to see Mahiru and his friends getting into a car. Mahiru stopped for a moment and waved at Ash.

"Ooooh Aaash~ Yooou should go ask him out on a daaaaateee before he leeeeeeaves!" Love suggested and tugged at Ash's pant leg.

"Date! Date! Date! Date!" Lawless and Wor chanted.

Sleepy Ash froze. It's true that he wasn't sure if he'd see Mahiru again and seeing him today was a coincidence the size of a miracle. Ash really liked Mahiru, enough to get a fuzzy feeling in his stomach every time he saw the brunet smile at least. He hadn't gotten a feeling like that in centuries, or maybe never. He couldn't remember. He looked over to Kuro, who simply meowed and jumped off his shoulder. Kuro hopped onto Love's lap and the blonde let go of Ash so he could pet Kuro. Without another thought, Ash turned around and ran up to Mahiru before the brunet could fully get into his uncle's car.

"Hey! Mahiru!" Ash called out.

Mahiru stopped and turned to face Ash, surprised to see him coming back.

"Huh? What is it, Ash? Forget something?" Mahiru wondered.

"Uh… um… d-do you… u-um… Do you wanna… hang out sometime? Or something? I dunno…" Ash struggled to ask, his face starting to turn slightly red.

He was too afraid to use the word 'date' in case Mahiru didn't swing that way or simply wasn't interested in him like that. Mahiru stared at Ash for a moment before smiling.

"Sure! Did you have something in mind?" Mahiru replied.

Ash flinched and turned away a bit.

"Uuuh… I-I honestly didn't expect you to agree so I didn't… think about that…" Ash admitted.

Mahiru chuckled and Ash looked at him in confusion.

"Mind if I see your phone for a minute?" Mahiru requested.

Ash immediately fumbled around with his pockets trying to find his phone. He pulled it out if his back pocket and nervously handed it to Mahiru, curious about what he was going to do. Mahiru took the phone and easily found Ash's contacts. After a moment he handed Ash his phone back.

"There's my number. Just call or text me when you come up with something, okay?" Mahiru advised.

Ash looked from Mahiru to his phone, and back at Mahiru. He honestly couldn't believe that Mahiru just gave Ash his phone number.

"Uh, y-yeah. Okay." Ash said and nodded his head.

"I gotta go now, though. I'll see you whenever you decide." Mahiru waved and got into his uncle's car.

The car door shut and the car drove off. Ash didn't move from his spot for a while. He heard a meow by his feet and looked down to see Kuro. The small cat rubbed his head against Ash's boot and Ash crouched down to pet Kuro on the head. He jumped up onto Ash's shoulder and laid down. Ash stood up and walked back to his drunk younger brothers. Lawless and World End were now standing and using each other for support. All three looked over to Ash.

"Weeeeell? Aaaare you going on a daaaate with hiiiim?" Love asked.

Ash shook his head. "Not yet, but I got his number."

"Aaaaaye!" The three cheered and threw their arms up in the air.

Apparently getting Mahiru's number was good enough for them. That, or they just wanted an excuse to yell for no reason. Wor stumbled a bit and grabbed Lawless's scarf so he wouldn't fall. Instead, Lawless got pulled down and choked out a little so they both ended up falling to the pavement. All Of Love stared at them for a second before breaking out into a laughing fit that sounded like Tsubaki. Ash and Kuro simply sighed.

"I'll text Sis to come pick us up." Ash said.