Leaning against the kitchen's door frame as he crossed his arms over his chest in a more comfortable position, Saito watched his father inspect the room carefully. The man examining every detail, the young man indigo knew what he was thinking, that this was not a place for him, not because it was a modest place (his father did not care about that kind of thing, Saito always liked that about him, he treated everyone with respect regardless of their social condition) he just thought that Saito didn't need to be there, when he could offer him something better.

He appreciated it, but that didn't give his father the right to choose for him. It did not matter what he thought, he liked the place and that was it.

Saito Hideki stopped next to the shelf hanging on the wall where he had a family photography, taking the photo carefully; he analyzed it for a moment. There was some tension in the air and Saito was starting to feel a little uncomfortable, his father returned to snapping the photo into place and turned to look at him.

"I thought this would be a bigger place," The older one spoke quietly while taking a seat in an easy chair.

"I don't need a bigger place," Saito replied without moving from his place.

"At home you had more comforts than here"

"I don't need that either," Now he moved to see the man close up.

"I guess not," Hideki relaxed his posture, taking the cup of tea that Saito had made a few minutes ago, from the living room table.

Saito breathed in softly, he was curious about his visit. His father was a busy man, and if he was in Kioto, he was sure that he was not the main reason.

"What are you doing here?" Saito asked bluntly.

Hideki looked up from his cup of tea to look at the young man.

"I came to Kioto for business and took the opportunity to see you, I hope not to disturb."

"It doesn't bother me, you can come whenever you want," The young indigo took a seat front of his father.

"How have you been, Hajime?" I see that you adapted quickly to this city. You always liked this place, even when you were little boy, however I am worried that you are alone, it is one of the reasons why….

"I'm fine," Saito cut him off. "There are people here, who really care about me."

"Is that so?" Hideki asked with interest. " That leaves me a little calmer; I will have to thank them. Although, I still think that you would be better at home, with your family. "

Saito remained silent; he did not want to argue at that moment, his father did not seem to want to either, he understood that he was only showing his concern for him. It really made him feel good.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I would have expected you,"

"It was not necessary; I would be busy all day. I called you when my business meeting ended, but I guess you also were busy."

"Ah," he said quietly. In very good company he could say, but there was no need to do comment. "How's Haru?" He asked wishing knew about his brother.

"Haru's okay, he misses you a lot, and he always asks when he can come see you."

Saito smiled a little, he also missed him. He was thinking of bringing his brother for the holidays, but there was still lack time for that.

"The principal of the school informed me that in some weeks they will do repairs in the place, so Haru will be at home those days, I hope that you can visit him, he will be happy to see you.

"I also want to see him."

"Fine, I'll let you know when I have the confirmation."

Saito nodded. Already he had been in Kioto for a while, and he was excited to see his little brother. Really Haru was the best reason to return.

"By the way," Hideki continued. "Ishida and his family are returning to Tokio, and I'm thinking of loaning him Meiji's house for a season, just until they resettle… would that bother you?"

"Why it would bother me? I like Ishida-san."

"I had to ask, also is your house, Hajime,"

Saito nodded again. The house was one of the properties that his grandfather inherited them. He did not care that his father's cousin, Ishida, used it. The man was always kind to him, he was a good person, fair, honorable.

His son Yosuke was something else. They were never very friends, their relationship was tense, although, he always treated Haru with kindness, and that was the only mattered to him.

It seemed good to him. The property wasn't far from his old residence, at least on the days that the boy was at home, he could visit them, and he would not miss him so much.

"Right, now I will have to convince Ishida to accept, you know how proud he is. I guess it comes from family."

Saito did not answer, and only shrugged his shoulders.

His father stayed for a while. He was glad to spend that moment together, speaking in calm. It was unusual in them, since practically their similar personalities collided with each other.

"Okay, I think it's time for me to go," Hideki said after a while, getting up and smoothing his sack. Saito followed him. "I am staying at the Rakuen hotel (paradise) come see me tomorrow, I want to discuss another topic with you."

"About what? You can tell me now."

"I haven't stopped a moment since I arrived to this city, boy; I prefer that we talk tomorrow when I was more rested."

"I am not a child," saito said in an icy voice, he would not allow that his father treating him like a brat. "And I have class tomorrow."

"Then, after school, I'll wait for you."

"I really don't know if I can go, I have other things to do." He wasn't lying, he had tutorials with chizuru after class, and then, he had to do a work for Tsubasa.

Hideki approached Saito. He was as intimidating and imposing as he, but the young indigo did not feel any fear, his father knew it, however he did not stop imposing his authority. Saito respected him, but he did not accept his impositions.

"I see," Hideki said calmer than Saito would have expected. "I suppose at some point in the day, you are going to be unoccupied, when you do, call me, I will send someone for you." Hideki passed by him placing a hand on his shoulder and walked towards the door.

"I don't need it," Saito replied in his toneless voice, "If I decide to go, I can arrive on my own."

Hideki nodded. "Good evening, Hajime." The older one left the apartment, closing the door behind him.

Saito sank back to the couch heavily. Great! When his father wanted to talk, it didn't always work out well for him. Surely, he would insist that he return to Tokio to work at the company. His father was too stubborn when something got into his head, to his bad luck he was too.

He would not accept demands; he wanted to be in Kioto, with his friends, with Chizuru.

He would have liked to end the night with her by his side; their ride together was so pleasant that he was only going to focus on that, on how much he wanted to be with her.

Saito breathed in softly when his phone started ringing. He took it from his jacket with disinterest thinking that it was someone else, however when he saw the girl's name on the screen, he could not prevent the corners of his lips from rising slightly. It was as if he had called her with his thought.

He answered the call, and felt how his heart soothes. It was incredible how just listening to her voice, he returned to his state of calm that he liked so much to be.

She just wanted to make sure that he had arrived safe to his apartment. It made him smile, she was worried about him, he appreciated it, a few people had really cared about his well-being.

They only spoke for a few minutes, he still needed to finish his work for school, and surely she also had things to do. Of course, he was going to dream with her that night, their day together and with the knowledge that he was in love with the most beautiful girl in Haku school.


"So Chizuru-Chan, you're ready for a super fun weekend?" Souji smiled leaning on the locker.

Chizuru smiled, took several books from her locker, and closed it immediately.

"Ah, it is always fun to stay with you."

"Fine, look how careful I was. I made Heisuke clean his whole room. It was a mess; you couldn't stay in such a messy place," The young chestnut scoffed.

"That's not true; your room is the one that is always disorganized," Heisuke huffed annoyed.

"You should treat me well, Heisuke, look that we are going to share a room, and I could be very annoying," Souji smiled mischievously.

"You're annoying enough already," The youngest rolled his eyes.

Chizuru listened to the conversation of her friends in silence. Her father would travel to Osaka tomorrow, and she would stay at kondo-san's house and under his supervision. She could stay at her house, she wasn't afraid to sleep alone; but of course, all objected, arguing that she would be safer with them.

She appreciated their concern, but she did not want to bother anyone, she could accommodate anywhere.

"I have already said that Heisuke-kun does not have to leave his room. I can sleep on the sofa," Said the girl chestnut.

"None of that, Chizuru-Chan, you will stay in my room, it's more comfortable," Heisuke spoke.

"Are you sure? I don't want ...

"I'm sure," Heisuke cut her, "Souji and I have shared a room before; it won't be a problem." The youngest genuinely smiled.

"Well," the girl smiled softly.

"Don't be so shy, Chizuru-Chan, it's not like you haven't stayed with us before." Souji crossed his arms.

"I just don't want bother you."

"You don't do, we are glad to have you at home, it will be fun." Souji smiled.

"Thank you," They cared so much about her. She wouldn't know what she would do without them.

" Now ... I'm going to return these books, and then we can go to lunch, okay?" She said with a cheerful tone.

"Great! I'm starving," Heisuke replied enthusiastically.

Chizuru nodded and walked towards the library. A few meters from where she was with the guys, she found Kazama who she greeted briefly without stopping. Kazama frowned at her disinterested attitude, but he also kept going, he didn't seem to be in a very good mood. The young blonde man passed by to Souji and Heisuke who didn't pay him much attention either.

Minutes later, both guys made their way to the rooftop where they would take their lunch.


Saito sat on one of the benches in the kendo's room and leaned his head against the wall, closing his eyes thoughtful.

After his last class, he decided go to the place to be alone and meditate a little. At that hour was always empty, most of the students were in the coffee shop having breakfast, on the playground, or somewhere else, doing whatever they did.

He felt a little restless. The idea of going to see his father didn't have him very exciting. Their conversation the night before was fine, better than he expected, and he wanted to keep the things like that.

He decided not to think about it anymore and relax. Several minutes passed, and he found some of peace, he needed it at those moments.

Saito exhaled softly when he heard footsteps approaching. He did not expect company at this moment, however when he felt her presence his heart began to pound. He opened his eyes to look at her pretty face.

"Hi," Chizuru sat next to him giving him a sweet smile.

"Hi," He straightened his posture, returning her the smile, not as huge as hers, but Chizuru already knew him. She knew that although he did not express his emotions much, her company was always welcome.

Great! Now he was nervous, even if he didn't show it. Damn! His heart seemed to want to leave his chest while he saw her, sitting next to him, so beautiful.

He was a fool for not realizing before how much she liked him and all the feelings that she brought out inside him. He looked away from her. He had to stop looking at her like a silly. frequently, he did that.

"Are you okay?" She asked, "You seem very thoughtful."

"Ah," He said quietly. His previous thoughts, she had displaced it from his mind only with her presence, but he was not going to tell her that, it was better to share what was occupying his mind previously. He didn't usually share his concerns with anyone, but talking to her always made him feel better.

"Just...I was thinking about my father, he's in town. I saw him last night when I got home."

"That's good, are you happy?"

"I was glad to see him, to know that he is fine," He said, fixing his gaze on the kendo stick that he had in his hands. "What I'm thinking is the idea of going to see him later.

"Why?" Her tone of voice was so soft, that he had to restrain himself to look at her, because if he did, he would be nervous again.

"As I told you before, girl, my father is demanding, and I am afraid that the conversation will not be very pleasant."

"I understand," She said softly. "I think all parents are demanding in their own way, I'm sure your father is only concerned about you and he wants to make sure that you are okay." Saito couldn't help but look at her as she spoke.

"Already he knows." He thought.

"You should go see him, he'll be happy. No worry about for the tutoring, we can study another day."

Saito remained silent. He still thought that Chizuru was very gentle, but he still decided to embrace her words, it was not only that, he knew it, but he did not want to deflate the girl's illusions. She seemed so willing to encourage him that only that fact made him nodded.

He saw her smile with pleasure, and his heart jumped. Dammit! He was in serious trouble.

"So, Saito-San," Chizuru got up from her seat taking the kendo stick from his hands, Saito followed her movements, "Do I help you practice or what?"

Saito looked at her amused, his concerns were put aside.

"Really? Do you know kendo? " Actually, he wasn't practicing, but an offer from her, he would never reject.

"Well, I'm not an expert like you, but Heisuke-kun taught me a bit."

"Then, let's see what you know," Saito crossed his arms.

"How was this?" She whispered to herself, slowly moving the sword. She did not remember much of what Heisuke had taught her; of course she never practiced it. Now she regretted making the comment, she just wanted to cheer Saito up, and now she would look like a fool in front of him, although if she managed it, she wouldn't mind.

Saito couldn't help but smile. He got up from his place and approached her.

"Here," He said, standing behind her. He placed one hand on the one which held the kendo's stick, the other, took her free hand indicating where to put it on the weapon.

"You must hold the sword tightly," He began to explain; "The movements must be smooth but firm, like this, one, two, three." He said, helping her swing the sword several times, "until you get the perfect move."

Saito had to focus. The pleasant smell of flowers in her hair inundated his nose. Plus, the fact that he had her very close, didn't help him.

On the other hand, Chizuru felt very nervous about Saito's closeness. His warmth was comforting, she could feel his strong arms above his sports uniform, because although the young man was thin, he was well-formed, Just the fact of thought about it, made her blush. Also, his deep and hoarse voice over her ear, made her difficult to think of anything else.

"The attack requires more strength," He continued, "The practice is necessary in this sport; I can teach you, if you want." When he released her, the girl turned to look at him; she had red cheeks and made her look beautiful.

"Yes, I guess, I forgot," She smiled sheepishly.

"Nah, to have little practice you have good sword skills."

"You're just being nice," She said pouting.

Saito smiled again. He found her cute when she made pouted.

"I'm just telling the truth."

Chizuru gently denied.

"Thank you," He said surprising her, and taking her free hand gently. Every time he touched her, she felt a pleasant sensation that she could not explain.

"Why?" She asked softly.

"For caring about me, I know I'm not a very easy person to deal with."

"You are a bit stubborn," She joked, "but we are friends and I want you're okay."

Friends, that word sounded good, but he wanted to be more than a friend.

"Didn't I tell you how upset I am usually with that?" She smiled.

Saito gently denied. He took a few steps closer to her, but he stopped when he heard voices approaching the room; he just wanted to have her close again, hug her. He let go of her hand, even though he didn't want to.

Harada and a group of students entered the room. He was disappointed; he did not expect an instruction just now.

"We go to lunch? I made Teppanyaki and some mochi, for dessert, I made some rice cookies," The girl returned the Kendo's stick that he took immediately.

Saito watched her in silence for a few seconds, a small smile drawn on his face, rice cookies? Of course Chizuru would not forget the deal they made.

Already, it was customary. When he takes a while to go to breakfast, for some reason, she would come to look for him, and drag him with her. He was thinking that perhaps, he should do it more often.

"It sounds delicious."

Chizuru grinned happily. Saito put the kendo stick in place, and they walked towards the exit.

Saito wondered if he could ever win an argument to this girl sometime. He was sure it would be very difficult. He didn't care; Chizuru had his heart, even though she was oblivious to his feelings.

"I will go at your home later; I'll fire kondou-san properly." Saito said, remembering Koundo's trip to Osaka. The girl had told him about his trip a few days ago. He didn't have forgotten. It was just that the arrival of his father took him by surprise and by a moment, he just focused on it.

"Well, we wait for you…" She took his arm "With so good people around me, I will not miss dad so much."

"That's good," He replied impassive. He knew that she would be safe at Kondo-San's house, but he also wanted to take care of her. Since he meets her, he felt it, now his desires to protect her were much deeper.

"Listen, Chizuru," He stopped to look at her, her pretty face watched him intently. "I know you will be fine at Kondo- san's house, but if you need anything, anything I can help you with, you can count with me."

"I know, thank you" The girl smiled "I am so lucky to have you with me."

"Saito denied, "I'm the lucky one to have you with me," He thought while they returned their way.


Guest, thanks to follow here. Saito has recognized his feelings for Chizuru. Now, Chizuru lacks a little more to realize what she feels for Saito is more than friendship. The situations to come, will let her know that she loves him much more than she thought.

Thanks also to the followers for taking a time and read. Bye!