Still struggling a bit but with too many Gintama ideas this time. I own only OCs. I tried to make this cute so it may be a bit OOC. Maybe a small Yuri/Mori moments, I guess? But one's not really between them.


She was back again! This time she was reading a science fiction novel but not quite enjoying it. He watched her yawn several times before she finally switched to another book, this one a self-help book. Was that one from home too? It was in pristine condition and obviously new, but didn't have the protective covers of any of the school's books. How To Build Bonds With New Family? He read the cover curiously. Her face wasn't one of someone enjoying a book. She just looked...sad. Maybe conflicted?

He wished he could say something to make her feel better, but he didn't even know what was wrong. He was tempted to ask her but before he had a chance, she checked her vibrating phone and got up and walked out of the library, leaving her books on the table and her bag in her seat. A phone call, maybe? When he saw that she left her book open for everyone to see, he struggled to hold himself back. His best intentions lost to his curiosity and he leaned over to see what she was reading about.

"Accepting a new step-parent," he read, "is a hard, slow, but rewarding process. Don't rush to accept them before you're ready, but don't close of your heart either." Feeling guilty, he didn't read any more and decided to leave before she came back.


The next time, she was hanging up a windchime right outside the broken window (with the permission of the headmaster and librarians of course) but was too short to reach. Worried she might fall out of the window is she tried to reach, he decided to take over instead. Tapping her on the shoulder to get her attention, he felt his heart rate rise. When she looked at him, he caught himself holding his breath for just a moment, not really knowing why. When he gestured to the hamed him her hand, she understood what he meant right away and smiled gratefully. His heart thudded nervously in his chest as he hung the cute windchime up for her, feeling her fingers brush against his as she passed stuff to him. Nervously he finally stepped away from the window to admire his work. The wind stirred a bit, the breeze blowing against the library's new addition. She ginned at him when she heard the beautiful sound. Yuri even gave him a high five, not noticing his embarrassment.

Later, he stared at the hand he clapped against hers, smiling. She had such small, soft hands. And such a cute smile...Just imagining it made his heart take the same irregular rhythm it had before.


Next time, she brought him some cookies. They were cute, animal themed. There were tiny yellow chicks, little blue and red birds, orange cats, and even little green snakes. With it was a note. "Thank you!" It read in prim and pretty writing, little flowers drawn around the edges like a small border. So cute...He thought as he stared at the gift she bashfully slid over to him. He tried one of the cookies and carefully chewed it, noticing an odd crunch to the otherwise soft treat. The look on her face told him that it probably wasn't supposed to be crunchy. Nor was it supposed to be salty, he guessed. She looked like she was about to stop him from eating any more of them, face red, but he smiled and ate another. She smiled too, a bit apologetic and grateful once again. The tips of her ears remained red. Morinozuka briefly thought it was sweet that she was embarrassed. Sweet enough that if didn't matter that her cookies were salty...but then he realised that sounded too much like Tamaki. What a frightening thought...


"He confessed!" Mio admitted at her next club visit. "Not to her but he did tell me who it was!" Curiously, the other girls asked her who. This was a regular thing since Hani liked listening to the stories. "My childhood friend, Yuri! I don't blame him; she's super cute and all, but..." She sighed, picking at her cake and leaving her ta untouched. Her short hair was ruffled and sticking up in odd ways. "She's already got too much on her plate without worrying about boyfriend!"

"Oh, I heard about her! The first year whose mother's getting married next month?" One of the other girls chimed in and suddenly Mori perked up with interest. "To Ishikawa-sensei, right? I've seen pictures of her mother and sensei together. They make a lovely couple!" So that's what was up with the book... "And Tsukada-chan, are you still friends with her as your rival?"

"Yeah, but she's more important to me than any boy is! As for her mom's remarriage, she's not feeling so hyped for the wedding. I mean, she's happy for her mom and all! It's just having a 'new dad' thing that's really getting to her." Mio explained, sighing. "And then there's her little sister who's a bit too hyped for this wedding."

"She has a little sister?" Mori asked, catching everyone's attention. He almost never gave anything more than one syllable or nonverbal replies to the girl's stories. After staring at him in surprise for a moment, Mio grinned widely.

"You fell for her too, huh? Too bad, Yuri's going to be my bride someday! We promised when we were kids!" She teased. "But yeah, her name's Sakura. She really looks up to Yuri. That's probably the cause of all her anxiety though..." She shrugged.

"Anxiety?" He sat forward, wanting to hear more, ignoring Mio's teasing. She nodded, taking a bite of chocolate cake and washing it down with a big gulp of tea.

"She has this tendency to try and be the best daughter in the world. You know, amazing grades, good at sports, and bound to go to an amazing college. Her mom's always tellin her to go at her own pace instead but she can't help but want to be the absolute best to make her dad proud. Old habits die hard, I guess. So when she doesn't make the top ten on a major test, she has a hard time calming down." Mio shrugged. "She usually crashes at my place when that happens because she's worried about looking bad in front of Sakura."

"I see..." Mori mentally recorded everything she said.

Later, he'd get interrogated by his fellow hosts. "Mori-senpai?! Are you really in love with an underclassman?!" Tamaki asked, tears of pride in his eyes. He probably had some delusions of being responsible for it if Mori really was in love and was proud of himself for playing cupid. He shook his head and tried to explain that he was just interested in her for some reason but he couldn't get a single word in until Hani spoke up.

"Takashi, do you think Yuri's cute?" He nodded. "Does your heart race when you look at her?" Hani asked, cheerily as if he already knew the answer. Mori nodded again, wondering what this was about. "Do you like it when she smiles? Does it make you embarrassed when she looks you in the eyes?" Once again, he nodded. "do you like being around her?" Yes, he decided as he nodded. It was nice, relaxing and fun... "Takashi I think you might like Yuri-chan."

The next time he saw her, it was a bit different than usual. She wasn't reading like usual, her head down on the table and her shoulders rising and falling with her slow breathing. Oh, he thought as he slowly walked up to the table, careful not to wake her. He stared at her for a second or two before slowly reaching out and patting her on the head, not quite sure what he was doing. How would he explain this if she woke up? His face felt hot and he almost pulled his hand away before he heard her give a content hum despite still being fast asleep. He continued to pat her head a bit longer before getting embarrassed and worried that someone might see him and rushing out of the library.

Maybe Mitsukuni was right.

Twenty or thirty minutes later, Yuri was woken up by her best friend who laughed at her crazy 'bed head'. Despite being a bit confused, she shrugged it off and gathered her books, being careful to hide the short list she'd made. No need to break her friend's heart and lose the person most precious to her.


Sorry this isn't too good this time either but at least I threw in a ton of cute moments. Next chapter will be Yuri's side of event for once!