Author's Note: Yaaaay chapter 6: in which Kamui has a bad day is up and running!

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"Kakyou!" Hokuto called, sweeping back into her office Monday morning, the train of her sparkly green dress billowing behind her. She hopped over his desk and sat on it, facing him, eyes just as sparkling and just as green as the fabric, wide and alert.

"Um, yes Sumeragi-san?" he asked, nervously backing away a few inches so that her nose wasn't quite so close to touching his.

"Nonono. Hokuto. Say it with me. Ho-ku-to." She grabbed either side of his face so that he couldn't look away and repeated it until he did in fact say it with her. "Karen is having a dinner party." She announced, once she was satisfied that Kakyou had gotten the message. "This Sunday. Are you busy that evening?"

Kakyou's eyes widened and his cheeks burned bright red. "Um, no." he mumbled, twisting his hands in his lap.

Hokuto smiled to herself, reminded of another shy young man she knew. "Then how about going with me? You know, as a date." She winked and held her fingertip up to the corner of her lips, loving the way his blush deepened as he stammered out a yes. "Awesome!" she threw her arms around his neck, and thought once more how much she enjoyed the feeling of that soft ivory hair against her cheek. She wondered sometimes if he knew how much she loved it and that was why he kept it long but was sure he had no idea. Subaru wouldn't. She thought then remembered. "Oh yes! And can you get my brother on the line please?"

Kakyou nodded, looking slightly disappointed as she pulled away and moved to her side of the room to pick up the telephone.

"Onee-chan?" came a male voice on the other end of the line after a few moments.

"Hey-o little bro! I'm not interrupting any kitty-life-saving procedures or anything am I?" When he reassured her she wasn't, she shared with him the details of the dinner party, informing him that Karen's invitation had been extended to both he and Seishirou. Subaru hesitated to respond. "What? Is something wrong? Are you busy that day or something?" she asked.

"No, it's just… do you think we could bring along someone else as well?"

"Oh I'm sure you could, you know how Karen is and anyway the more the merrier right? But who is this mysterious other person?" Hokuto paused then grinned devilishly. "Have you and Seishirou taken to a ménage à trois?"

"Hokuto! No!" Subaru protested.

She giggled. "I didn't think so but hey, one never knows these days. Besides, Sei-chan told me about the handcuffs so I know you're at least a little willing to experiment. Don't even try to deny it." She heard a small smack and guessed (accurately) that Subaru was burying his face in his free hand as best he could. "But no really, who-"

There was a knock on the door and a deliveryman entered the room with a cardboard box under arm and a clipboard in hand. Kakyou rose quickly to address him but Hokuto stopped him. "Yay! The new prototypes of the hair accessories are here! Gotta-go-Subaru-see-you-and-your-new-little-crumpet-on-Sunday-bye!" She rushed over to the delivery man, oblivious to the overwhelmed stares she received as she whipped the box away from him and tore into it.

"Oh my god, these headbands are ADORABLE." She cheered and set to work trying on each one and examining them in the mirror she kept behind her desk for a reason.

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It was a quiet afternoon at the temple and Arashi decided to take advantage of it. She settled down on a mat and within moments was lost in meditation. It was interrupted minutes later though by a crash from outside the temple. She sighed to herself and wearily got up, walking outside to see if anyone was injured.

The yard in front of the entrance was strewn with lilies and two disheveled boys. Daisuke pulled himself to a sitting position, rubbing his shoulder with an annoyed expression that quickly changed to dismay as he caught sight of the ruined flowers.

"Heh, sorry about that kiddo…" Sorata apologized, trying to recover some of them. "I guess I got a little too excited and wasn't paying attention to where I was going… But I shall make it up to you! What's your favorite dish, I'll make it for you for lunch tomorrow!" He held up a handful of lilies which flopped limply against his hand, much to Daisuke's chagrin, who gave them a disappointed look as he took them. "Ah! Miss!" Sorata caught sight of Arashi and began scrambling around the grounds. "Dang it, where'd it go…"

Arashi crossed her arms and wondered if once he was done crawling around like an idiot, he would be finished making a fool of himself for the day or if he'd find another way to do so.

The latter it seemed, as he retrieved a small plush bunny tangled up in the shrubs where he had been hiding on Valentine's Day. He leapt up the steps and bowed, holding it out to her. "As a token of my love for you!" He announced. "I apologize for the Valentine's chocolates getting slightly crushed and just wanted to remind you that my feelings have not changed since then!"

She stared at him, wondering if he was really this much of an idiot or if it was just a show he put on. Then he looked up and grabbed her hand and placed the bunny in it, brushing off a stray twig that had snagged on its red velvet bow. "Here! It's yours!"

She looked down at the bunny, who stared back at her with button eyes, then up at him who stared at her with hopeful eyes. She glanced down at the bunny again then back up at him again. He gave her another grin then bounced back down the steps to help Daisuke to his feet, offering to help him pick up the flowers and take him out for ice cream to make up for it. Arashi remained where she was, watching the two of them make their way out of the temple grounds, wondering how Sorata had managed to get Daisuke's smiling again so quickly. Her fingers subconsciously tightened around the plush toy and she returned to her mat but found every time she closed her eyes and tried to meditate this time, the memory of him taking her hand kept replaying. She reopened her eyes and stared at the bunny again then smiled softly to herself, glad that no one else was around to see.

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Inuki was scheduled for training twice a week but Yuzuriha found herself going to see Kusanagi almost every day after school, her already obedient puppy in tow. She had discovered that he also ran an animal shelter behind the studio and had happily volunteered to help him take care of the animals, walking the dogs with him, feeding the birds, and of course, playing with the kittens.

Yuzuriha lay on her stomach, kicking her heals in the air and giggling as she felt one kitten struggle to climb up her back and another curled up on her head, fighting for balanced as she bobbed it, reaching out to scratch another one's ears. A deep, rumbling laugh, like boulders tumbling down a hill, came from the birdcages.

"You look like one of them yourself." Kusanagi told her, affectionately stroking a macaw whose owner had abandoned it when its wing was broken.

She giggled and sat up, kittens tumbling right and left to the floor. "Hey Kusanagi-san? Have you heard that they're going to be opening a new exhibit at the zoo?"

"Oh? What animal?"

"Polar bears!" Yuzuriha crossed her fingers behind her back. "If you aren't too busy, would you like to go there with me sometime and see them?" she asked eagerly.

Kusanagi flashed her a grin and picked up a smaller bird, a tiny yellow canary that climbed cautiously onto his finger. "Sure, if you want. But wouldn't you rather go with your boyfriend?"

"Boyfriend?" Yuzuriha tilted her head, catching the kitten that had been perched precariously on it before it could hit the ground.

"Yeah that boy that was in here when you first came to sign up for training and who sometimes still walks you here."

"Oh! You mean Sorata!" Yuzuriha laughed. "He's not my boyfriend! We're cousins."

"Oh, sorry, my mistake then. It's just that you two seemed really close."

"We are." Yuzuriha pulled her feet up to sit cross-legged. "His parents and mine used to be really close so we sort of grew up together."

Kusanagi hesitated. "Used to be?"

She nodded and pulled a kitten in close to her heart. "They died in a car crash a few years ago on their way back from a party. So Sorata sort of wound up taking care of me." She pushed down memories of a different time and forced a bright smile. "But it's okay, cuz we still have one another!" She couldn't read the look Kusanagi gave her but turned away, quickly gathering up the kittens. "Anyway, how about next week for the zoo?"

"Sounds good to me." Kusanagi agreed a little more softly than usual.

She skipped over to him once the kittens were back in place.

"Hey now! Don't go getting gloomy on me!" She made a silly face. "So now do we get to walk the dogs?" she clapped her hands, excited for her favorite part of the day.

He chuckled and nodded, letting her gather up the leashes and begin clipping them to collars. She glanced over her shoulder as he carefully returned the canary to its cage, apologizing quietly to it for having to do so as he did every day.

"You don't like it do you?" she asked.

"Eh?"

"Animals in cages, that is."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, it's not a pretty sight to me. I keep them here because I know it's safer for them than out there where they could get hit by a car or fall pretty to malicious children, but I wish I didn't have to." He joined her, taking some of the leashes.

"Hmm. Hey, instead of the zoo, do you want to do something else?" she offered.

"Like what?"

She thought it over for a moment then an idea struck her and she jumped up and down for a moment, clapping. "Oh! I know! We could go camping! We could stargaze and birdwatch and even toast marshmallows!"

He threw his head back and gave another deep laugh and Yuzuriha wished as soon as it ended that he would laugh again. "Alright kiddo, if that's what you wanna do." He grinned and ruffled her hair.

Side by side they walked out into the city.

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Kamui squinted at the equations on the board and tried his hardest to make them look less like squiggles and more like something meaningful. The fact that he was still drenched and cold from the unexpected rainstorm on his way to school though wasn't helping his concentration. He resisted the urge to slam his head on the desk and groan, determined to make it through the rest of the period. Before he knew it though, his eyelids began to droop and a heavy feeling settled over him.

He was lying on the ground; he knew that before he even opened his eyes as he could feel the concrete pressing into each of his vertebrae. Rain splashed cold against his cheeks, stinging one of them painfully and he remembered that it was cut and hoped that the acidic water would not cause it to become infected. Cold metal was against his palm, a strange icy burn against his skin and he clutched at the hilt of the sword, pulling it closer like a child would clutch at a teddy bear for comfort. The sound of flapping material over him suddenly caught his attention and his eyes flew open just in time to see the blade come down.

I wish….

Suddenly the bell rang and he leapt out of his seat, accidentally overturning it in the process and blushing when most of the class, the teacher included gave him strange looks. He mumbled an apology and pulled the chair back to its normal position with a frustrated sigh.

"Are you okay, Kamui-kun?" Kotori came up beside him.

"Um, yeah, the bell just… startled me is all." He blushed and looked away from her inquisitive eyes.

"Kotori-chan?" a voice from the doorway came over the chatter of the other students.

"Over here, Daisuke-kun!" she called, waving to the brown haired boy, who promptly made his way over and offered her a small box.

"I know White Day isn't until tomorrow, but since it's the weekend, I thought I would go ahead and give this to you today."

Kamui started and watched her pull away the wrapping paper, complimenting the way he'd tied a neat little pink bow on it.

"Oh Daisuke! These are lovely!" Kotori pulled out two little barrettes with small white birds on the ends of each and promptly pulled part of her hair back with them. "What do you think?"

Kamui's eyes widened slightly.

"They suit you, or at least I think so." Daisuke smiled. "I'm sorry I didn't make you something in return, but I did want to thank you for the chocolates."

Kamui slid off the desk and wandered out of the room to eat his lunch alone. He didn't really want to hear the rest of the conversation.

That afternoon he walked home from school alone as Sorata had rushed off to say something to Arashi (who Kamui was glad at least to see was around after all and seemed to be doing fine) and Yuzuriha said something about dog walking and ran off in the opposite direction as well.

It was still raining and by the time he got home, Kamui was completely soaked and shivering from cold. He let himself into the apartment with the spare key Subaru had given him, grateful to get inside. He couldn't help but feel yet another pang of intrusion though when he realized Subaru and Seishirou were both asleep on the couch, curled up close together, looking as though they had both decided to take a nap after work.

Kamui quietly tiptoed past them and into the bathroom where he turned the water on as hot as he could get it and stood directly under it so that he could pretend it was only water running down his cheeks.

When he finally pulled himself together, he turned the water back off and dried off before settling down at the kitchen table, intending to start his homework. He sighed as he realized that the rain had soaked into his book bag and smeared some of the ink in his textbook, making it difficult to read the explanation of the material he had slept through earlier.

A knock on the doorway distracted him from his attempt at discerning the writing and he looked up to see Subaru watching him with a concerned expression.

"You okay Kamui?"

He nodded, not trusting himself to keep it together long enough to tell Subaru that Kotori had moved on without him around.

"Need some help with your homework?"

"A little bit."

Subaru pulled a chair up next to him and looked over his shoulder. "Oh math… that was never my strongest subject. I wonder if I remember this."

Seishirou suddenly popped up behind him.

"Oh factorials! These are easy once you get the hang of them!" he informed Kamui who tried unsuccessfully to repress a shudder. "I can help you with your homework tonight if you want!"

"He does know this stuff better than I do." Subaru pointed out, and rose, leaving the chair to Seishirou who promptly sat down and began explaining the material to Kamui.

After all that happened that day, Kamui decided at the end that the worst part was that Seishirou's explanations actually did help.

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Author's note: Okay so I confess, I do totally think a threesome between Seishirou/Subaru/Kamui would be hot but also funny. XD I will not put it in this story but will consider actually writing it if anyone out there actually wants to read it. :P