"Kyon, I wish to exhibit the behavioral patterns of those two people." Yuki pointed at a couple who were holding hands in front of them as they were walking.

Kyon took a double take at them. Holding hands? Yuki wanted to hold hands? Did she even know what that meant? Wait. Maybe he should just ask that.

"Yuki. Do you even know what that really means? What it is?" She looked up to him as they walked. Her face was so blank and yet so cute. He smiled. "I mean…do you know why you want to hold my hand?"

She glanced back in front of her at the couple. "I have been observing the every day occurrences and qualities of couples around me and a common symptom seems to be 'hand holding.'"

He looked to the two in front of them. 'symptom?'

"Therefore I have determined that it is imperative at some point that we display the same indication of affection in public to solidify our feelings." She looked up to him again and blinked.

"You want to… 'solidify' our feelings?" He supposed that was probably a very romantic thing in 'Yuki terms'.

"Alright." He opened his hand and let his arm out from his side a bit, smiling.

She looked at it. "What is it, exactly, that I am expected to do?"

He stopped. She stopped. They were both standing. "What do you mean?"

"I do not fully understand the concept of 'holding hands' yet."

He closed his eyes. "Oh." Opening them, he took her left hand with his left and put it on top of his right. "Now, make sure that it is open enough so that you can hold onto mine, like you would if you were to give a regular 'hand shake." He looked at her and she blinked twice. Yeah…he should have realized that wouldn't help. "Well, you have it right now, anyway. Do you kind of see?"

She looked down and saw that they were holding hands. She searched through the crowd and found a couple that was doing the same. "Yes. This is very acceptable." She looked up to him and blinked. "Thank you."

"…Sure." He wasn't sure if she was happy that she was doing something that she wanted to learn… and he just happened to be the guy to teach her…or if she was happy because she genuinely wanted to hold his hand. They started walking.

He smiled. It felt so wonderful to walk through the park with Yuki and hold her hand.

"Yuki?" He held her hand a bit tighter for a just a moment and then looked down to her.

She turned her head up to look at him. "Yes?"

"Why me?" He just said it. He had wanted to say it all day, and the days before this. But he just hadn't been able to. And then it just came out. "I don't get it. Why me?"

She was silent for a moment. "Your question does not seem…necessary."

"Necessary?" He stopped. "I want to know why you would pick me. You're incredibly intelligent, perfect in every way. You can learn things as quick as you want to, Yuki. You have everything. Why would you want me?"

She was carefully watching the cherry blossoms as they floated along the ground. She didn't know what to say. He could tell that she didn't know what to say. She glanced to the side and saw a bench, then started walking towards it. He followed.

Once he sat down next to her she sat back a little. "You seem to have the thought process that I am 'perfect,' or that, in some way I am able to 'retain information' as soon as I wish to?" She turned to him.

"Of course. When you wanted to play the guitar for the band, you knew how to right away. You protected me from certain death, you do things that are just…you're amazing." He didn't know what else to say.

She looked up to the trees. "And yet. Every day I struggle to try to learn this thing you humans call 'emotions.'" She clasped her hands together a little. "It is very difficult for me to do something as simple to you as…'holding hands.'" Letting her hands loose a bit, she said, "I wished more than anything that I could have just reached my hand out and taken yours. That I could just…smile. Or laugh. Or do any of these things that are part of the 'human soul'. But I did not understand how. I must specifically ask how. I can only teach myself things of the mind. Never things of the heart. Never truly important things."

Kyon was looking at her profile. He didn't know what to say.

She continued to look at her hands. "And my fear…is that if my learning processes do not keep up with you… you will eventually become annoyed with me. And leave."

He shook his head a little, but not enough so that Yuki could tell. He didn't understand where this was all coming from…was it because of his question? Did she think it was his way of leading her into him breaking up with her?

"And I do not wish for that to happen." Her hands were clutched so tightly together. She had never felt this way before. She didn't even know what to do. What was going on? She closed her eyes. "I do not wish for you to leave me, Kyon. I will continue to try to learn. Please, please do not leave me." That's when she felt it. This sensation. She opened her eyes, wide. Slowly, she brought her right hand up to her face and brushed her right index finger underneath her eye and brought it away from her face. There was some sort of liquid substance there. She just stared at it. What had happened? She sniffed and looked down at her lap. Had she…cried? She looked up at him.

"Yuki. Yuki? Are you alright? Your eyes are all red." He put his hand up to the side of her face. "Yuki…there are tears…" She just watched him as he was looking at her. "Are you crying?"

She closed her eyes and a few tears fell. She looked down. He brought her head up. "I'm not leaving you, Yuki." She slowly opened her eyes. "I could never leave you. Especially not for something like that. Yuki, the fact that you care so much about that is something that makes me like you even more."

She smiled a little, then, slowly, fell into him. She was so tired. She was amazed at how tired she was. It took so much energy, all of this emotion. To cry. How did they do this and still get through their day? To cry, to laugh, to smile? She was leaning against him, looking out at the people, and he put his arm around her, holding her.

She felt so happy to be held by him. Happy. She thought about this. She felt happy to be held by him. Slowly, she smiled. Then, she realized that she hadn't even tried to do so.