The following day, it was dawn and the room was dimly lit. Yukina slowly opened her eyes. Suddenly, she was aware of something warm which was very close to her. Instinctively, she shrank back with fear, but quickly calmed down when she realised that it was Hatori, who was still fast asleep with his strong arms around her. Yukina lied there, recalling the things that happened last night.
In her heart, she was full of gratefulness to Hatori, who was not only her saviour, but also somebody who had given her happiness, which was unknown to her before. She gently detached Hatori's arms away from her body as not to wake him up. She silently got down from the bed and took a good look around her. However, she forgot that she was still ill and weak, and she had not walk a few steps before her legs crumpled under her. She fell against the bed and this produced a loud noise. Her head felt dizzy and her knee, which hit the bed, was excruciatingly painful. Unable to help herself, Yukina whimpered softly, a sound that nevertheless woke Hatori up immediately.
He leaped up of his bed and sprang to Yukina's side. Then, he gently carried Yukina up to his bed again, taking care not to hurt her. When he was done, he folded his arms and looked down at Yukina with a disapproving expression. "You are such a naughty girl, Yukina-chan. You are still ill, and shouldn't move around. Just tell me if you need anything, okay?"
Yukina was still a little dizzy, and she answered by nodding weakly. Sighing, Hatori sat down by the side of the bed and held Yukina's hands in his own. "Are you feeling better today after a night's sleep?" Yukina managed a small smile as she answered "Yes."
Then, Hatori removed his coat from Yukina and went to take a set of medicine and his first aid kit. He gave Yukina some medicine for her fever and began to examine the cuts and bruises on her body. He checked her body for any internal wounds, but found none.
Satisfied, he took some iodine and carefully dabbed it on the cuts on her arms and legs. "It will sting a bit, but please endure it, Yukina-chan." After he finished, he tenderly massaged the bruises on her knees, which she got when she fell down just now. Then, he asked Yukina, "Do you have any wounds that I don't know about?" Yukina shook her head. Hatori smiled, "Good. Now, rest a bit as I prepare breakfast," and he covered Yukina up with blankets.
After a while, the smell of tea and cheese spread out of the kitchen. Wearing just a plain shirt and shorts, Hatori came out with two trays of food. He placed them on a maple table and went to carry Yukina to the table. However, Yukina refused to be treated like an invalid and she insisted on walking to the table herself. Eventually, after a series of limping and hobbling, she made her way to the table slowly with the help of Hatori.
Then, they started eating, with Hatori was observing Yukina secretly. Although she was young, her eating manners were immaculate. He deduced that Yukina might not have forgotten everything she knew. To prove this, after they finished eating he asked, "Yukina-chan, do you know how to read and write?"
With a puzzled expression, she replied, "Yes. Why?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I just wanted to know if you had forgotten everything."
The puzzled expression on Yukina's face changed to one of seriousness. "I had been wondering about that too. It seems that I still remember how to write, speak, listen, and read and all these basic knowledge. In other words, the only memories I have lost are those of my past. I only remember the one year with…him and these few days with you…" and her voice trailed off.
Hatori continued asking, "Then, your name…Yukina. Was it your original name or it was given to you by…somebody else?" he refrained from saying the words 'your master' in time, in order not to bring back the horrible recollections of that evil person.
Yukina started as though she suddenly remembered something, which she really did. She reached into the folds of her clothes, which consisted of a beige old-looking yukata and produced a piece of card that looked like an identity card. Hatori reached for it and studied it.
On the card, there was her name spelled in block YUKINA-REI JIA A.R., her birth date, which was the 3rd of June, and some words written in Chinese characters. He recognized some as kanji, but he had not seen the other characters before. He looked up at Yukina and looked at her intently. "If I'm not wrong, you are Japanese-Chinese, judging by your name and looks. By the way, what does A.R. stand for?" Yukina shrugged and glanced at Hatori, "Umm…I have no idea."
After that, Hatori returned the card to Yukina and stood up. He gathered the trays of food and went to clean them up. After filling her stomach, which had been empty for days, Yukina felt much stronger. She now had enough energy to walk and made her way to the kitchen. There, she saw Hatori washing the cups and dishes and smiled.
It was an amusing sight; Hatori might be a professional doctor, but he was quite hopeless in domestic matters. The sound of her tinkling laughter startled Hatori, and he nearly dropped the plate he was cleaning. "You must have been eating out all your life, am I correct, Hatori?" He turned to grin at her. "You are an observant girl. Actually, this is the first time I had cooked in months. Did you find it hard to eat?" She smiled mischievously back at him, "It's quite acceptable, for a man like you."
Suddenly, Hatori noticed that Yukina had become more cheerful and lively compared to her previous self, which was a change for the better. His eyes gleamed, and he challenged Yukina, "Well, if you think you can do better than me, go ahead and try to cook something."
Refusing to back down from a challenge, Yukina nodded and stated, "You have to go to work, right? When you come back, you will find a most irresistible dinner, which I cooked." Hatori narrowed his eyes at her, "What if I don't?" She pondered over this for a while, "Well, if I lose, you can do anything you like to me."
He turned to face her properly and looked down at her, noticing that she was about a head shorter than he was.
"Anything?"
"Yes, anything." She affirmed with a nod of her head.
Acting on impulse, Hatori bent down and leaned forward until their noses almost brushed against each other. "I will be looking forward to it, Yukina." Yukina had just been aware that he did not call her 'Yukina-chan' as usual, but just 'Yukina' when Hatori bade goodbye by giving her a kiss on the cheek. This was the first time Yukina ever been kissed by anybody, and she was dazed and remained in the same spot until the sound of Hatori's car's engine faded away.
Then, she gently touched the spot where Hatori kissed her, and it felt like her skin was burning. She shook her head, trying to clear her mind and began to reprimand herself silently. "Idiot, it was just a goodbye kiss, and nothing more. Anyway, a grown man like him will not fall for such a young girl like you."
However, despite herself, she could not stop thinking of that kiss Hatori gave her. At that moment, although she did not realise it, she had undergo a psychological change brought by the sympathetic and kind Hatori.
On the other hand, Hatori was also astonished that he actually kissed Yukina, although it was only on the cheek. Nonetheless, he could not help marvelling at the softness and smoothness of her skin. He thought about the expression that his relatives and friends would have if they had seen him just now and chuckled.
Everybody knows that Hatori was not a person who shows his feelings easily, even if it is only for a short while. Yukina was the only one who had witness this phenomenon by being directly involved in it. He was pleased when he reflected back on the moment that just passed. Yukina did not hesitate when she agreed to the bets of their 'contest', which was, he could do anything to her if she loses. Clearly, Yukina has faith in Hatori, and trusts that he will not harm her in any way.
His thoughts flitted back to a few days ago, when he had found Yukina in the streets. His instincts told him that he must save this girl, no matter at what cost. He did not think of it this way, but to an onlooker, they were lucky to have found each other.
Hatori was the one who saved Yukina, and took responsibility for her well-being and happiness. On the other hand, Yukina was like a bright ray of sunshine, bringing light to Hatori's otherwise dreary life, and had made him smile and laugh more than he did in weeks.
He arrived at his clinic, startling everybody who saw him, because he was wearing a wide smile on his face. In normal circumstances, one would expect the cats to grow horns before expecting him to smile. However, he had Yukina now, and the promise of going back home with a nice warm dinner together pleased him immensely.
Suddenly, a voice startled him out of his thoughts. "Wow, even the Ice King is smiling today. I wonder if the sun will come out from the west tomorrow?" and a grinning face appeared before Hatori.
Hatori snapped out of his thoughts and looked at the person with an expressionless face. "The sun won't come out from the west, but you are going to be hanging from the ceiling half dead if you surprise me like that ever again, Shigure.
The man called Shigure did not take notice of his change in manner but continued, "Aww, come on, Hatori. Can't I come and visit my own cousin sometimes?" and gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. Sighing, Hatori shook his head at Shigure, "You never change, do you, Shigure?" Shigure pulled a silly face at him and then made a gesture to the door. "Look who's coming too."
At that time, a man with long white hair came sweeping in Hatori's office, where he rests in when there are no patients. "HATORI! Don't you look cheerful today?" Groaning, Hatori retorted wearily, "Can't a man have a good rest when he's not working? By the way, why are the two of you here?" Shigure replied with a goofy smile on his face, "Well, as Ayame and I are on vacation today, we decided to visit you here and join you for dinner later. Is that okay with you, Hatori?"
Frowning, Hatori answered, "Why would you want to join me for dinner? You two know pretty well that I can't cook a decent meal." In his heart, he was wondering if these two were telepathic, as they seem to work together to annoy him effectively. Furthermore, why in heaven's name would they choose today, of all days to request to dine with him, when he has Yukina at home?
However, after pondering over the consequences for a while, he finally agreed to invite Shigure and Ayame to his house, feeling that it would be good for Yukina to meet more people and open up more. "Okay, come to my house by seven tonight. There's somebody I want you to meet, but a word of warning, no funny tricks on her, understand?"
Then, Hatori wished that he had bitten off his own tongue instead, for the two cousins of his were whooping and clapping like a couple of maniacs, making noise enough to wake the dead. "Ooh, Hatori has a girlfriend! I would have never thought it possible!" This was from Shigure who was doubling up with laughter. On the other hand, Ayame was shooting questions at him with the speed of a machine-gun. "Oh, you have a girlfriend? Who is she? Where did she come from? Is she pretty? How did you know each other?"
Hatori felt his patience running thin. Finally, he lost control and took both of the chortling men by the collar, and banged their heads together. The two collapsed to the floor in a heap, still weak with laughter. "There's nothing of the sort. She is merely a sixteen-year-old girl. Now, get out of here, you two. I still have loads of work to do."
The two cousins of Hatori got hold of themselves and made their way out of the room, with Shigure still laughing his infamous laugh, which seems to last forever. Echoes of "Goodbye, Hatori-kun!", "Meet you tonight for dinner!" reached Hatori's ears and then faded away.
At last, the room was quiet again. Hatori heaved a sigh and reached for the telephone. He placed a call to his own home and notified Yukina to prepare dinner, not for two, but four. He was comforted by the voice of Yukina, which sounded as sweet as ever even on the phone. She agreed readily to the idea of having guests for dinner.
The time passed very slowly for Hatori, who was full with anticipation for the upcoming dinner, although Shigure and Ayame might unnerve Yukina with their overfriendliness. However, he was not worried that they might harm Yukina, because they were actually kind and caring people at heart, just that they might annoy Hatori sometimes with their idiotic antics.
At home, Yukina was already busy preparing the dinner for all of them, pushing the memory of Hatori's kiss to the very back of her mind. She could not explain how she got the knowledge of cooking, but it was already embedded deep in her soul. She opened Hatori's fridge and was pleased to find that she had everything she needed in it.
After a short while, the kitchen was filled with the pleasant smell of cooking cheese and chicken. She finished all the dishes she planned to cook one by one and served it on the table, complete with the appropriate garnishes. The food served were fried chicken with cheese, mixed vegetables, steamed crab with chilli, miso soup and fruit ice cream for dessert.
Just as she finished, she heard the doorbell ring. Guessing that it must be Hatori's guests, she hurriedly washed her hands and went to answer the bell. When she opened the door, what she saw was two tall men, one with dark hair and another with long white hair, peering into the house with the utmost interest, hands full of sake bottles.
Yukina felt nervous but greeted them with a smile, "Hi. You must be Hatori's friends, right? Please come in to sit for a while. He will be back soon." Then, she showed both of them into the house, all the while silently appraising them.
After all three of them sat down, the dark-haired man first broke the silence by exclaiming, "Wow! What a mouth-watering smell! I can't wait to start eating!" He took a few big sniffs of the air and rubbed his hands together gleefully. Then he whirled on Yukina, and extended his hand. "Oh, where are my manners! I'm Shigure Souma, and" here he made a gesture to the other man, "this is Ayame Souma. Nice to meet you, Miss…"
His sudden change of topic disconcerted Yukina but she graciously introduced herself. "I'm Yukina-Rei Jia, or you can call me Yukina for short." Then, she drew a sharp breath as something dawned on her. "You are Shigure and Ayame Souma? So, you must be…"
The white-haired man introduced as Ayame got off the couch and gave Shigure a whack on the head, "Stop sniffing around, Shigure-kun. I can't believe that you are still acting like a dog!" and he turned to smile warmly at Yukina.
"Yukina-chan, am I right? Well, Hatori, I and this guy here," he gave a poke at Shigure, "We are all cousins born in the same year, but we look very different, don't you think so?" Yukina smiled back and nodded shyly, but in her heart she could not agree with Ayame more.
Shigure was observing Yukina silently but with interest. He felt that this girl looked extraordinarily familiar, like somebody known for a very long time, but he could not recognize her. He desired to be more acquainted with Yukina, and continued chatting with her. "Say, Yukina-chan, you were the one who prepared dinner, right? Where did you learn how to cook so well? Even the scent of the food is enchanting enough, and beats the so-called top restaurants flat." Yukina hesitated, not knowing how to reply him, as she did not know the answer herself.
The sound of a car revving up the driveway saved Yukina from answering. She excused herself and hurried to open the door for Hatori. Nonetheless, both Shigure and Ayame had noticed her uncertainty in answering, and they both felt a little suspicious. Hatori smiled warmly at Yukina as he stepped out of the car, but it turned into a slight frown when he saw the two extra pair of shoes that belonged to his cousins. He planned to be present when Yukina first met Ayame and Shigure, for he was afraid that they might accidentally upset Yukina, or trigger her painful memories. However, he was relieved as he saw that Yukina was smiling back at him.
He walked into his house and greeted Yukina with a wry smile, "I see that you have met my cousins, Ayame and Shigure." He then touched Yukina's arm gently, "How are you feeling, Yukina-chan?" Yukina could sense his concern for her, and was touched. "I'm fine, Hatori. Now, would you come in and enjoy the dinner I prepared?" Hatori smirked and shook a finger at Yukina, "I hope you put your best in the cooking, because all of us are famous for our good taste in food. And, don't forget about the bet we made in the morning." Yukina did not reply, but just poked her tongue at him cutely.
Suddenly, a voice interrupted their conversation. "Hey! Would you two lovebirds hurry up and come in? I'm positively drooling over this food!" This was from Shigure, who was intent on teasing Hatori. Yukina heard it and blushed, causing a faint tinge of pink to appear on her cheeks. Hatori noticed it and laid a hand on Yukina's shoulders.
"Don't worry, Yukina-chan. He is just joking, being the clown he always was." Then, both of them went into the house to see Ayame and Shigure staring at them with smirks on their faces. Hatori turned to Yukina, "Would you please go and make me a glass of fruit juice? And, make some for yourself too."
His intentions were to keep Yukina occupied as he wished to make things clear to his cousins, who were currently gazing at him with questioning faces. Yukina nodded her consent and skipped light-heartedly to the kitchen, happy that Hatori was home. The three grownups then sat down on the leather couch. All of them were well aware of Hatori's purpose in asking Yukina to make fruit juice.
Shigure first broke the silence by asking in an undertone as not to be overheard, "Hatori, who is that girl, and why do I have a feeling that I have seen her somewhere before?" Ayame chipped in, "Yes, I have that feeling too, like we have known each other even before we were born." As briefly and softly as he could manage, Hatori narrated everything that happened in the two days he met Yukina. He also told them about Yukina's 'master'. After hearing his story, both Shigure and Ayame were overcome with sympathy and sadness at Yukina's suffering.
Shigure then narrowed his eyes, being unusually serious. "You know, apart from feeling that I know her, she also reminds me of somebody." Two pairs of eyebrow were raised, and Hatori asked, "Who?" Shigure cast his eyes down and replied, "Our little cousin and Ayame's brother, Yuki."
There was a sharp intake of breath as the familiarity and similarities between Yuki and Yukina strike Hatori like a big blow in the face – the same marks of abuse, the same wide-eyed fear, and the same feeling of pity for them. His thoughts drifted back to when Akito had power over the Soumas, and constantly abused and tormented Yuki.
However, Yuki is free from Akito now, and is living happily with Kyou, Hatsuharu and Tohru in Shigure's house, while Yukina still lives under the shadow of her master. He shook his head, trying to clear it of the memories, which was flooding back with full speed. He then reminded his cousins, "Yukina-chan has just recovered from her sickness, and does not remember her own past. Therefore, she might be unused to the ways of society and might seem a little strange. I hope you will forgive her if she does anything to offend you, and please don't say anything that could remind her of her master."
Ayame and Shigure nodded gravely. "We will be sure to do that, Hatori-kun. She is such a nice, cute girl that I won't hurt her for anything in the world." Hatori smiled, reassured, thinking that this was how he felt too, when he met Yukina for the first time.
Just then, Yukina came out of the kitchen, holding a tray of fruit juices in her hands. She handed them one by one to Hatori, Ayame and Shigure, who thanked her with a big warm smile. Shigure then hit Hatori on the back, so hard that he almost choked on his drink.
"Well then, Hatori-kun, now that you are back, can we start eating dinner?" Hatori just shook his head at Shigure's childishness, but he was inwardly grateful for his warmness and friendliness will be able to aid Yukina in adjusting to the new life of hers. All of them made their way to the dining room, where Hatori and Yukina have had their breakfast. Hatori could feel his jaws dropping open as he saw the food served on the table. Each of them looked like a professional chef cooked them. Whiffs of the delicious scent of the food escaped from the plates and went into their nostrils, enticing them to start digging into the dishes laid before them.
Yukina then arranged the plates and cutlery neatly, and invited all of them to start eating. All four of them sat down at the table, and began to dine. All the way throughout the dinner, Shigure and Ayame chatted incessantly with Hatori and Yukina. Yukina was intelligent, and charmed Shigure and Ayame with her knowledge of all the topics that they were interested in, although how she got that knowledge, like her cooking, still baffled all of them, as they knew that before she came here, she had been trapped with her master for a year.
However, Shigure, being the observant novelist, had noticed that Yukina was shy and reserved in answering questions directed to her, especially those that were remotely personal. He could also see a shadow in her eyes, like the one he saw previously in Yuki's eyes, although she had smiled and laughed along with the others, and concluded that the memories of her 'master' still affected her deeply.
However, he believed that Yukina would not show her true emotions because she wanted everybody to be happy and not to worry about her, and he admired her for it. Once, Ayame had teased Hatori for his poor cooking, and asked Yukina, "Yukina-chan, you must have tried his cooking before right? How bad did you think it was, compared to yours?"
Yukina was not used to their way of joking around, and hesitated for a long time. Hatori noticed her uneasiness, and could have hit himself for forgetting to remind them. He patted Yukina's head and reassured her in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, Yukina. Ayame is just joking. They are good people, although their way of talking might be very strange sometimes. Anyway, it's a good thing that I can't cook, so that you can cook for me now, right?" Yukina heard it, and was relieved. She smiled shyly, "I know. I'm sure any relatives of Hatori-san must be nice, kind people like him." Then, she looked at Hatori with eyes full of adoration.
Ayame chuckled, and replied to her statement, "Oh, I won't be too sure about that…" and he would have told Yukina about Akito had not Hatori shot him a warning glance. He cut himself off quickly, and Shigure continued his sentence so that Yukina will not suspect anything, "We are not nice people, Yukina-chan. Our hobby is to annoy Hatori until he gets a migraine, or gets so pissed off that he wallops us and kicks us out of the door."
Until now, Yukina was already accustomed to their way of telling jokes, and laughed along with the rest. Hatori was relieved at Shigure's fast thinking, and said with a mocking sigh, "Yukina-chan, see how pitiful I am, having this two men as cousins." Shigure's eyes went wide, as he had not heard Hatori tell a joke before, however remotely funny, in his whole life. "Looks like this girl is beginning to have a good effect on him," he mused inwardly, and he rejoiced at his cousin's change of character.
By that time, they had finished all the food on the table, and Shigure was practically licking the plates clean. Ayame, always the elegant and sophisticated one, started to scold Shigure again. "Oh my, Shigure-kun, stop acting like a dog now! You never change your old habits, do you?" Then, he cut off abruptly, realising that he had almost exposed their old secret. However, Shigure was doing some fast thinking, and decided that there was no harm in telling Yukina about the curse, which had been lifted from them; especially that he had an instinct that Yukina was somehow connected to the Souma family.
He gave Hatori a confident smile, and started to tell Yukina about the zodiac animals' curse that affected the Soumas quite a while ago. All the while, Hatori was watching Shigure with narrowed eyes, wondering if Shigure was sober or somehow intoxicated. He related that he himself was the dog, which explains the comments about his sniffing, and licking, Ayame was the snake and Hatori was the dragon, although he transforms into a seahorse instead. He also told her about the other Soumas with the curse. Yukina listened to all this with the utmost attention, and did not show any signs of disbelief. At last, Shigure finished the story by narrating how the curse was lifted. After that, he cocked his head at Yukina, and asked, "Did you believe my story, Yukina-chan?"
"Well, yes, Shigure-san. You don't have any reason to lie to me, so why should I doubt you?" she said matter-of-factly. Shigure smiled warmly at her, although he was amazed at the girl's readiness in accepting new things, which might seem unbelievable to others. Then, Yukina asked shyly, "Umm… so the curse is lifted thoroughly or there are still some effects on the people affected?"
Again, Yukina's shrewdness left Shigure astounded. Three pairs of eyes were on him, waiting for an answer. "Actually, some of us are still affected by the curse slightly." Then, his gaze turned to rest on Hatori, "I came here today to tell you about it, Hatori-kun."
Shigure did not wait for a reply as he continued seriously, "I have been doing some observing, and I realized that we still have the tendency to transform, especially when we are weak in body." At that moment, Ayame chipped in, "Yes, I still turn into a snake, particularly now that it's winter."
Shigure resumed, "Moreover, Haru still tends to go black sometimes, which should not have been as the curse is gone. Maybe we are only assuming that the curse is gone, while only a fraction of it had been lifted. Besides, Yuki turned into a rat last time, when he got caught in the rain and was down with flu." Hatori scratched his chin thoughtfully, and was lost in contemplation. "You mean that only a part of the curse had been lifted, and we must find a way to destroy the curse, once and for all?" Shigure nodded gravely.
Suddenly, Shigure detected that the serious atmosphere was beginning to affect Yukina, and the shadow in her eyes became darker, making her look to the observant, beyond her age, indeed, so matured that she seemed to be carrying the burden of the world on her shoulders. He then looked meaningfully at Hatori, who had just noted the change in Yukina's expression.
Hatori stood up and placed both his hands on Yukina's shoulders. "Come on, Yukina. You have just recovered from your illness, and should not over-exert yourself by staying up too late."
He was just going to put Yukina in bed when Shigure interrupted, "Ah, Yukina-chan, would you like to come and stay in my house for a few days together with Hatori-kun starting from tomorrow? It would be good for you to mix around with more people your age, like Yuki, Kyou, Tohru and Haru."
Yukina could not decide whether to agree to this idea, and looked at Hatori inquiringly. Hatori smiled gratefully at Shigure, and replied, "That's a good idea, Yukina-chan. You should get to know more people around, and they are nice, friendly people. However, you can't go tomorrow." Shigure frowned a little at this, and enquired, "Why not?"
Hatori smirked at Yukina as he replied, "Well, I lost the bet to you, so I'm going to bring you for a walk around town tomorrow, Yukina-chan." Then, he shooed Yukina off to bed, ensuring that she was well asleep before returning to chat with his cousins.
When he got back to the dining table, Shigure was fixing his eyes on him with a look of interest. "Seems like the girl has a positive effect on you, Hatori-kun, even more than I thought possible." Hatori glared at him, although he had become aware of it himself. "Cut the crap, Shigure."
His tone did not affect Shigure and he poked Hatori in the ribs playfully. Shigure suddenly turned solemn, and lowered his voice, "Is it just me, or do you think that Yukina-chan might be somehow connected with the Souma family?" Hatori said seriously, "Yes…it's funny how all of us feel that we have met her somewhere, sometime in the past. Moreover, it is not possible that all three of us felt that, but could not remember exactly whom she was. We are not so old as to have forgotten something like that."
Ayame, who had been silent during the conversation, opened his mouth, "Indeed, I'm sure that I won't forget a face like hers. It's such a pity that she has lost her memories, or else she might be helpful in lifting the curse completely from us." His words brought an impact on Hatori.
"Would Yukina-chan possibly be related to the curse? Anyway, I have been longing to tell you guys for a long time about something." Here, he paused a moment to draw his breath, "The first time I saw her, I had stared at her for a long time, trying to remember where I had seen her before unsuccessfully. I felt very protective, as if I was born just to protect her. Besides, I had a strong feeling of grief and sadness although nothing actually happened."
Shigure then said thoughtfully, "I see, she really might be connected to our family. Then, it's a good thing to bring her around town; maybe she will regain some of her memories." In that instant, Shigure reverted to his normal self as he gave Hatori a nudge. "She's really a good match for you though, pal." Hatori glared once again and retorted, "She is just a young girl, and I'm not a pervert like you, Shigure." Shigure did not answer but just made a face at Hatori.
After that, he leaped off his chair and went to get the bottles of sake that he had brought. "Want to have some sake, Hatori-kun?" Hatori narrowed his eyes at Shigure and said, "You do know that sake is bad for your health, why not stop drinking it?"
Shigure poured himself a glass of the wine as he answered cheerfully, "Looks like the grumpy old doctor is back in true form now. Maybe I should wake Yukina-chan up to let her work her charm on you…" and he chuckled like a lunatic. Hatori scowled and retorted, "Shut up, moron. You might wake her up, do you know that?" Shigure pretended to cover up his mouth and act scared. "Yes sir, we won't want to wake your dear Yukina-chan up now, right?"
Hatori checked himself and tried to prevent himself from blowing up there and then. He immediately regained his coolness as he realised with a jolt that he might have feelings for Yukina, although both of them might not know it. Shigure was observing his cousin all the time, and he was quite correct in guessing the internal conflict running in Hatori's thoughts right now. He decided that it was best now to leave the problem for both Yukina and Hatori to sort out. However, he planned to interfere if he sees that Hatori was still plagued by the past, and does not have the courage to start a new relationship with Yukina.
Shigure stood up and said to Hatori, "Well, it's getting late and I should leave now. By the way, please help me thank Yukina-chan for the lovely dinner just now. Goodbye, Hatori-kun."
Hatori got up too, and gave Shigure a quiet smile as he said, "Bye, Shigure, and thanks for everything that you did today."
Shigure gave a glance at the general direction of where Yukina was, and replied, "Nah, anyone would do anything in their power for that girl. Besides, like you, I also felt it my duty to help her in any way I can." The two grown men then turned to look at Ayame, who was fast asleep on the table, and had transformed into a white snake.
Hatori murmured, "It was true after all, we still might transform into animals…" Shigure patted his shoulder reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, Hatori-kun. I have a doggy instinct that we can solve all this with the appearance of Yukina-chan. We just have to be patient." Hatori did not reply to this but went to fetch a basket. He then handed the basket over to Shigure, who raised his eyebrows.
Hatori smirked and said, "Take it. It's for you to carry him," and he gestured to Ayame. Shigure was amused, "Oh, I see," and he placed the sleeping snake into the basket and closed it firmly. "Goodbye, Hatori-kun, and enjoy your day tomorrow." Then, he carried the basket and returned to his home. Hatori, suppressing a yawn, locked the doors securely and went to bed.
