The concert's tonight…I'm so excited, and anxious, and just plain happy that I'll get to spend an entire evening with Zyan-kun. I'm so worried about it that I'm standing here in front of the mirror trying to make sure I look 'acceptable' in this suit.

My God, I think I'm getting worse. If this keeps going the same way, I'll be literally unable to do anything but flail around thinking about Zyan-kun.

That image makes me laugh. I'm still getting ahead of myself, anyway; I have no way of ever knowing whether Zyan-kun is 'like me' or not. I mean, what are the odds of that, anyway? Unless he's a homosexual, I guess whether or not I'm 'acceptable' isn't going to faze him much one way or the other—the fact that I'm considering what he might think of my looks might very well, though…

Still, I guess a boy can dream…

"Mituo, come on, we have to leave now!" I hear my mom shout. "We can't be late! It's going to fill up fast, Mituo!"

"Okay, Mother!" I yell downstairs. I check myself and adjust my tie one more time, and then go down to meet her.

Mom is dressed in one of her best dresses, and she looks rather worried.

"It's okay, Mother," I say reassuringly. "I'm sure they have it all well-organized; we should be fine."

"I know, but it's just a bit stressful," she says. "I haven't seen Ms. Hibari since I was young; it's just kind of hard to believe. It's amazing she's managed to make such a great recovery from her illness, too…

"Anyway—Mituo, Zyan'yû-kun should be here any minute—oh!"

The service phone on the wall rings suddenly, and Mom picks it up.

"Hello? Oh, hello, Zyan'yû-kun. We will be right there. Please wait for us."

"Shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo jiù dào," I say to myself with a smile: Zyan-kun taught me to say that in Chinese….

"What was that Mituo?" Mom asks. "Why are you smiling?"

"Oh—nothing!" I say quickly, trying not to look too flabbergasted. Mom smiles to herself knowingly, but then remembers the concert, and the waiting guest below, and her natural courtesy instinct kicks in. "Come on Mituo, we can't keep your friend waiting for so long! Let's go!"

We leave the apartment and go to the elevator, and then get on it. I feel really anxious, just like I have every time I've seen Zyan-kun recently. I've been battling with myself lately. I really want to tell Zyan-kun how I feel about him, but…I'm so damn scared. I guess I'm visibly upset, because Mom is looking at me worriedly.

"Mituo, is anything wrong?" she says with a sigh. "I've noticed you haven't quite been yourself lately. Is something bothering you?"

"N-no, it's nothing, Mother," I say quickly. "I'm just a bit tired, that's all. I have to study for those entrance exams next month, and I haven't slept as much as usual in a while."

Mom doesn't quite look convinced, but she seems to give it for now. "Well, Mituo, in that case, just do your best!" she says, giving me a smile that's meant to be encouraging.

The doors open, and we step out. And I see Zyan-kun waiting right in front us. My heart turns over when I look into those smiling eyes.

"Zyan'yû-kun, have you been healthy?" Mom asks.

"Yes, Mrs. Yamaki," Zyan-kun says. "And how have you been feeling?"

"I've been fine, thank you," Mom says.

"How are you, Mituo-kun?" Zyan-kun asks me.

"I've been good," I say. "Though I've just been a little tired."

"Are you okay?" he asks. "Is anything wrong?"

"Oh, nothing really," I say, smiling a bit awkwardly. Just one of the many reasons I…love…Zyan-kun: he always worries about people; he always wants to make sure others are happy. "I'm just a bit tired from studying for the upper secondary school entrance exams, that's all."

Zyan-kun frowns for a second, then hides it with a smile. "Oh, yeah, I have those too. Let's do our best!"

"Shall we go then?" my mom says smiling, and even though she betrays no outward signs of it, I know she's very impatient. "We should get there a little early so we can get in without too much trouble."

"Oh—of course Mrs. Yamaki!" says Zyan-kun with a slight bow of apology. "Sorry for keeping you waiting!"

"Oh no, it's perfectly fine," she says, and this time I know she's feeling relieved. "We'll be fine, don't worry."

We leave the building in a rather awkward silence and go to Sibuya Station. Then we buy tickets and get on a train to Bunkyô.

Notes: Hello, possibly non-existent readers! It's me again. Here are the 'clarity notes' for this chapter.

First of all, the phrase 'shuō Cáo Cāo, Cáo Cāo jiù dào' is Mandarin Chinese. I learned it from 'Ori' (the writer on Taiki Matsuki's profile), and thought it would serve the story well, for the same reason Ori uses it. An explanation of it is given on his profile, which I feel reasonably justified pasting here; Ori speaks Mandarin, after all, while I don't:

"Shuo Cao Cao, Cao Cao Jiu Dao:'Speak of Cao Cao, Cao Cao is there.' This is basically the Chinese equivalent of 'speak of the devil.' When a Japanese speaker says this, they usually refer to Cao Cao as 'Sou Sou,' ('Speak of Sou Sou, Sou Sou is there.') this is because 'Sou Sou' is how 'Cao Cao' is pronounced in Japanese. Japanese speaking characters tend to do this in Ori's fics unless they speak Mandarin such as the Lis, Takato in a couple fics and Osamu once in My Brother."

I'm not completely sure I got the tones right, so if you're reading this, Ori, please tell me. Thanks!

By the way, I prefer to try to translate what I can into English, while retaining the 'feel' of Japanese, so I won't be using much un-translated Japanese, and if I do, I'll put a note, like this.

Next, the whole 'let's try our best' thing. In Japanese, it's '頑張りましょう' (ganbarimasyô), and it's a really common phrase. While in English, it sounds a bit weird to say this so often, it really just doesn't in Japanese.

Finally, Sibuya and Bunkyô are 'Special Wards' of Tôkyô—kind of like mini-cities within Tôkyô. The Sibuya Station is one of the more famous metro stations in Tôkyô, but it's also just the main one in Sibuya Ward, which is where I've decided to have Zyan'yû and Mituo live. In the late 1980s, Sibuya was just starting to get its reputation as a 'cool' place to live, so it's possible to imagine that Zyan and Mituo's families moved there before it became so popular. I'll leave that up for the reader to decide.

—Dreamstrider