I know this mini-arc is longer than most flashbacks, but there really is a lot to cover. It's just easier to split them up when I feel it's right, not just keep rattling on for thirty pages D:

Notes: I don't think I mentioned this before, but Xue's about 170cm tall, or 5'7".

A Gift of Love – Chapter Eighty-Two: Turnaround

Xue watched as her parents sat down next to each other at the dinner table. Her plan last night seemed to have worked. Her parents had bonded in their room, and she hoped that the fighting would stop for at least a few days. Maybe even a week if she was lucky. For now, she was going to savor this, and hope that she thought of another plan soon.

"Oh, Xue,"

She jumped, having been absorbed in her thoughts. "Hm? What is it, Daddy?"

"I met a kid from your school today. He helped me carry some boxes into the store."

She froze. No way. He wouldn't stalk her father to try to get on his good side, would he? "What did he look like?" she asked as she tried to casually eat her teriyaki.

HoroHoro rubbed his chin. "Well, let's see…He was about your height, a little taller, dark brown hair, kind of spiky…"

Xue had to concentrate so she wouldn't snap her chopsticks in half. He really WAS stalking her. He was going to get cozy with her father, who would then pressure her into considering going out with him, saying what a nice guy he was…

"Oh, that must've been Tadashi!" Seta exclaimed. "Yeah, we know him really well! He really likes Neesan a lot!"

"Seta! I thought we agreed not to mention that jerk outside of school!" she yelled.

Her brother blushed and covered his mouth. "Oops…Sorry Neesan…"

She sighed. "Honestly, I'd like to just be able to go through one day without having to deal with him…"

"Oh, so you do know him," HoroHoro went on. "He said that he'd only seen you in the halls once or twice."

"We're not friends," she said curtly. "He's an obnoxious, sex-obsessed, pimpish jerk. It insults me that he's even interested in me."

"H-He's really not that bad!" Seta said, flailing. "He's teaching me all sorts of things, and none of them are bad! He's really nice on the inside!"

Rong sighed. "Just don't get sucked in. I won't stand for my son turning into a gigolo."

There was a beat of silence, then Xue and HoroHoro burst out laughing.

"Oh my gawd…That's the funniest image I've ever had!" his father cried.

"I know I know!" she cried quickly. She started miming the objects she was pretending to put on her brother. "We got some mean ice there, and a cigar, and a silk hat, sunglasses…"

"Don't forget the cane!"

"Oh hell, yes, the cane!" She mimed it, then pulled her wrist back. "'Bitch, where's my money?! Kechh!'" she said, making the sound effect of backhanding her brother in the face.

Seta sat there, his face beet red. He looked up at his mother, who finally let out a small smirk. He laughed weakly.

"Oh come on, Seta! You know we're just kidding!"

Another nervous laugh. "I think I'm going to do my homework. Thanks for dinner." He got up and put his dishes in the dishwasher.

I wish Neesan would see Tadashi-senpai for who he really is.

The next day, as Seta passed the gates, a blur came and grabbed his arm, dragging him along. After nearly tripping and falling three times, he looked up to see who it was.

"T-Tadashi-senpai!"

The teen tried to give him a salute whilst holding his book bag. "Yo."

"Why did you ambush me like that?!"

"I forget how to get to your dad's store, so I decided you'd be my GPS!"

"My dad's store? Wait -- YOU skateboard?!"

He looked back and smirked. "I don't."

Seta looked at him in confusion. "So then why…"

They stopped. Tadashi didn't turn to look at him. "I feel bad about all the stress I've put on Xue lately. I thought maybe if I helped out your dad a little, then maybe she wouldn't have to shoulder so much responsibility."

"How do you plan to do that?"

He turned and grinned at him. "You'll see. But first, I need to get to the store. Will you take me there?"

Seta looked at the ground. His sister was so adamant about staying away from him that he was no good. But what if what he wanted to do would really help them? There would be no way of knowing unless he tried.

"Yeah…Okay…" He walked past him and began leading him to the family store.

Tadashi came up behind him and slapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, pal! You won't regret this, I swear!"

"Uh-huh…"

"Just for this, I'll let you in on a little something."

He didn't seem excited. "What is it?"

"I'm going to tell you one of my secrets." He put his left arm around the boy's neck and yanked him closer. "The next time that girl comes to visit, get her a little gift or something. You know, to let her know that you missed her. Teddy bears work nicely, because then you can always say that she can hold it and think of you."

"D-Does that really work?"

He nodded with a smile. "If all else fails, just get her a single flower. Rose, daisy, carnation, whatever. It doesn't matter. Or get her something for her hair. How does she wear it, nowadays?"

"She's starting to put it in braided loops." He made ovals in the air next to his ears.

He smacked him on the back. "Bows. Ribbons. Something with one of those little characters girls like. Hair accessories can also make a girl even cuter than she is. If she's your age, then this is the perfect time for her to use them. In a couple years, she might not be into Miffy hair bands and earmuffs and all that jazz. See? I helped you, so you'll help me out now, won't you?"

Seta really couldn't say no. He knew he needed help in getting Lien to see him as more than just a childhood friend, and he couldn't wait until they were older. What if her parents got hasty and chose a fiancé for her? Then his chances were shot.

With a heavy sigh, he opened the door, the bells attached to the top signaled their arrival.

"Hey! How can I-…Oh, it's just you, Seta."

Seta watched his father slump back into the chair. He could tell it had been business as usual around the shop – meaning there had been next to none. He couldn't help feeling sorry for him. It must have been depressing putting your heart and soul into something you wanted, and having it not work out.

"Yo, Mr. Usui!"

HoroHoro looked up as Tadashi bounced up to the counter. "Oh, hey. Thanks again for your help yesterday."

Tadashi beamed. "It's no problem. I just need a favor from you, now."

The Ainu blinked at him. "Okay."

"A few of my friends are on the boarding team, and they need some new equipment. I was hoping you could show me which skateboards will be able to take the abuse the guys put them through. I was thinking of surprising them."

His face lit up. "Yeah, sure! Come on!" He practically yanked Tadashi around the store, picking out boards, wheels and trucks. "I was wondering why you came in here. I mean, no offense and all, but you don't really look like the skateboarding type, you know? Am I right?" He laughed and gave the boy a playful slap on the back, knocking the wind out of him.

"Y-Yes sir! AHAHAHAHA!"

Seta stared at them as they roared with laughter. Tadashi's was nervous, while he could tell his father was just on a high. He might actually make some money today.

When all was said and done, six skateboards, helmets, and pads where assembled before them. Both men looked satisfied.

"So, is your dad going to come pick these up later?"

Without looking at him, Tadashi chuckled and waved him off. "No, no, I'll just pay for them and take them now."

Silence.

"So, if you could just put them in a box or something to make them easier for me to truck home, I'd really appreciate it." He nonchalantly took out his checkbook. "How much was the total again?"

"O-One hundred fifty-seven thousand, two hundred and sixty-seven yen," he stammered out.

Tadashi breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I have enough. Those price tags were starting to scare me." He wrote out the check, ripped it out, and handed it to the bewildered shop keeper. "There we go. Oh, hey, mind if I come back in a few minutes while you're packing the stuff up? I have to run an errand at a store right near here."

"S-Sure…"

"Awesome! I'll see you in a few minutes."

He watched HoroHoro turn his back and put the check in the cash register. Then he grabbed Seta and brought him out back, presumably to have him help with the packing. After they had disappeared, Tadashi quickly looked around, finding what he had been looking for – the store logo.

"Why hello there, gorgeous," he said sarcastically as he slipped the piece of heavy paper from under the clear plastic stand. "Here we go…" He looked around to make sure they couldn't see him, then slipped out of the store.

As he sauntered down the street, he realized that the size of each team member might become an issue. Oh well, he'd just have to estimate.

A young lady looked up as he entered the store. "Welcome, sir. How may I help you today?"

He nodded in greeting. "Do you guys print shirts?"

She smiled. "Yes, of course. Is there a particular design or image you would like on it?"

"As a matter of fact, there is." He held up the paper. "I need about ten blue shirts with this on it. Five each in men's small and medium."

The woman happily took it. "Of course!" She scuttled over to the counter and came back with a form. "If you could just fill this out, I could have them ready in about five days."

He grimaced. He had been hoping they would be ready sooner, since his excitement was eating away at him, but he knew there was little he could do. He filled it out and handed it to the associate, trading it for the sales receipt. Over thirty thousand yen.

Ouch.

All the same, he signed the slip and handed it back to her. She took it and bowed.

"Thank you for your patronage. Your order should be completed in about five days. We'll call you when it's ready to be picked up."

He nodded. "Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it."

When he was on the street again, he looked at his cell phone to check the time. "Crap. That took a lot longer than I thought it would. They're probably waiting there for me."

He was grateful that it was only a short jog back to the shop, but he could see Seta and HoroHoro sitting around and twiddling their thumbs. They could have just closed the store and made him wait until tomorrow, but there they were. He burst in, panting slightly as he saluted them.

"Sorry to make you guys wait. That little errand of mine took longer than I expected it to."

HoroHoro gleefully stood up. "Don't worry about it! It's fine!"

Seta couldn't blame his father for being so excited. He knew that once Rong found out about their big sale that day, the fighting might stop for a little while. Despite his sister's efforts to conceal their parents' conflict, he had heard them yelling anyway. He could see it on Xue's face every time she would pass him in the hall after creatively routing an argument. He could tell she was stressed, and he worried that she would soon be at her limit.

"Are you going to carry all of this home?" his father asked in a slightly nervous voice.

Tadashi laughed. "No. I borrowed one of my dad's cars so I wouldn't have to worry about it. If I'm paying all this money, I might as well take care of the stuff, right?"

The redhead watched them as they laughed again. This is getting creepy…

"Seta, will you help carry this stuff to Tadashi's car?" his father asked.

"Yeah, sure."

They each grabbed a box and loaded it into the trunk. As Tadashi shut it, he sighed with relief. "Thanks for your help, Mr. Usui. My friends really needed this stuff."

"Don't mention it! Feel free to come back if you need anything else," he replied.

The boy smiled. "Thanks, I will."

After he had gotten into his car and driven off and the father and son had returned to the shop, HoroHoro leaped into the air with glee.

"That was great! Wait until Rong hears about this! She'll be so proud of me!" He jumped around a little more as he made his way to the door to lock it, acting like a kid who had just gotten a good report card.

Seta couldn't blame him, really. Sales had been slow, to say the least. This thousand that had been made today was what they might make in a week if they were lucky. He couldn't help but smile. At least his dad was happy.

A week had passed since his big shopping day, and Tadashi was eager give out his gifts. He rounded up the boarding club and led them to his car.

"You're not planning on abducting us or some sick thing, are you?" the captain, Hiro, groaned. He obviously wasn't about to believe that some preppy boy was going to hand them gear for free. No one these days was that generous.

"Nah, of course not. I'm not into guys." He opened the trunk and took out one of the large boxes. After he had set it on the ground, the group stared at it. "Go on, open it."

After narrowing his eyes, the captain stooped down and unfolded the flaps. He took out one of the skateboards as his teammates let out sounds of wonder and amazement. Their leader, however, did not seem pleased.

"What's all this?"

Tadashi smirked. "New gear, just for you guys. Top of the line and hella expensive."

The captain frowned. "I don't like charity."

"Maybe not, but I don't think you like having broken boards, either. It's your choice."

He was silent, thinking of a reason not to accept this sudden gift. "I don't want to support that sellout boarding store in the plaza. They don't care about boards or what skating's all about. All they care about is money."

Tadashi blinked at him quizzically. "What? No, no, no! These aren't from some franchise, if that's what you're thinking. They're from a small store on the side of town. It's owned by the dad of one of the students here."

Hiro let the argument die. "Why even help us?"

Tadashi looked away from him. "That shop, the one I bought all this stuff at, is in danger of closing, and it's causing the owner's daughter a lot of stress. I figured if I did you guys a favor and bought you this stuff, you'd be willing to do me one."

Hiro narrowed his eyes. "What do you want?"

"Heh…" Tadashi reached into the trunk and tossed a ball of black cloth at him. "Catch."

He did and unfolded it. "What's this?"

"That's the store I bought this gear at. If you and the guys wear those to competitions and stuff, then I'm sure the advertising will pull in a few customers. You get your gear, the store gets customers, the daughter stops being stressed…" And I rise to the occasion and snatch her. "…everyone's happy, ne?"

Hiro studied the equipment. Finally, he looked up. "Fine, we'll accept this stuff, and we'll wear the shirts sometimes. We still have actual uniforms, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but I bet if you wear them and win, it'll be good for the store. You probably will only need to wear them a few times depending on how good you are."

The captain scowled at him. "Don't insult my team. We're good. Pretty DAMN good as a matter of fact." He grinned deviously. "We'll get those sales up, just you wait. You'll be bowing before our supremely awesome boarding skills."

Tadashi pumped his fist. "That's what I'm talking about! Now come on, guys, there's plenty for all of you!"

He watched the boards, pads, and shirts get distributed amongst the boys, a satisfied smile on his face. As they were about to leave, Hiro approached him, stiffly offering his hand. Tadashi shook it. They nodded at each other, then parted.

When they were gone, Tadashi went back into the trunk and pulled out some small posters. Each had the store logo on it, along with the address, and referenced the fact that the boarding team's equipment was bought there.

"Once I hang these up, the people will start coming. Xue's sure to be happy then. She'll have no choice but to fall in love with me!" He suavely touched his forehead. "Tadashi, you're a fucking genius." After basking in his own greatness, he grabbed the stack and started putting the fliers up around town.

A couple weeks later, Xue took out her phone during lunch, which was vibrating like mad.

"Dad?" she said as she looked at the caller ID, confused. He knows better than to call me at school. "Hey, Daddy. What's up?"

"Xue, I know I haven't had you do this in a long time, but I need you to rush to the store after you get home from school," he said on the other end, his voice almost desperate.

She didn't say anything. She could hear noise in the background. She swallowed. "Is it busy there?"

"Like you wouldn't believe. I thought your mom was going to have a heart attack when I told her I needed her to come home and help me." Xue could hear him turn and tell a customer he'd be right with them. "Okay Xue. Just try to get here as soon as soon as you can, okay?"

"Sure, Dad."

"See you when you get here. Bye!" He hung up without waiting for her to say anything.

It took a few seconds for the silence to kick in before Xue closed her phone. Her father needed her to work at the shop? It was busy?! She smiled as she tapped her chin lightly the top of the phone. Maybe now she wouldn't have to think of another plan for a while.

As she stepped into the store, Xue gazed in awe at how many people where browsing. The store was quite small, but at least ten or fifteen people had fit themselves inside. HoroHoro called out to her from behind the counter and she went over to him.

"Do you remember how to use the register?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Good. Now, if you could just ring people up while I go around and make sure people don't have any questions about what they're buying, it'd really help me out."

She smiled. "Sure thing, Daddy."

He smiled back, then grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. "Things might finally be starting to look up," he said quietly.

"Hehe. See? I told you that if you kept trying that it'd work out eventually," she said as she hugged him back.

He murmured a few things, then went off to help his customers. She watched him smile and give advice to girl about her age, then went behind the counter to work the register.

A young man came up with a skateboard and some shoes, and she rang him up, making sure to smile and bow as he left, thanking him for his patronage and hoping that he'd come again. After he had left, she continued to stare at the ground, her father's words echoing in her ears.

"I just hope it's not too late."

"Nice job, Xue. Thanks again for your help."

She looked over her shoulder and smiled at him as she flipped the door's sign to "Closed" and locked it. "No problem, Daddy."

For the past week, Xue had been running home from school, changing out of her uniform, and then rushing back out to her father's store. Then sudden surge of customers had left them both perplexed, but neither complained. The steady profit had put a stopper on Rong's normally harsh tongue, and there had been no major conflicts since then. They exchanged kisses when they came home, another when HoroHoro would thank her for dinner and help her clean up, and still more when they went to bed. It seemed as though, at least for now, that their marriage was safe.

She went back over to her father and watched him count the money that was in the register. He put it in a zippered pouch then printed out a long receipt, ripped it off, and skipped to the bottom.

"Another awesome day," he said as he folded it up. With a happy sigh, he went into the back to put the earnings in the safe.

Xue was about to follow him when she heard knocking on the window. She turned to see Seta with his face pressed against the glass and holding up a blue piece of paper that was unreadable from where she was. He jiggled the door handle, signaling for her to let him in. Mere seconds after she had turned the lock, she was on the floor, having been toppled by the excited boy.

"What is this all about?" she asked, not even bothering to push him off her.

"I-I found this on the bulletin board in the drug store! Look!" He stuck it in her face.

"I can't read it when you do that."

"Sorry!" He pulled it back so she could see it clearly.

"Hey…that's—,"

"--That's my logo…"

The children looked up to see HoroHoro standing over them. He held out his hand and Seta quickly gave the flier to him.

"I don't believe this," he whispered. "Is this the reason why we've been so busy lately?" The paper flapped as he turned it over to make sure there was nothing on the back, which there wasn't. He read it again. "Who could have done this? It wasn't either of you, was it?"

They shook their heads.

He glanced at it again before shrugging. "Oh well! It'd be nice to know who our little sponsor is, but I'm not going to complain about all the business we're getting! I mean, we can afford to go out to eat at least once a week! And now Mom doesn't have to get a job! We're all set!"

Seta finally jumped off his sister. "YEAH!"

Xue rolled over onto her stomach and watched her father and brother dance around the store. This was a wonderful turn of events of course, but she didn't want to bank on it being a permanent thing. She couldn't stand to look at her father's heartbroken face again.

Tadashi tapped his pencil on his binder impatiently. It was a week before the fire festival, and Xue wasn't in the palm of his hand like he had hoped she would be. She was more cheerful than most had ever seen her, but she hadn't said a word to him.

How could she not tell that I'm the one responsible for getting the word out about her dad's store? I thought it would be obvious! I guess I'm going to have to take this into my own hands.

After he had been freed by the chiming of the afternoon bell, he packed up his things and headed out. In the courtyard, he spied Xue running toward the gate and raised his arm in a wave.

"Xue!"

She turned, hopping like a prized boxer, and waved back at him, then continued running. He flailed and started running, not wanting to lose her attention.

"W-Wait! I have something I need to talk to you about!"

"Sorry! I'm in a rush!" she called without turning around again. "I need to go help my dad!"

Tadashi skidded to a stop, allowing her to vanish from his sight. This was all his doing. He had seen her running through the gates day after day, but it had never occurred to him that it was because of how he had promoted the store that she was rushing around. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad. Happy, because she was, and his plan had worked in the Usuis' benefit; sad, because it wasn't working to his.

"Yo, man!"

He turned to see Zegen, Himo, and Gyuu coming up behind him.

"Hey."

Zegen brought his hand down on his friend's shoulder roughly. "So, who's your date for the fire festival? It's Konomi, isn't it? I saw her looking at you in English when the teacher made you read out loud."

Tadashi mumbled.

"Eh? What?"

"I said I don't have a date yet."

The three boys stared at him. Zegen smiled nervously.

"What do you mean you don't have a date? Dude, the festival is less than a week away. If you wait too long, all the 'hot' ones are going to get taken, and you'll get stuck with a 'not', and that'd just suck for you."

"Yeah, what are you waiting for?!"

"I bet you could just go up to a random girl right now and ask her to go with you, and she'd jump for joy!"

Tadashi sighed. "No. I'm waiting to see if I can get Xue to go with me."

A beat of silence. Zegen clearly wasn't amused.

"What."

"I've worked too hard to back out now, so I might as well just keep going."

Tadashi looked up to see that his friend had walked up to look him in the eye, their noses almost touching. "We put a cap on three weeks," he said in a low voice. "So, you have until next week to find a new girl – one that isn't a batshit crazy beanstalk."

His friend looked surprised, then frowned. "And what if I don't?"

Zegen smirked. "We'll remove her from the equation ourselves."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Do as I say and you won't need to find out."

Before his friend could say anything, he walked past him, the other two boys cautiously following.

Tadashi didn't know what to make of this. Was Zegen serious? Or was this just a scare tactic to get him back into his old routine? Either way, the choice was easy.

"I'll protect her."