Shiharu was kneeling on the floor when Matsunaga-san entered Kyo's cosy living room, ready to apologize formally.

"I'm very sorry Matsunaga-san, I acted rea-," She began, but her voice broke and Matsunaga-san spoke before she could start again.

"Nakamura-san, it was really irresponsible of you to leave Aoi-kun and Akane-chan alone with a stranger. They could've been in danger," He said sternly, standing a few feet away from her. He was obviously keeping his distance. Shiharu swallowed around the lump that was forming in her throat and nodded, still not looking up from the polished floorboards.

"It really worried me when you weren't there when I got home." He continued. Shiharu nodded again stiffly, afraid of what might follow next.

Matsunaga sighed softly and knelt down in front of Shiharu.

"I'm so sorry you had to face that alone Shiharu-chan." He whispered. Shiharu's head snapped up at the informal way he had used to address her, but before she could comment she was pulled into a comforting hug.

"Thank goodness you're okay." Matsunaga whispered into her hair, gently stroking her brown locks.

"Are Aoi and Akane alright?" Shiharu asked, her face pressed to Matsunaga's chest. She felt a chuckle vibrate in his body at her question. It made her blood rush up to her cheeks, the feeling of being this close was nice...

"It's just like you to be worried about them now off all times," He laughed. "But they are fine yes. They were sound asleep when I got home, and Miyagawa-san is looking after them for now."

Shiharu leaned back a bit, breaking the hug reluctantly.

"We probably should get back then, right?" She asked, although she'd really like to stay like that just a little bit longer. Shiharu felt a little disappointed when Matsunaga got up, but ignored the feeling when he reached out to help her up. Shiharu took his hand and let herself be pulled up, trying to fight down the blush on her face. Matsunaga was just worried because of what happened right?

"Eh, how long have you been standing there Takeru?" Matsunaga asked suddenly. Shiharu turned around to look at the door, where Takeru was leaning against the frame, a playful smirk on his face.

"Ne, Sei-chan, are you done violating Shiharu-chan?" he asked.

"H-hey! I wasn't!" Matsunaga shouted. Shiharu tried to muffle her laughing with her hand, but couldn't stop the sound from bubbling up when she saw the two friends 'fight'. The two turned around to face her, while she laughed happily.

Matsunaga's hard expression softened when he looked at her.

"Let's go home," he said.

After thanking Kyo for her good care again, Matsunaga, Shiharu and Takeru walked back to the Matsunaga house. Shiharu snuggled up in her coat, and was chatting with Takeru cheerfully. Matsunaga was walking a few feet in front of them, silently listening to their chatter. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and send a message to Miyagawa-san to let her know that they were coming home.

"Nakamura-san, I'll drive you to the Sunflower house in a bit, alright?" Matsunaga asked when they arrived at his house. Shiharu said nothing, but just nodded in response. Talking to Matsunaga felt too awkward after what had happened at Kyo's house. It probably didn't mean much, but he had used her given name instead of her family name to address her. Although he was only trying to comfort her right? He probably didn't notice himself anyway, because he was using her family name again, she thought.

Shiharu stayed behind in the hallway while Matsunaga and Takeru went to say hello to Miyagawa-san. She felt embarrassed because of the amount of trouble she'd caused for everybody, and immediately apologized when the three walked back into the hallway.

"I'm very sorry for causing so much trouble." She said while bowing deeply.

"Oh my, so well mannered," Miyagawa smiled. "It wasn't a problem at all, Shiharu-chan, I'd gladly help again should it be necessary."

"I'm going to drive Shiharu back to the orphanage, but the twins can stay alone for that short time." Matsunaga suddenly announced. Miyagawa-san nodded and put on her shoes and coat, waiting for her son to do the same thing.

After waving off Takeru and Miyagawa-san, Matsunaga grabbed his car keys and opened the door for Shiharu. Looking down, she walked passed him to the passenger's seat of the car. The air around them was awkward, and it felt like you could cut through the tension with a knife. Matsunaga let out a suffering sigh. He glanced at the girl beside him a few times, but he still wasn't able to catch her gaze at all.

Matsunaga ignored the urge to stop the car and talk to her extensively.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her instead. Shiharu snapped out of her trance like state, her cheeks flushing red.

"No-nothing," she stuttered. Matsunaga could tell it wasn't true, but decided not to push her. The evening had been upsetting enough for her without him nagging.

"It's just that... You called me by my given name earlier," Shiharu said softly a few moments later. This time it was his' turn to flush, how could he have been that stupid? He obviously crossed a lot of boundaries tonight.

"Please forgive me, I never meant to be disrespectful towards you," he apologized. Shiharu bit her lip and nodded.

"It's okay, I... You can keep calling me Shiharu if you want to," she muttered, barely loud enough for him to hear it. Her cheeks seemed to turn even redder and she looked away to avoid his eyes again.

Matsunaga squeezed the steering wheel tightly, trying not to let the happiness show on his face.

"If that's the case, you should start calling me Seiji, Shiharu," he said.

A bright smile appeared on the teen's face, and Seiji couldn't stop the curving of his own lips. The rest of the ride was spent in silence again, but this time neither of them felt uncomfortable.

A/N: Finished! I'm quite content with this chapter, what do you think? Leave a comment or pm me. I know I promised I'd upload right after my exams, but because I posted another chapter during them, it took me a little bit longer to put this one up, sorry for that. Anyway, this story won't be very long, there are probably two, maybe three chapters left, but if you have Ideas to draw it out a bit longer, please let me know!

Love,

The Young Writer's Apprentice