Hope everyone is enjoying fall weather! It's super hot & humid here for some reason... ahh climate change. :(

BizzyLizy: Haha there's a lot of emoticons online, like this ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ haha XD Casanoda is such a cutie lol. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! :)

HikaRyuu (Guest): Hi! Wow I never saw Emi that way, so thanks so much for pointing it out. :) I gotta agree haha, Ryuu has been very sacrificing for her, but he has his reasons why. I'll do my best to change that, and I've thought of some events/plot that will help with that. ^_^ Thank you for reviewing! And I hope you continue to enjoy the story. :D

AquilonIII: Hehe, thank you very much! :D As for with Michi, guess you'll just have to read to find out. ;) Thanks for reviewing, and as always the wonderful feedback. (*^▽^*)

: Hello! :) Thanks for reading! I hope you like this chapter! ^_^ And if you have any ideas, suggestions, criticism, etc, please feel free to share them with me. Thanks!

Chapter 29!

The first snowfall occurred on a Saturday in the late evening. Ryuu went out for a walk, to watch the snow flutter down around him. He stopped by the park and found it empty.

Huh. I thought she'd be here. He continued towards the city and the closest convenience store. The night was quiet with the occasional passing car and a few pedestrians. As he neared downtown, the lights became brighter and the streets more crowded.

Ryuu slipped into a convenience store to purchase some hot red bean buns. It was a commoner thing that he'd learned about from his rare trips to the store, but it was good. He wondered if Haruhi liked these buns as well.

He munched as he walked back. Emi and Kaoru were going to an art museum tomorrow - another date. Ryuu was considering asking Hikaru to do something. He didn't want to be stuck at home by himself with nothing to do.

He stopped at the park again. It was still empty. He should have known. Michi wasn't going to magically pop up. He sat on the swing and finished his bun before continuing his walk back home.

The next day, Emi left in skinny jeans, a piggy pink blouse, and a brown overcoat.

"What, you already stopped dressing up for him?" Ryuu said at the sight. He remembered the skirts Emi had put on for the previous dates, and she didn't usually wear skirts.

She smiled. "Please, Kaoru-kun's already seen all my usual awkwardness."

Once she was out the door, Ryuu followed. He walked to the park, but only kids occupied the place. She's not here again today? He knew he couldn't expect her here twenty-four seven. He paced back and forth by the park, gaining a few strange looks from the kids, but she didn't show.

What university does she do research at? It has to be the Tokyo one right? But there's another university. No it'd be creepy if I stalked her down. He walked back and called Hikaru instead.

"You wanna do something?" he said when Hikaru picked up.

"As long as it's not going to an art museum," Hikaru said.

"It's not," Ryuu said.

"Then sure."

A moment later, the two were sprawled on Ryuu's bed playing the wii. Hikaru had his legs crossed, while Ryuu lay on his stomach.

"You brought me over to play Super Mario with you?" Hikaru said, as they squashed goombas and leapt over pipes.

"I'm bored," Ryuu said with a shrug.

"Shouldn't you be studying or something?"

"I don't study. It's boring. Do you?"

Hikaru shrugged. "A bit of review when finals come but that's it."

"A bit of review gets you in our class's top ten?" Ryuu said to the TV screen as his Mario ducked a spiraling hammer.

"Everyone in the Host Club makes it in the top ten," Hikaru said as if it were common knowledge. "Don't you?"

"I'm in the top thirties," Ryuu said under his breath.

"So, what, you rank thirtieth?"

"Twenty-nine."

"How does Emi do?" Hikaru asked.

"Almost top ten," Ryuu said, "but that's cause she works her butt off."

Hikaru smirked. "You're too lazy to do the same?"

"Yup. Do you and Kaoru get the same scores?"

"Sometimes I score higher than him, sometimes he scores higher than me. But we're always right next to each other."

"That's nice," Ryuu said.

Several kilometers away, Emi and Kaoru gazed at a painting.

"So, why an art museum?" Kaoru asked.

Emi smiled, shrugging. "Call me silly, but I just think there's something romantic about art museums."

He chuckled. "I know what you mean."

"Besides, someone who's into fashion knows how to appreciate art right?" She glanced at him, who smiled back.

"Sure. It all looks pretty cool."

She pointed at the modern art piece in front of them. "Just look at how the colors complement each other, and that stroke right there. It must be showing the painter's feelings of frustration."

Kaoru laughed, shaking his head. They moved on to the next piece. The art museum was scattered with a few people here and there. It was quiet, peaceful, with wide rooms and white walls. When they were done roaming the vacant halls, they left the building and strolled around.

"Do you have any winter break plans?" Kaoru asked.

"We're visiting our grandparents for Christmas," she said. "What about you?"

"We might go vacation abroad," he said.

"Eh?" Her jaw dropped. "For how long? When?"

"I don't know yet," he said with a chuckle. "We'll be back for the New Year though."

"Oh I think I'm visiting a shrine with my friends for the New Year though," Emi said.

Kaoru crossed his arms behind his head. "When are we going to get some time together?"

"Right now?" she said, smiling.

He glanced at her and dropped his arms. Then he held his hand out to her. She giggled and placed her hand in his. They continued, swinging their linked hands back and forth.

"I still don't know how this happened," Emi said.

"What?"

She held their hands up in the air. "This. How did I get so lucky?"

"You didn't," Kaoru said, kissing the back of her hand. He smiled at her. "I did."

She grinned and bumped her shoulder against his. They'd reached a bridge now and stopped to watch the water stream past below them. The setting sun reflected its orange light on the water. A smile rested on her face, and she imagined time stopping for them to bask in the moment.

"When it's warmer, do you want to go to the beach?" Kaoru asked as they stood shoulder-to-shoulder.

"Yeah, I'd like that."

"Let's study together!" Tamaki said after hosting on Wednesday. Finals were next week, and the Host Club would be taking a break to give their guests time to study. He turned to Haruhi. "Haruhi, you can ask Daddy any questions you have. I'll answer them all!"

"Actually I study better by myself," Haruhi said, sending Tamaki into his mushroom corner.

"Haruhi's number one in our grade, Tono," the Hitachiin twins said. "Of course she doesn't need your help."

Tears sprang up in Tamaki's eyes and he began to mumble. "She doesn't need me they said. She doesn't need me…"

"Tamaki's good at school?" Ryuu said.

"You didn't know?" Emi said. "He's number two, right after Kyoya-senpai."

"I'm not surprised about Kyoya, but Tamaki?"

Tamaki stiffened and slunk even deeper into his corner. The other hosts exchanged looks. The twins shook their head. They weren't going to bother themselves with Tamaki, so Haruhi sighed and stood up.

"Senpai, could you stop?" Haruhi said, poking the blond's shoulder. Tamaki kept on muttering to himself, doddling on the floor with his finger. "Hey senpai, I have a question about-"

"A question? A question?" Tamaki shot straight to his feet. "I can help you Haruhi!"

"That'd be great," Haruhi said, though her face remained blank and her eyes dull. She proceeded to ask him about some reading they had for homework.

"We should go back," Emi said to Ryuu, catching Kaoru's attention. "I need to study."

"Should we study together?" Kaoru said. "We are in the same class."

"We'll invite Haruhi too," Hikaru said.

"Wait, we're all studying together?" Ryuu said, giving them an incredulous look.

Emi smiled. "Why not? That sounds fun."

"But you know I don't study," he said.

"Saturday afternoon then?" Kaoru said. "We'll pick Haruhi up on our way."

"Wait, we're all studying together at our house?" Ryuu frowned.

"Why not?" Emi said, still smiling.

He sighed. "Whatever."

So the plans were set.

With club activities cancelled for the upcoming finals, Emi spent most of her time buried in books, papers, and old tests. Ouran was much more competitive than their previous schools, so ranking well was more difficult.

As promised, Hikaru and Kaoru arrived with a disgruntled Haruhi.

"I don't understand why I have to come along," she said as they sat down around the dining table.

"Your our class's number one, Haruhi!" Hikaru said.

"So of course we need you here while we study!" Kaoru said.

Haruhi frowned and pulled out her books. "Fine. You can ask me your questions."

"But we don't have any," the twins said, shrugging while grinning.

"Actually, Haruhi-kun, I have a question," Emi said, holding a past assignment. Haruhi set her book down and leaned over, as Emi asked about a math problem that she couldn't understand.

Ryuu sat back, turning from the two girls to the two boys across from him. "I thought you said you only did a bit of reviewing."

Hikaru shrugged. "Studying now and then is good."

"Ohh." Emi's face lit up. "I get it now! Thanks, Haruhi-kun." She smiled, and Ryuu watched Kaoru stare at Emi.

Emi and Haruhi began to study by themselves, with the occasional question and explanation interrupting their otherwise silent work. Hikaru pulled out a book to read, and Kaoru did some homework. Ryuu ate from the plate of fruit and cookies in the middle of the table.

"Ryuu, you should study too. There's no way you can go through college like this," Emi said.

Hikaru nodded. "Yeah, no wonder you're an idiot."

Ryuu kicked the twin from under the table. "Shut up, you jerk." He sighed and grabbed a piece of a paper. "Okay, I'll study." He did some practice problems, then turned to Emi. She was frowning at her paper, comparing her answers to the correct one.

Once he saw that Kaoru was busy writing, Ryuu leaned closer and whispered in her ear, "How are you studying when your boyfriend is right across from you?"

Emi looked at him with pursed lips. "Can't you tell I'm trying really hard to?"

Ryuu blinked. "Oh. I thought you were studying like normal."

The Hitachiin twins glanced up. "What is it?" they said in unison.

"Nothing," the Mazawa twins said.

Haruhi stared at the four. "Are you guys even studying? I'm pretty sure group studying isn't like this."

"We don't really study," the Hitachiin twins said.

"Then why'd you come and bring me along?" she said.

"Well." Hikaru raised an eyebrow at Kaoru, who blushed.

"I didn't say you had to come with," Kaoru said, "or bring Haruhi along."

"I thought if it was just you two it'd be terribly awkward," Hikaru said.

"Or terribly quiet," Ryuu said.

"Or terribly unproductive," Emi said, catching Kaoru's gaze. The two exchanged small smiles.

"What are you guys talking about?" Haruhi asked.

"If Kaoru had come over to study with Emi," Hikaru said.

"Oh." Haruhi's eyes lit up.

"I have a question," Emi said, holding a piece of paper up. She had paper strewn all over the table in front of her, along with two notebooks, a folder, and a textbook. "Does anyone know what's going to be on the Literature test?"

"Uh…" Ryuu thought back to their last class.

"The books we read?" Hikaru said.

"Probably need to write an impromptu essay," Kaoru said.

"Kanji," Haruhi said.

"Darn that's a lot," Emi said, dropping her head on the table.

"Shit I suck with kanji," Ryuu said. "Emi, where's your textbook?" She pointed at her school bag lying on the ground. He reached over and pulled the book out.

Emi lifted her head to look at Kaoru. "You really don't need to study?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, chuckling. "Not really."

"Ugh, why are you guys so smart?" Her head fell back down. "I wish I was half as smart."

"You are," Hikaru said without looking away from his book.

Emi sat up, blinked at Hikaru, and smiled. "Thanks Hikaru-kun." She gathered some papers and picked up her pencil to continue studying.

Finals ended with little trouble. Emi's ankle was completely healed when winter break started, and the Host Club bid farewell to each other as they travelled off to other parts of the world.

"We'll be visiting your grandparents for Christmas," Mrs. Mazawa told the twins.

"For how long?" Emi asked, seated on the couch with her phone in her hands. Roro was sprawled on her lap.

"A week," her mom said. "We'll be back on the twenty-eighth." They'd be leaving the day after tomorrow. Emi sent a message to Kaoru. He was leaving the next day for the Caribbean with his family, so the two planned to meet before he flew off.

"Any other questions?" Mrs. Mazawa. When Emi shook her head, their mom disappeared up the stairs.

"So is the shrine visit still on with Sumiko and Aki?" Ryuu asked as he took a seat beside his sister. She nodded. "You're not going to go with Kaoru?"

"We already made plans with Sumiko and Aki. We can't break it now," she said, petting Roro's back. "Besides it'll be crowded. What if someone saw the two of us together?"

"Oh, I guess that's true." Ryuu stretched his legs out. It was the first day of winter break, and he was already bored. He stood up and grabbed his coat. "I'm going to go out for a walk."

Emi tried to leap to her feet but was stopped by the heavy weight that was Roro. His eyes were closed, and he had a lazy smile. "Wait are you going to see that girl? Michi, right?"

"No," Ryuu said.

"But you said-"

"I'm not going to see her," he said.

"But-"

He tossed the door open and raced out.

"Ryuu!" Emi struggled to stand again but Roro whined, remaining where he was. "Roro, now is not the time to enjoy the human bed." Roro licked her hand, so she sat back with a sigh.

Out on the streets, Ryuu sped towards the park. He glanced back to make sure Emi hadn't followed before slowing down. The air was frigid, and there was a thin blanket of snow covering the world. Please tell me she's there, he thought as he neared the park.

She was. She was digging in the dirt again with a box beside her.

"Michi?" Ryuu strode to her side. "Are you burying another spider friend?"

She smiled up at him. "Yes. This time it's Mi-chan and Ki-chan." Her spade could barely budge the frozen dirt.

"Do you want some help?" he said, kneeling beside her.

"This is why I don't like it when they die in the wintertime," she said and handed the spade over. He wedged it into the dirt and began to dig.

"Why do you bury them? You must get a lot of dead spiders from your research," he said.

"You're right. I don't bury all of them," she said, "only the ones who've lived a long time or who've contributed a lot to my research. It's just my way of showing them some respect and thanking them for helping me."

He nodded and grunted as he flung a large chunk of dirt into the air. Michi laughed. "I think that's good enough. Thank you, Ryuu." She opened the box and pulled the two spiders out, setting them down. She clapped her hands together, murmured a prayer, then began pushing the dirt back.

When she was done, they stood and Ryuu looked at her, sticking his hands in his pockets. She seemed the same as usual. "Where have you been?" he asked. "I came here a few times for like two weeks and didn't see you."

She smiled. "Sorry. I was busy, thought I'd found a breakthrough in my research."

"Did you?" he asked.

"It's certainly a discovery," she said. "I've spent the past week writing my research paper. It'll be published just in time for Christmas." She smiled, and her face lit up. Her eyes were brighter than usual, twinkling almost.

Ryuu smiled. "That's great. Congratulations."

"Thank you," she said. They glanced around, still standing in the middle of the park.

"Do you want to walk?" he said. "It's too cold to just sit or stand."

She nodded, so they headed towards town and the convenience store. "So how have you been?"

"I'm good. Thanks for the advice, and always hearing me out," he said.

"No problem. I like it," she said.

"How are you?"

"I'm good." She grinned, flashing her teeth. A smile broke out on Ryuu's face, and something warm filled his chest. It was good - no, it was great - to see her again.

"You look happy," he said, "like actually happy, like more than usual. Is that discovery really that good?"

"Yes." She giggled and stared up at the dark blue sky. "I might be able to go home for Christmas."

"Why wouldn't you be able to?"

She blinked and the bright look in her eyes was gone. She smiled, but it wasn't like the last one. Her eyes weren't twinkling. "I've been busy."

"Where is your home?" Ryuu said, tilting his head. "Your parents right?"

She nodded. "They live in Sendai."

"Oh, up north. Do you have any siblings?"

"No." She shook her head and gazed at her black boots. "It must be fun having a sibling though."

"Ehh. As much trouble as it is fun," he said.

"So things are going well?" she said, looking at him.

"Yeah." He smiled, and she smiled back. They approached the convenience store and entered without another word. "Oh! I recently discovered the red bean buns here. They're so good, Michi. Have you had them before?"

She giggled while Ryuu drooled over the buns in the case. "They're really good. I get them almost everytime I come here."

"Don't you come here often?" he asked, grabbing two buns and heading towards the checkout counter.

"Yeah, I live off convenience store food," she said with a chuckle.

"That doesn't sound healthy," he said.

"It isn't." She stood beside him as they moved through the line.

"You don't cook?"

She shook her head. "Takes too much time."

He paid for the buns then handed one to her.

"Oh," she said, staring at the warm, sweet treat in her hands. "Ryuu, I can't-"

"What?" he said, already biting in.

"How much was it?" Michi said, pulling her wallet out. "Two hundred yen?" She glanced around for the price posting.

"It's fine," he said and pushed her wallet away. "Just consider it as thanks for all your help."

"But-"

"Hurry and eat it before it gets cold," he said.

She stared down at the red bean bun. "Thanks Ryuu," she said and took a bite. They walked to her apartment complex which was just across the street from the store.

"You research at the Tokyo university right?" he said, gazing up at the building.

"Yes," she said. "I should go. Thanks, Ryuu."

"Thank you," he said and waved her goodbye.

"So, I guess I won't be seeing you for a week," Kaoru said. They were in the mini theater in the Hitachiin mansion, watching a popular TV show.

"Yeah," Emi said. She slid lower in her seat on the couch. This'll suck. As much as I love Grandma and Grandpa, I don't want to not see Kaoru-kun for a whole week.

Kaoru glanced over. "Is there something else you want to do?"

She turned to him with a smile. "You mean before you leave?"

"Yeah," he said with a shrug. Their faces were inches away, and their eyes were locked with each other's. "I don't know. We could go out and… do something."

"It's cold out," she said. The room was dim. They could hear the actors on the TV talking and see the flashes of movement from the corners of their eyes. Emi's heart was drumming away. It felt like every cell in her body was awake and running laps around the gym, while butterflies flipped out in her stomach. She wasn't sure if she was breathing or not.

Kaoru leaned closer. "It is," he said. His gaze was loving, adoring, like she was the only person in the world. Like she was the world: his world. His breath tickled her face just before their eyes shut and their lips touched.

He was soft and wet and tasted like buttery popcorn. She felt her chest fill with warmth, and the warmth spread to the tips of her fingers and toes like electricity. Her body melted away, until it was just her lips, his lips - their lips. Soft, warm, wet, turning from two clumsy beings into one. They stayed like that for what felt like minutes before they broke away. His hand brushed her cheek, and they made eye contact again.

"I love you, Kaoru," she said and they kissed again. Her hand latched onto his shirt, pulling him closer. His hand found her waist and soon they were pressed up against each other.

"I love you, Emi," he said when they pulled away. They were both smiling, and Emi giggled when she saw Kaoru's rosy cheeks. "What?" he asked as she snuggled closer. His arm was around her now and she rested her head on his shoulder.

"This is nice," she said, staring at the TV.

He leaned his head against hers. "Yeah."

This was quite a bit of Michi & Ryuu. Ahh I feel so self-conscious when I write a lot about the OCs haha. Any thoughts? Please share!

Thanks for reading! :)