The next day I could hardly wait for the lunch break. How I was looking forward to see Hatori again! I knew I had this goofy love-smile on my face, as I saw him entering the bookstore. My heart skipped a beat at his sight. That a single person can have such an effect on you! "Hey you", he said affectionately. "Hey!", I aswered, as he took my hand (making my colleagues stare at us wide-eyed). "Are you ready?", he asked. I didn't hesitate. "Yes."

What followed was pure bliss. During the next week, Hatori and I met every day. For lunch, for dinner, sometimes even for both. On the weekend we took a romantic stroll through the city. Hatori even took me to the Tokyo Sea Life Park, where I could admire the little seahorses.

"They are just so cute!", I said, as I watched them through the glass of the tank. "You think so?", Hatori asked. Unlike me, he didn't seem to be too fond of the seahorses. He soon suggested to leave. We ended up in a nice little teahouse and I quickly forgot about the seahorses, as I was sitting next to Hatori.

To make it short: I was as happy, as a girl could be, head over heels in love with the wonderful and perfect Hatori Soma.

And yet, I couldn't help the feeling, that something wasn't right. It was Hatori: I knew that he liked me, otherwise he wouldn't have spend so much time with me, but still … He seemed so distant. He never, never told me anything about himself (except the bit I got to know on our first date). He never mentioned his family (except Shigure and Ayame, again, on our first date).

Another thing I found strange was, that Hatori didn't kiss me. The only time we had kissed, was when he had walked me home, after our first date. Sometimes, we held hands, but that was about as close as I could get to him. It was, as if Hatori would be afraid of letting me come near him. I didn't know what to make of all this.

And I was starting to get confused. Maybe I was wrong and Hatori just saw me as a good friend? Or why was he so scared of opening himself up to me?

"Oh, I know what his problem his!", Mitsuru said, as I finally had decided to tell her about Hatori and me. "He had a highschool sweetheart", she told me, her face all serious. "They were madly in love, but when they graduated, she dumped him for another guy and broke poor Hatori's heart. And she hurt him so much, that since than, he never had been able to trust another love." I raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Isn't this a bit too dramatic?", I said. Mutsuru looked at me, insulted by comment. "What do you want to hear?", she asked. "That he's under an evil curse and cannot dare to fall in love with someone, because he would turn into a werewolf?" I laughed at this. "And I thought I was the one with much imagination!" I had no idea …

In the end, I decided to just drop the matter. Maybe I was exaggerating. Hatori sure had his reasons for being so mysterious about himself. And it was really none of my concern anyhow (at least not at this point in our relationship, or if you could call it that). We had just begun dating anyway. And, as long as he was with me, I was happy!

So, a week passed. Finally, it was Saturday and Hatori and I were walking through the park, where we had first met. Of course, not touching each other in any way.

"And it's snowing!", I laughed. "You see, snow is special: Everytime we are together, it snows!" "That's because it is winter", Hatori corrected me. He shook his head, watching me, dancing under the snow flaked. "You truly are snow obsessed, aren't you?", he said. "I can't help it, I'm a winter child", I answered. "My birthday is in December." "That explains a lot", Hatori replied, sounding sarcastic.

"Okay, that's it!" I took his hand, forcing him, to follow me. "Stop thinking and enjoy", I told him. "I'll show you, it's more fun than you might think."

I took Hatori's hands. "No way!", was the reply I got. But in the end, he had no choice, as I let myself fall back and he had to dance slightly, to keep me from falling. "What if somebody sees us?", he asked, as I giggled devilishly. "You're still thinking!", I answered.

We danced. It was just us two, in the park, surrounded by the snowflakes. It was magical. I felt as one of those beautiful dancers, you can see in the snow domes. I swear, I could hear music from somewhere (yeah, I know, now it's getting corny …).

And Hatori felt the same. He was smiling now. "See?", I said softly. "It is fun." His blue eyes searched mine. "You truly are the strangest and loveliest creature, I've ever met, Kari", he said. I giggled, blushing. "I take that as a compliment."

Now, deciding that we had enough (and as it was getting dark and cold), I let go of Hatori to walk again beside him. When it happened …

I slipped. I wanted to go to Hatori, as my feet lost contact to the icy ground and I slipped. I fell. "Watch out!", I could hear Hatori yell, as he rushed to me, to catch me. I felt his hands, touching my back …

And then, there was nothing. I thought I heard a small "puff", as I stopped in mid-air. "What …?", I asked, confused. "Hatori?" He didn't seem to stand behind me anymore. "Are you here?" I turned round. Nothing. "Where is he gone?", I thought, irritated. Hatori couldn't possibly have run away. Not so fast at least.

"This is strange …", I thought. When I looked down. And saw it.

Lying on the ground were Hatori's clothes. And, inside his black coat, I saw a little, golden-brown coloured seahorse, looking at me. I stopped dead. "H … Hatori?", I stuttered, as I didn't know what else to do. "Tori-san?"

The seahorse moved it's mouth. It was trying to talk to me.

"Oh my god!" Now completely freaking out, I began to bob frantically. "H … Hatori!", I squealed. "What, what should I do? Do you need water?" Panicking, I ran my hand through my hair, as Hatori, the seahorse desperately moved inside his coat. "Which water? Saltwater, freshwater, warm, cold …?" I stopped, Hatori flapped his little wings. "Hatori, talk to me!"

Finally, I mananged to calm down and did the only thing I could think of: I gently put Hatori up into my arms, grabbed his clothes and ran as fast as I could to my apartment, which was luckily not very far away. I was glad that I didn't meet anybody on my way. Otherwise, I would have had a really hard time to explain, why I had a seahorse in my arm …

Having reached my apartment, I put Hatori into my bathtub, filled with warm water, as I didn't want him to dehydrate. I watched him swimming, trying to realise what had just happened.

My boyfriend has turned into a seahorse …

"Is, is everything alright?", I asked Hatori, now being my normal self again. "Is there anything I can do for you?" The little seahorse just looked at me sadly.

"What should I do now?", I wanted to know, as I was waiting, sitting beside the bathtub and watching Hatori. Should I wait here, until he turned back? A scary thought entered my mind. He would turn back eventually, right?

I don't know how much time had passed. I was thinking of how I should explain this to Hatori's family, if he was going to stay like this, as suddenly, I heard a "puff". "Hatori?" I turned to the bathtub. And saw him. Oh yes, Hatori certainly was human again. And he was naked.

I yelped and turned to face the wall, beet red in my face, still having the picture of his naked chest in my mind (I didn't let my eyes wander further down …).

"Here", I said, handing him a huge towel. "Thank you", I could hear Hatori's voice. I stood up, still trying not to look at him. "Your clothes are on the chair next to the wash basin", I told him. "I will make us tea." "Okay."

I went into the kitchen, collecting my thoughts. Seeing you boyfriend turn into a seahorse and back again, naked, really wasn't something you see everyday ...