a/n: Well, here it is, the next chapter. I am receiving help from a new beta so please hear with us. Enjoy.

Chapter 8: Experienced Advice

"I'm sorry, but I won't be able to Nagisa." said a voice. Although the sound of the voice was really familiar, that was not what drew the attention of little Ushio, who had lifted her head from the mound of sand that was suppose to be a sculpture. It was actually the name that was said that gained the child's attention, a thrill entering her heart at the prospect of the arrival of her mother. Her gaze did see mama, though she was standing next to her teacher Kyou.

"Mama!" called Ushio happily, leaving behind the sand pile she had been working with. She darted over to Nagisa, hugging one of her legs with all the enthusiasm her little arms could muster.

"Ah, hello Shio-chan." replied Nagisa, giving that smile that made Ushio's chest feel all warm and fuzzy. "Just one moment, I need to talk to your teacher."

Ushio nodded, signifying understanding though she truly didn't fully comprehend. What did she need to talk to teacher about? Nothing was coming up anytime soon, not that she knew of anyways.

"You have to at least ask, Kyou-chan." said Nagisa, turning her head back to Kyou. She did not ignore Ushio though, touching one of her hands to the child's back as she continued to cling to her leg. "I mean, Shio-chan here will be so disappointed if you can't come." This prompted Ushio to look up, quite clearly confused. She didn't comprehend before and understood even less now.

"Well she wouldn't have even known, judging from what you told me." huffed Kyou, an ever so slight frown upon her face. Back in their school days this simple facial expression alone would have caused Nagisa to become flustered. Yet now all she did was give a small giggle.

"But she knows now, so you just have to." she said, quite persistent in her words.

Kyou sighed, a sense of exasperation in the tone. "I can't just take that time off though." she said, continuing to resist whatever it was Nagisa was insisting upon. "To take the Friday off along with the rest of the weekend for a trip... I just don't think I can spare the time."

Trip?! That single word made Ushio stiffen with excitement. Oh how she loved to take trips! If they could go to that field of flowers again... That would be so wonderful.

"Bah, says you," interjected another voice. This one was masculine and well seasoned with age. Ushio recognized it but was not as familiar with it as she was with teacher's voice. She turned her head, as did Nagisa and Kyou, to see a middle-aged man walking towards them.

"Ah, you surprised me Director." said Kyou, giving a bow to the newcomer.

The man stood not much taller then the two grown women. His black hair was combed back, gray hair stemming from the temples of his head signifying his age. His mustache, a mixture of black and gray, added to his appearance.

It was the part Ushio liked best. It reminded her of a fuzzy caterpillar. It would always ruffle as he talked, just as he was doing now. "Sorry about that," he chortled. "But I had to call you out on what you said."

"About what?" Clearly Kyou did not follow what the Director was talking about.

"About the not being able to take time off," he quickly replied. "You've never taken a vacation during your whole time here!"

"I'm afraid I still don't follow." said Kyou, brows furrowing a little. "I'm just too busy with class. I can't just randomly take a day off!"

"Bah I say!" He gave Kyou a dismissive wave. "Even before now you'd have been able to, what with our excellent substitutes. Now it is even easier, with your new teacher's assistant. She could use this chance to learn what it feels like to be the main teacher in the classroom."

"True yes," said Kyou, brow continuing to remained furrowed, her mind beginning to cook up an counter-argument. "But she-"

"Do you think her incapable of taking charge in a class?" interrupted the Director. His voice was unwavering, not leaving any room for a counter-interruption.

"Well, she is perfectly capable but-" Kyou was not rude enough to ignore the Director's question but she was quick in answering, desperate to get her counter-argument said.

"But nothing." playful scoffed the man. "Don't deny Sakagami this chance, nor the chance for you to take a much needed break." He laughed as he walked away, giving them a wave. "I'll make sure your schedule is open for this Friday and the weekend."

Not given a single chance to fight back, Kyou could do nothing but scowl as the man continued to walk away, laughing.

As Ushio recalled this memory, she looked up to the person in the seat opposite of her. Kyou was looking out the nearby window, the scenery whizzing by as their train traveled quickly along the track. It was evening now and the setting sun gave the sky a vibrant red color, giving the near empty train car a crimson hue.

"Sensei?" asked Ushio, her voice a little restrained due to worry.

"Hm?" was all that came from Kyou at first as her heard turned. She had been concentrating on the scenery so much that it took a moment for her mind to catch up to the fact that someone was trying to talk to her. "Oh, what is it Ushio?"

"Are you mad?"

"Mad?" said Kyou, confused a little by her question. "What would I be mad about?"

"Well you didn't want to go on this trip..." said Ushio. To her that idea alone was confounding. Who wouldn't want to go on a trip?! Yet Kyou had displayed frustration before when first asked. "You looked mad when the Director told you to go."

"Oh...that..." sheepishly replied Kyou. Her personal goal had always been to control her attitude around her students, to always show a nurturing side and never the tough one she so commonly displayed before her occupation. Apparently she had failed, at least according to Ushio's question.

"It's not that I'm mad," said Kyou, mustering up a smile. "I just got stuck in my head that I didn't need a break, when I actually did." Even as she said those words, Kyou realized they were true. There really was nothing holding her back from taking a trip, she just had to accept the fact that she didn't have to always be in control of her class.

"Oh, okay." Ushio seemed to accept this answer, and instead just looked out the window, eager anticipation in her eyes.

Kyou gave a inward sigh, happy that she had so swiftly dealt with the question. Looking to Nagisa, who was sitting next to Ushio and looking out the window as well, Kyou thought on how, if she was mad, it wouldn't be for the trip.

No, it would be for the fact that Nagisa had also asked the Director if Kale could have the time off as well, she having to be the one to ask since Kale initially refused just like Kyou did. This had prompted a devilish grin in the Director, one that said that he saw something that Kyou would refuse was even there. Even though the Director hadn't said it he had given permission for the time off all too eagerly, with a eagerness that a matchmaker would display.

Matchmaker... Kyou looked to her side, the occupant of the seat being Kale. Kale's head was rested back against the seat, eyes closed as he slept soundly. Just looking at Kale made Kyou's face blush. She wasn't like this usually, at least that was what Kyou told herself. It was just because of this whole trip.

Tomoya and Nagisa would never admit to it, but they were playing matchmaker; taking the two of them on this trip in hopes it would bring them closer. Kyou looked back out at the scenery, grateful that the red sunset hid her blush.

"Ah..." happily sighed Tomoya as he slipped into the warm water. "It's been far too long..." Indeed it had been quite a while since he had taken a trip to the area his grandmother on his father's side lived. He had come here to where his grandmother lived plenty of times with his father, though he had forgotten about that for a time. He had visited once or twice once Ushio was born, usually to visit the flower field Ushio loved so much, as well as visiting his grandmother and father, who lived there now too.

Yet this time the visit was different. Since Kyou and Kale were coming with them this time they decided it would be best not to sleep at his grandmother's house. Instead they stayed at a nearby inn, one that had wonderful hot springs. It was a small establishment and not that well known, but that didn't detract from the atmosphere at all; in fact, Tomoya felt that the quiet nature was much more relaxing then a big fancy inn or hotel with massive hot springs.

"Mind if I come in Okazaki-san?" came Kale's voice from just beyond the door that was the divider between the changing room and the actual hot springs. Okazaki didn't even open his eyes from their relaxed state, content in just using his voice.

"Sure, why not?" Tomoya replied indifferently. "It's a public bath after all." Tomoya heard the old weathered door creak open and the sound of bare feet slapping against the stone ground as they came toward the hot springs. Then there was slight splash-like noise as Kale entered the water, a sigh escaping from him just as it had done with Tomoya.

"Man...this is nice." said Kale, leaning back against the edge. "Glad I finally got to try one."

"Try what, a hot spring?" asked Tomoya, opening his eyes now.

"Yeah, never had a chance before now." nodded Kale. "Been busy with work or just didn't have the money."

Tomoya simply nodded understandingly to him. Those were the same reasons he hadn't been able to come for a while himself.

For the time being the conversation stopped there, the two men simply happy to relax in the hot springs. No matter whether one had tried it before or it was a new experience, the hot springs always demanded to be savored. Neither were sure of how long they remained in that silence but it did eventually stop when Kale spoke up.

"Hey, Okazaki-san," ventured Kale.

"Please, just call me Okazaki, or Tomoya," was the reply, his brows momentarily furrowing. He always hated formal titles. They just simply made his skin crawl.

"Ah, sorry," said Kale. "Okazaki, mind if I ask a question?"

"Sure, I guess." Tomoya shrugged, not even bothering to lift his head.

"When did you know you wanted to marry your wife?" Kale asked. Tomoya lifted his head, eyebrow arched in slight confusion. Prompted by this, Kale quickly elaborated. "I mean, when did you know that you loved her? How did you know that...well, that she was to one for you? Something like that..." Kale fell silent and all Tomoya did was stare for a moment.

Kale wasn't asking about this because he was interested in the Okazaki family history. That much was obvious with the way he looked embarrassed. No... it was something else. Tomoya's thoughts instantly turned back to Ryou's wedding reception and how Kale and Kyou seemed to have such fun.

Tomoya grinned ever so slightly. Well, it seemed that the matchmaking Nagisa wanted to do wasn't so meddling after all. She wasn't seeing something that was none existent.

"I don't know." said Tomoya with another shrug.

"Ah, sorry, that was too personal of a question." apologized Kale, bowing his head slightly.

"No, it's not that," said Tomoya, destroying Kale's misconception that he had asked too prying a question. "I'm just... not sure if there is a definite point."

"What do you mean?" Kale asked. "If you don't mind elaborating that is."

Tomoya was silent for a little bit as he pondered the question. He hadn't really ever thought on the matter that much in such a way. "Well, I don't think there is any one exact moment in time," he began, thinking it out as he talked, "when I felt like I knew what I wanted, what felt. It's not like some manga or fan fiction or such. This is life." He looked to the open sky.

"I really honestly can't pinpoint when I began feeling something," he continued. "At one point I realized what I was actually feeling." A simple explanation, perhaps too much so, but that simply was the man Tomoya was. Heck, speaking this much about personal stuff was actually out of the ordinary. Yet Tomoya forced himself to open up a little since he knew why Kale was seeking his advice.

"Sorry if that wasn't clear enough." sighed Tomoya.

"No, it was plenty," replied Kale, shaking his head. "I'm just...trying to figure out my heart."

Seems pretty obvious to me, Tomoya thought to himself. He thought though that directly asking Kale about would be too bothersome.

Once again the hot springs were near silent, and for a good while only the trickle of water was the most noticeable noise. Once again, Kale was the one to break the silence.

"Do you think I have a chance?" That was all that was asked. No elaboration, no quickly added amending sentences, that was all.

Despite that Tomoya knew exactly what Kale meant. He was about to give his standard 'how should I know' non-committal response purely out of habit, but Tomoya choked it back down. "Yeah, yeah I think you do."

This brought a smile to Kale, though it was a bit sheepish. "Sorry if this conversation is sorta weird."

"Nah, it's no problem," lazily replied Tomoya.

"Heh, I bet they aren't having any awkward conversations like ours over there," said Kale, looking towards the thick tall wall that separated their part of the hot springs from the female side.

"Kyou, are you sure you aren't dating Saunders-san?" asked Nagisa.

Kyou's body jerked, splashing the waters of the hot spring, as she nervously stiffened to that question. "Wh-what?" she stammered. "What kind of question is that? Of course I would know if I'm dating him or not!" The reply was given strongly, Kyou hoping that the volume of her reply would crush any wild ideas Nagisa might have. The disbelieving look in Nagisa's eyes shot down Kyou's hope that the conversation would die right then and there.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I'm sure." sighed Kyou exasperatedly. In her mind she cursed Nagisa. Why couldn't she be painfully meek like in high school, to the point that she wouldn't dare pursue a conversation such as this? No, of course she was more collected and experienced, now that she was married and had a child.

That very child thankfully didn't seem very interested in the conversation. She was sitting next to her mother, a content look upon her face as she soaked in the warm waters.

"Why would you even ask that?" questioned Kyou, though the moment those words left her mouth Kyou instantly regretted them. Asking a question could only prolong the conversation.

"Well, you two just seem so close." said Nagisa slowly, almost as if she was confused as to how such a obvious thing couldn't be known. "You eat lunches together, you spend a lot of your free time together. You just... are friendly with each other."

"So?" Kyou quickly replied, even more desperate to have the embarrassing conversation die right then and there. "A girl can just be friends with a guy. You did those sort of things with Tomoya in high school."

"Um..." This time Nagisa was even more confounded by Kyou's words. "Yes... I did... and we are married now."

Kyou looked at her, stunned. Then she slapped her head, groaning at her incredible stupidity. She hadn't destroyed Nagisa's argument, she had only helped it; immensely even.

Wanting to stop her mouth from saying anything else so stupid and trying to use body language as a means of escape Kyou sunk down, her hair splayed across the water now with it nearly up to her eye level.

"Can I ask another question?" asked Nagisa.

Since her head was turned enough away Kyou felt safe in rolling her eyes. There wasn't really any point in Nagisa asking if she could ask another question. She was latched onto the conversation and wasn't about to let it die anytime soon.

"Sure, of course." she said halfheartedly once she raised her head out of the water. The tone of her voice didn't seem to bother Nagisa any, since she continued on with her words.

"Why aren't you dating Saunders-san?"

"Because!" Kyou lamely retorted. "Because well... um... because we are friends." Even as the words left her mouth, Kyou knew it was an incredibly weak reason, as did Nagisa it seemed.

"Isn't being friends a step before dating?" inquired Nagisa. "To like them, to have fun with them, doesn't that make you want to date a person?"

"Not always." said Kyou, this time with more surety. "Some people like how a person looks and wants to date them because of that."

"T-true...," admitted Nagisa, her more passive side briefly showing up again. "But... those types of reasons... They don't help support a healthy relationship, do they?"

The question seemed to Kyou to be largely rhetorical since admittedly she agreed. A relationship based on looks or such never did work out well, not from what she had seen at least.

"I suppose what makes a relationship work best is if you truly like the person." said Nagisa, her gaze forward though not falling on anything in particular. "You like how they treat others,"

The instant she said that Kyou though of how Kale was incredibly kind to herself, to Botan, and all of the kids. Kyou said nothing, and Nagisa continued without pausing.

"You like how they help you," This time Kyou thought of how Kale always offered a listening ear, how he had cleaned Botan without even knowing her.

"I guess you just...like them... all of what they are..." Kyou looked away from Nagisa, her face deepening it's blush. She did admire Kale for many of his traits...Or was 'like' a better word? Did she like things about Kale? Stubbornly the active part of her mind refused to outright admit it, but a part of her mind kept nagging at her with what was quite possibly the truth.

"I'm sorry." came Nagisa's voice, cutting through Kyou's thoughts. "I- I didn't mean to make you mad."

"Mad?" Kyou looked at to Nagisa, both eyebrows raising and eyes widening slightly in a puzzled expression.

"Well...your face is all red." pointed out Nagisa. "I shouldn't have been so personal."

"It's not that," Kyou replied quickly. She didn't want to admit she was embarrassed, but she didn't want Nagisa to think that she was mad either. "It's just... it's the bath, it's making me feel a bit too hot."

"Oh, okay." said Nagisa, "Well we better get out then. Shio-chan has been in here for quite a while too. Come on Shio-chan, time to get out." Ushio lazily complied, half-asleep partly due to the travel and partly due to the warm waters. The three of them dried themselves off and each got on a simple-colored yukata.

Normally Kyou would be smiling contently, since wearing a yukata was usually her favorite part of a hot spring experience. To her it just felt just loose enough to be airy and relaxing yet tight enough that it wasn't in danger of falling off like a towel. Yet this time Kyou's face wasn't bearing a smile. It wasn't cursed with a frown either. She was instead lost in thought to the point that maintaining expected facial expressions was impossible.

Nagisa's words had struck her so deeply, so profoundly, that she couldn't help but replay them in her mind. She was friends with Kale because she admired traits he had. There was no reason why she shouldn't like him... so why couldn't she admit that to herself?

Nagisa and Ushio had already finished putting on their yukatas and left the changing room, heading towards their lodging. Kyou made her way to the door, sliding it open and stepping out into the hallway. Her head was bowed, eyes towards the ground as she continued to ponder thoughts within her mind.

She didn't get very far with her thoughts though, as she felt her head bump against something. Looking up while rubbing her head Kyou saw the center of her inner turmoil standing before her.

"Oh, sorry about that." apologized Kale, bowing slightly. Kyou gave him a quick glance and saw that Kale was dressed in a yukata, his hair still a bit wet.

"I-it's nothing. Don't worry about it." Kyou managed to say. Kale actually looked surprised by this response, having expected instead some firm or teasing remark. Yet she seemed incredibly subdued right now.

"Hey uh... you want to grab a little midnight snack or something?" Kale asked. Yet again Kyou's response wasn't the usual one. Normally she would have noted that it wasn't actually midnight yet and maybe even tease Kale for making such a mistake.

"Sure." was the reply. Again Kale looked surprised by the response but he didn't comment on it.

"I'll go grab something from the vending machine." he said, walking off shortly after. With his back now to her Kyou stared directly at him, her mind returning to her previous thoughts.

Kyou liked quite a bit about Kale. There was simply no denying that. But... if that was the case, why couldn't she bring herself to say she liked him?

a/n: Thank you for reading the chapter. Reviews that are not flames are much appreciated. The next chapter will take a little longer since I want to have the chapter immediately following it written up as well before I post it. I hope that made sense. _