A/N: This is one of those "I'll probably recycle a previous ideas and make some changes to it" chapters.

darman: Thanks dude! Will do!

Leokunn: Again, I'm not really sure how I feel about chapter 9. Usually I state who the characters are, so I doubt it was Sakura.

"Hayase, could you go check aisle five for seasonings?"

"Sure thing, Sis," the girl replied before heading off. As she browsed the aisle, she accidentally bumped into another shopper.

"Oh, I'm sor...hey, I know you, right?"

"I believe so. You were that girl who helped my son when he was sick," the woman responded.

"Yes, I'm sorry we never actually met. My name's Hayase Nagatoro," the girl said with an extended hand, which the woman grabbed and shook.

"Well, it's good to finally meet you."

"Hey, is that for Senpai?" Nagatoro asked with a point at a birthday cake in the woman's cart.

"Yes. He's never been a fan of birthday parties, but we try to celebrate every year."

The two got into a short conversation about school and recent events until Nagatoro's big sister came from behind her.

"Having trouble with the seasonings, Hayase?"

"Oh, sorry Onee-chan, I just got talking," the girl replied with a gesture towards the woman.

"It's fine. But we should probably finish up and get home soon."

"Okay. Bye, maybe I'll see you around," the girl said before grabbing a few items from the shelves and leaving for the checkout with her sister.

"So, who was she?"

"Oh, she's Senpai's mother."

"Interesting. And what did you get talking about?" Sis-Toro prodded.

"Well, just small talk, really."

When the two finally got home and sorted out the groceries, Hayase made her way up to her room and began planning. After half an hour with no obvious ideas, she came to the rather bitter realization that she didn't know him as well as she should, given how much time she spent around him. Of course he liked to sketch and draw, but she couldn't come up with any really good ideas. He also liked more fanservice-filled manga, and it would be fun to watch his reaction after being handed a volume closer to his tastes, but maybe not on his birthday.

"Sooo, what's got you all in a bunch?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hayase shot back while standing up and leaving for the kitchen. Her big sister followed right on her heels, a classic Nagatoro grin plastered all over her face.

"Are you sure? You were in the same position staring into space for at least fifteen minutes."

"I said it's nothing."

"Technically, you said, 'I don't know what you're talking about'. So spill, maybe I can help."

The younger Nagatoro let out a long, exasperated sigh and finally gave in.

"Senpai's birthday is in three days and I don't really know what to get him," she admitted, preparing for the teasing she herself gave so often.

"Well, that sucks. Have you considered all of his hobbies?"

"Uhh, yeah. But I can't do anything big with just sketching supplies and manga."

"So try to find something else," the older girl suggested before going up to her own room.

Admittedly, Hayase failed to consider that option and mentally kicked herself for it.

On the way to school, the girl hung back at the intersection until she saw Senpai approach, then pass the fork in the road. Once he was a good distance away, she ran up behind him and wrapped her arms around him.

"Senpai! I thought you were some creepy animal when I saw you at first!"

"G-good morning, Nagatoro. Can-can you let go of me?"

The girl unwrapped her arms and let him go. He dusted off his shirt and resumed his walk to school.

"Soooo, got anything interesting coming up soon? Maybe a new lewd manga release or some kind of pervy thing you're interested in?"

"N-no. Nothing new. Why do you ask?"

"Ohh, just wanted to know what kind of creepy stuff I could look forward to finding in the next few days."

"Well, nothing new is coming out."

Even as the two conversed about more normal things, Nagatoro took in any details she could to place what he was and wasn't interested in. It was admittedly pretty hard, but she got a few ideas, all of which were quickly discarded.

"Well, today was a complete bust," Hayase complained the moment she got home.

"I'm sure you can find ideas online," Sis-Toro suggested with a shrug.

"Yeah, I'll just type in 'Birthday ideas for creepy Senpais'."

Yet that's exactly what she found herself doing, to an extent. Most of the ideas she read were only good for dating or married couples, which she and Naoto were far from being. But that didn't mean she couldn't alter a few of the suggestions. One of which was pretty bold, even by her standards.

"So, any luck?"

"Actually, I guess you were right. But why are you helping so much?" Hayase asked her sister, who had leaned herself against the doorframe.

"Well, if you two get together, it means Senpai-kun may visit more often. And you two are too easy to get to, especially when you're together," she replied, then ran off before a thrown pillow could hit her.

As the day before Naoto's birthday came to a close, Nagatoro made the final preparations to her plan.

"Hey Senpai!" The boy slowed down a little so she could catch up, and resumed his pace once she had taken a spot beside him.

"Hey, what's up?" he asked, acting like today was just another day.

"Oh, not much. But you know, there have been rumors of some creepy animal stalking these roads recently. I would hope we don't run into it," Nagatoro teased with an elbow to Naoto's arm.

"Funny. I, I also hear there's some creature nagging on people around these streets too," he replied with a stutter.

Nagatoro fell silent for a second, then burst into laughter. "I didn't think you had it in you, Senpai. That was a good one!"

When the two arrived at the school, they split way, knowing perfectly well they would be seeing each other again before the day was through. Yet another lunch period dawned upon the school, and Naoto found himself awaiting his friend's arrival in the art room.

'I wonder what she has in store today. Hope it's just harassing me to sketch her again.' he thought to himself, and promptly shook his head like an Etch A Sketch when the image of her stripping down to a swimsuit again popped into his brain.

"Senpai? Were you thinking about something lewd again?"

The voice he had grown to know all too well came from just outside the door, and the speaker entered the room like usual.

"Hello again, Nagatoro."

"So, what're you drawing today?"

"I don't know. I just can't get in the mood to draw right now," he responded, glancing distastefully at his poor attempt to sketch the vases he had set up earlier.

"Well, I have an idea. Why don't you sit on the couch and I'll sketch you?" she offered energetically.

"I really don't think that'll help."

"Don't knock it 'til you've tried it, or however that saying goes. Just get up and sit down." With a little light manhandling, she eventually got him leaning into the arm of the couch and set herself down at the easel.

All going to plan, all going to plan.

Fifteen minutes later, she put the pencil down and grabber her backpack. Naoto got up to look at the artwork, but was quickly gestured to sit back down. "I'm not done yet. I just need to grab a few things." She dug through her bag and pulled out a phone charging cord, a hairbrush, a closed envelope, and a regular pencil. Hayase went back to "sketching", and soon enough placed the pencil down.

"Not quite done, just need to straighten a few things," the girl stated as she got up and walked over to the sitting boy. She softly ruffled his hair for a few seconds, then sat down in the middle of the couch and fell back.

"Uh, Na-Nagatoro?" Naoto stammered when she placed herself so she was using him like a pillow.

"Just shut up and open this," she snapped while holding out the envelope. Inside was a simple card that read "Happy Birthday" and had the "Do Anything You Say" ticket inside.

"I couldn't think of a good use for it, so I figured I'd let you have it," she said with a shrug before pulling out and playing on her phone, still laying down on his lap.

"Um, th-thank you. But, how did you know?"

"I ran into your mom at the store a few days ago. No big deal. And you're welcome. Just don't look down too often."

Naturally, he looked down to see what she was talking about, eyes falling right on her chest. Immediately he stiffened and shot his head back up, red filling his face.

"You're so pervy, Senpai," Nagatoro joked in her typical teasing tone, which she accompanied with a soft tap on his nose.

"Happy birthday."

Well, I guess it's about time I got another chapter out. I'll be honest, I just haven't felt like writing recently. It may be a while before the next chapter comes out, and that's if I don't decide to scrap it and start a different idea. (It's not dark like chapter 9, but just a weird crossover that would probably require multiple chapters. But hey, if you guys want I can put it up so you can decide whether or not you want me to continue it.)

Anyway, I hope you all are doing okay. Have a good day, and I'll see you again in who knows how long.