Hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful trees and scenery. :) Unless you're in the southern hemisphere, hope you're enjoying the beautiful flower scenery then.

AquilonIII: Well you certainly learned a lot from your AP English classes haha XD That's really good though. It's better to read that way. Huehuehue you're kinda right about that luck thing. I hope you like what I have in store for the characters. :D Thanks as always you super awesome human being!

AnimeFan1980: Hello! :) Nice to meet you! I'm glad you liked it, and thank you lots for reviewing! Hehe hope you enjoy this chapter.

updating is so hard. Finding time to write is hard too so don't feel guilty. :) I'm terrible at updating unless people review lol otherwise it feels like nobody's reading. Thank you for always supporting and reviewing! :D

Thanks for all those who followed and faved! ^_^

"I saw you sneak into the back and drop a match on the ground," he said. He was in a black apron, jeans, and a black cap. He looked like an employee. "A moment later, the fire started."

"I didn't start the fire," Emi said, frowning. "There's no way I did. I was in the bathroom when the fire started."

"Can anyone attest to that?" the guy said.

"I can." Kaoru held his hand up. "I saw her walk into the bathroom, and she was still in there when the fire started."

Another customer furrowed her brows. "I think I saw her walk into the bathroom too."

"'I think' isn't good enough," the guy said. "I know what I saw."

"Who are you?" the police officer asked.

"I'm a short-order cook and dishwasher," the young man said. He had a goatee and couldn't have been over twenty-five.

A few more employees joined the group. The manager counted heads and confirmed that everyone was out of the building. Those who were injured were brought to the ambulance for quick treatment.

"Did anybody else see who may have done it? Or what may have caused this?" the police called.

"I saw someone near the place where the fire started, wearing a white t-shirt and jeans," another worker said. "Bent over doing something. I didn't really notice though cause we were busy. I had to move on."

The police nodded. They gathered up more witness statements. The building was out of flames now, but a good amount of it was damaged. It'd take lots of time and money to repair it.

How did this happen? Emi dialed home. She wanted to go home, but only the ringing sound of the phone answered her.

"You okay?" Kaoru said. She nodded and stared into his warm eyes. She leaned into him, letting herself relax.

"Of course he'd vouch for her," the dishwasher said, pointing at the two. "They're dating. Maybe even accomplices."

"These are very bold accusations." The police officer held up a hand. "You better be certain of what you saw."

"Of course! I wouldn't lie."

"Why would I want to burn this place down?" Emi said with a sigh, snapping her phone shut when she was sent to voicemail.

The dishwasher shrugged. "I can't read your mind."

"There's absolutely no reason," she said, then coughed. Her throat was scratchy. "I'm a highschool student. I was here on a date, and I wanted to enjoy myself. I've never been here before. Also, where would I get a match? I don't carry matches with me. Heck, I don't even know how to light a match. And I got caught in the fire. See?" She pointed at the mask that was filling her lungs with oxygen.

"All lies," the guy said. "A cover-up."

Kaoru growled. "Emi would never do that," he said.

"I don't know her," the guy said.

"Can we go?" Kaoru asked the police officer. "We'll leave you our contact information. You can call us back whenever you want. You can talk to our parents too."

Emi nodded. "Please."

"Hold up," a paramedic said. "You two need to go to the hospital - or at least, the young lady does."

The officer looked the two up and down. "Alright, leave your contact information and get on the ambulance." They wrote down their names, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers. Once they were done, the officer turned to the dishwasher and said, "Sir, I'd like to speak with you further. Could you come with me to the police station?"

"Sure." He shrugged and followed the officer towards the police car.

Kaoru and Emi watched them leave, then climbed into the awaiting vehicle. Several others filled in, and the ambulance took off.

Emi called home again, and this time Akimi picked up. "Emi-chan? What is it? Sorry, I missed your call earlier, I was talking to your father."

Emi coughed and tugged at the mask. It was difficult with one hand, so Kaoru helped her take it off. "Akimi-nee-chan, the cafe we were at got set on fire. Or it - there was a fire and-"

"Oh my God," Akimi said. "Are you okay, Emi-chan? Kaoru-kun as well?"

"Yeah, we're okay," Emi said, coughing again.

"You don't sound okay," Akimi said. "Where are you right now? Bertrand-san and I will come find you."

"We're headed for the hospital."

"The hospital?" Akimi's voice rose.

"It's just for a checkup," Emi said, while staring at her bandaged right hand. "Um. Where's Ryuu?"

"He's out with a friend," Akimi said. "We're heading out, Emi-chan. Just sit tight and we'll see you in a bit."

"Okay."

"See you soon."

"Bye." Emi hung up then looked at Kaoru, who was busy typing on his phone. "Everything okay on your end?"

"Yeah," he said and leaned over her to put the mask back on. "I made it out pretty okay, unlike you."

She sighed and pouted.

"Don't worry," he said, rubbing his thumb over the back of her hand. "You'll be okay."

She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder. "I know." Cause you're here. She closed her eyes and listened to Kaoru breathe. When they arrived, they were taken care of in the ER. Someone treated her hand and checked her throat and airways. Akimi and Bertrand came just as they finished.

"Alright, you're free to go. Here's a sheet on smoke inhalation. If you experience any of these symptoms, get to a hospital right away," the doctor said.

Akimi signed all the papers, and Bertrand brought the two to the car. Once everyone was seated and they were moving, Akimi turned to them.

"So what happened?"

Emi and Kaoru exchanged glances then recounted the events. She tried to make light of being trapped in the bathroom and struggling to get out. When they were finished, she gazed over to see Berty's lips pressed together in a tight line and Akimi frowning.

"This isn't good, Emi-sama," Berty said.

"Cause I almost died?" Emi said.

"There's something else," Akimi said. "I'm pretty sure that building is ours."

"Okay, so we'll lose some money fixing the place up? Or the property loses monetary value?"

Akimi nodded, while Berty said, "Not to mention, you were targeted."

"What?" Emi said. Kaoru squeezed her hand.

"I doubt the bathroom door being stuck was a coincidence or an accident, nor some employee accusing you," Berty said.

"So what does that mean?"

"You should discuss it with your father when we return," Berty said.

"Okay." Emi nodded then smiled at Kaoru. "Sorry, it turned out like this."

He smiled back. "It's fine. I'm just glad we both got out alright."

"Yeah."

"Kaoru-sama," Berty said, "I will drop you off at your house."

"Wait, aren't we meeting up with the Host Club?" Emi said.

"Yeah," Kaoru said, kissing her forehead, "in a while. You might want to grab Ryuu, and I'll bring Hikaru."

"Oh." She blinked then nodded and managed a smile. "Okay." After Kaoru was dropped off and they returned home, Berty brought the phone to Emi.

"Your father's already on the line," he said.

She took the phone like it were a snake ready to strike and held it against her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey Emi," her dad said. "I heard about the news."
"Ah, what'd you hear?"

"You were in a building when a fire started. Boy, oh boy, your mother is going to be a handful when she hears."

"I'm fine," she said.

"I know," he said softly. "Listen, I didn't think it was anything important. An accident maybe, a harmful prank, or something just getting out of hand, but after today, I don't think so anymore."
"What are you talking about?"

"About two weeks before Christmas, one of our buildings was set on fire. I say set because after the police investigated, it was obvious that the fire was started with a puddle of oil on the floor. It was a relatively old building - an apartment complex in Fukuoka. But then this building, that you're in, also gets set on fire."

"Akimi-nee-chan did say we own that building."

"Not just the building, the land too," he said. "As well as the other buildings and land around it. With that place burned down, it'll be awhile before business is as usual. Someone is doing this on purpose, Emi."

"Someone who doesn't like our family."

"Yes."

"What can I do?" she said.

"Just sit back," he said. "I'll handle this, so don't worry. I wanted you to know, though. As the Mazawa head, you never know what may happen."

"Okay."

"Tell Ryuu too, and be careful."

"Got it. Thanks, Dad."

"Bye."

She hung up and stared at her feet, stretched in front of her. Someone out there hates our family and is sabotaging our land and property. Someone out there tried to kill me with the fire… and when that didn't work, tried to frame me with the crime.

What the heck?

She shuddered, then she called Ryuu.

"Hello?" he said. "What is it Emi?"

Akimi-nee-chan and Berty didn't tell him? "Ryuu? Where are you?"

"Uh… outside."

"Are you with Michi-san?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Who else would you be with?" Emi said. "Anyway, we're getting dinner with the Host Club at five, so just remember to come back in time for that."

"Okay," he said. "See ya then."

"Be careful," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, sounding like he was rolling his eyes. "Bye."

Emi sighed and hugged her knees to her chest. She dropped her head on top. I thought he'd be able to tell… Even if Berty and Akimi-nee-chan hadn't told him anything, I thought he'd be able to tell that something's wrong.

There was a familiar soft clatter on the wooden floor. Emi peeked up and saw Roro bounding towards her. She grinned, stretching her arms out. "Roro!" The German Shepherd jumped into her lap, licked her face, and curled up.

Emi giggled and scratched behind his ears. "You're the best, Roro. What would I do without you?"

Meanwhile, Ryuu checked his watch. He'd have to head back in an hour. They'd visited the shrine and walked around town talking and eating red bean buns. She'd also returned his scarf in a bag.

"Ryuu," Michi said, "how do you make friends?"

"You talk to people?" he said.

"Who should I talk to?" she said, glancing at him.

"Doesn't the college you work for have clubs? Could you join them? Wait, don't you do research with people?"

"Yeah, but we're colleagues, not really friends. They're all married with kids, or they're busy with school."

"Hm." Ryuu stroked his chin. "You should join some kind of organization to meet people."

Michi smiled. "Or maybe I could just hang around the park and see who I meet."

He laughed. "Yeah, or that."

She looked at him, and his heartbeat picked up pace. What the hell is going on? Am I going to die? Am I having a heart attack?

She smiled. "Wanna get hot chocolate, Ryuu?"

Damn, she's cute! He turned away to hide his blush and nodded. "Su-Sure."

After hot chocolate and more aimless strolling, he walked her back. "Uh, Michi," he said, rubbing the back of his neck and staring at the ground. She paused by the door.

"Yeah?"

"If you ever want to… I don't know," he shrugged, "do something, just call me and I'll come over."

She watched him for a second before smiling. "Okay, Ryuu. Thanks."

He nodded and waved. "See ya."

"See you." She waved back, then disappeared into the building. Ryuu let out a breath and stared at the door. A moment later, he turned and headed home.

"I'm back," he said when he'd returned. Emi was on the couch, lying beside Roro, and the two were fast asleep.

"Welcome back, Ryuu-kun!" Akimi called from the kitchen.

He checked the time. They had about ten minutes before needing to head out. As he was taking the scarf out of the bag, his hand brushed against something else.

Hm? Ryuu sat down on the other couch. Beneath his scarf was a note and a framed painting. It was six by ten inches and depicted a swing set in a park. There was one light to the right, casting a warm glow on the empty swings, and dark trees in the back. Wait, this isn't just some swing set and park. It's the one we met at!

He set the painting aside, fumbling to pick the note up and read it. "Just a little something to thank you for everything, Ryuu," the note read. "Thanks for being my friend, and I hope we can continue being friends. ^_^ Michi."

Her handwriting was clumsy, reminiscent of Emi's. He leaned back in the couch, sighing. What is she doing giving me a gift? I barely did squat for her. I should be the one giving her something. She's always been there for me, always listened to me, even though she didn't know me, even though she had no reason to care...

He stood up, went upstairs to his room, and set the painting and note on his desk. Emi was still asleep when he returned. She coughed and rolled onto her back. That's when he saw her right hand wrapped in bandages.

What? Damn, what happened? Ryuu stepped closer but couldn't tell what was wrong. Roro whined and flopped onto his side to close the distance between them. Ryuu sent a thank you text to Michi before poking Emi's cheek.

"Emi, wake up," he said. "We gotta go. And what happened to your hand?"

"Hmm." She sighed and began hacking her lungs up. She sat up and smacked her chest until the coughing stopped.

"Woah, Emi, you okay?" Ryuu stepped back, while Roro put his head on Emi's lap.

"Yeah," she said, clearing her throat and stroking Roro's head. Akimi entered with two glasses of water. "Here, Emi-chan. Ryuu-kun, you too."

"Thanks," Emi said, chugging the water down.

Ryuu took the glass and stared at it. "Uh, what's this for?"

"Stay hydrated," Akimi said and gave a look at Emi. "Be careful, Emi-chan. If you have any trouble breathing, call us immediately. Your mother will be coming over next weekend. She'll look you over, though you should be fine by then."

Emi nodded. "Okay."

"Okay, what happened?" Ryuu said.

"Come on." Emi nudged Roro's head off and stood. "Let's go. I'll tell you on the car." She did as they made their way to the meeting place.

"What?"

She told him to not mention it during today's Host Club get-together. She'd already asked Kaoru to keep quiet about it. It'd be better not to make too much of a fuss over the incident.

"Just be careful," Emi said.

"Or I might nearly die from a fire?" Ryuu said, shaking his head. "Who the hell? If I ever meet them, I'll definitely make them regret picking the Mazawas as an enemy."

"Me too," she said.

Tamaki and Haruhi were already there, browsing the various choices of convenience store food. There were rice balls, sandwiches, microwavable meals, and hot soups.

"This is incredible!" Tamaki said, marvelling over every little thing. Haruhi sighed, but smiled when she saw the Mazawa twins. Kyoya was right behind them, writing in his black notebook and ignoring Tamaki's ecstatic exclamations.

When Tamaki saw Emi's hand, his eyes widened. "Oh no! What happened to your hand, Emi-chan?"

Emi smiled. "Just a little accident. It's fine though, Tamaki-senpai."

Tamaki relaxed and grinned. "Ah, just a little accident! Well I hope it heals quickly. If you need any medicine-"

"I'm fine, but thank you."

Kyoya glanced over for a second but then returned his gaze to his book. The Hitachiin twins arrived. Hikaru's right arm was in a sling, but he otherwise looked fine. Kaoru smiled at Emi when their eyes met.

"You alright?" he asked, and she nodded.

"Wah, everyone's here already!" Honey said when he and Mori entered the store.

"Ahh, Haruhi, I really don't know what to pick!" Tamaki said, clinging to the girl's arm. "It all looks so interesting!"

"It probably won't taste that good though, Tono," the Hitachiin twins said.

"Oh there's ice cream!" Honey said with his face pressed against the glass case. "Too bad there's no cake."

"I thought we came here for the osechi," Ryuu said, and Emi nodded.

"That's right!" Tamaki straightened up and they followed him to where the osechi bentos were at. "But there's only four different kinds."

"Just get what you want," Haruhi said, shrugging. "Most of these things are here all the time. The osechi is only during the New Year's."

Tamaki nodded. "I see! I see!" He picked up one of the osechi bentos. "I'll go with this one then."

"Ohh." Hikaru and Kaoru clapped, and everyone trailed Tamaki to the counter.

"What? Isn't anyone else buying something?" Tamaki asked, glancing around and looking at everyone's empty hands.

"Well," Hikaru said, "you should try it first."

"Yeah," Kaoru said, "we don't want to get food poisoning."

"You won't," Haruhi said with a dull look.

"You're not getting anything either, Haruhi-kun?" Emi asked her. Haruhi was in simple trousers and a sweatshirt.

She shook her head. "I'm eating with my dad later."

Tamaki paid, then everyone sat down at the tables and watched him snap the wooden chopsticks apart. Kyoya was engrossed in his notebook, but everyone else leaned in and stared as Tamaki picked a sweet rolled omelette up. He took a careful bite and chewed. "Hm."

"How is it?" Hikaru asked.

"Is it delicious?" Honey said.

"It's not bad," Tamaki said, tilting his head and taking another bite.

"Ohh, I wanna try now too!" Honey said and leapt off to grab one himself. Mori did the same, and they soon joined Tamaki in eating. The two pairs of twins were after them, though Ryuu bought a rice ball instead and Hikaru had trouble eating with his left hand.

"Not really hungry," Ryuu said. "This riceball isn't too bad."

Emi pushed her bento towards him. "I already ate all the carrots."

Haruhi purchased a drink and sat with them, chatting. School would be starting in a few more days. They had four more months before the school year ended.

"We should start planning another theme day!" Tamaki said.

"Sure." Kaoru shrugged.

"What kind?" Hikaru said.

"Oh, especially for Valentine's Day," Tamaki said. "This year it's a Sunday."

They discussed theme ideas. Tamaki wanted to do something related to commoners - again - but everyone shot him down. When they finished, they got ice cream as well.

"It's not as bad as I expected it to be," Emi said.

"Hey, the commoner red bean buns are good," Ryuu said.

"Really?" Tamaki's eyes lit up and he went to find some within the store. He returned with enough for everyone. When they polished those off, they finally got up to go, hearing relieved sighs from the cashier as they exited.

"See you all on Monday then!" Tamaki said and waved.

"What?" Emi's eyes bugged and she gaped at the board in front of her.

"What," Ryuu said, "you didn't see this before winter break?"

"No." She stared at the listing of numbers and names. "You've got to be kidding me. How am I twenty-second? I was eleventh last time!" She ran a hand through her hair. I knew it. I knew it! Even though I studied so much? Ahh, I knew it. It's gotta be because I spent too much time thinking of and being with Kaoru.

She sighed as she and Ryuu trudged into the classroom. "I didn't even see the results because I was too excited about winter break."

"Didn't you get nineties in all your tests though?" Ryuu said.

Emi shook her head. "I got a seventy in English, two eighties, and the rest are low nineties."

He shrugged. "It's fine, Emi. You did fine. It's not like Mom and Dad care how well you do."

"I know," she said, frowning as they sat down, "but I want to do well. I used to be fifth in our grade."

"That was middle school."

"But it was still school," Emi said.

The Hitachiin twins turned around. "What's going on?" they asked.

"Emi's upset about her midterms," Ryuu said.

"I thought I did better than that," she said in a low mumble.

"Twenty-second right?" Kaoru said.

"That's fine," Hikaru said, shrugging.

"Exactly!" Emi slapped the desk with her palms. "It's only fine. I want to do well. I want to be great!"

"It's not that big of a deal," Ryuu said, rolling his eyes.

"Well it is to me," she said and looked at him.

He sighed. "Okay, okay, so just study some more."

"I will," she said, "that's why I'm not going to the Host Club today."

"What?" Kaoru said. His gaze snapped to her face.

"I should study," she said with a small pout. "Sorry."

He shook his head. "No, it's okay. You should do what you want."

The pout disappeared and a smile replaced it. "Thanks Kaoru."

Thus, Emi didn't attend the Host Club that day, or the day after that, or the day after that. She didn't go all week, instead burying her face into books, notes, and papers in the library after school.

Emi was packing up her things on Friday after club hours when Kaoru poked his head into the library. It was empty, except for the library assistant, who was in the back putting a cart of books away.

"Hey Emi," he said.

She smiled at him and grabbed her schoolbag. "Hey."

They walked out of the library together. The halls were deserted, and the school was quiet.

"Do you want to go to the aquarium tomorrow? Or this weekend?" he said.

"My mom's coming tomorrow," she said, frowning and peering up. "And… I kinda want to do some more studying."

"More studying?" Kaoru raised his eyebrows. "But you've been studying all week."

She stared down at her feet. "I know. I just… I just want to do well."

"I'm sure you're doing fine, Emi," he said.

"Yeah, but I want to do better than that," she said and tried to smile. She clapped her hands together. "Please understand, Kaoru."

He smiled. "Of course I understand." Then he put an arm around her and pulled her close, planting a kiss on top of her head. "Please study well then, so we can go out next weekend."

She blushed, looked away, and nodded. When she glanced up, his ears were red too. She grinned and bumped her arm against his. "Thanks Kaoru."

Mrs. Mazawa arrived at Tokyo early in the morning and found her daughter already awake and studying.

"How are you feeling Emi?" she asked, pulling a flashlight out. She took Emi's jaw in her hand. "Open up dear."

"Mom, you're a surgeon," Emi said but did so anyway. Her mom shone the light in and looked around before turning the light off.

"You seem alright. I was worried you'd suffered smoke inhalation."

"They took care of me," Emi said, while her mom turned her right hand over to inspect the knuckles. The bandages were off, but there were visible scars.

Mrs. Mazawa smiled and hugged her daughter. "Good."

"You didn't really come all the way here to check on me right?" Emi said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm running a few errands for your dad as well. Checking out the cafe, signing some papers, the usual."

"Sounds fun," Emi said.

Her mom giggled. "I'm sure you'll find it enjoyable."

"I don't know." Emi shrugged.

"Don't work too hard, okay?" Her mom squeezed her shoulder then headed out. Emi stared at the English textbook in front of her.

I'm supposed to be the next Mazawa head… The next Mazawa head can't be getting twenty-second place in high school and getting trumped by English. She sighed and stretched. I better do well on this English quiz. No. I will do well on this quiz.

She nodded and went back to work.

Same Emi same! My midterm grades are gonna be so trash. OTL

So what do you think is happening? :D What do you think is going to happen? Please do share your thoughts! And thanks for reading. :)