Hi everybody! I'm here with another chapter! Yay! :D By the way, thank you, Midnight Strawberry, for the info on your OC. After all, the story must go on!

Chapter Begins

The interviews had long since ended and we would be called in a few days to see whether we had gotten the job we wanted or not. Meanwhile, Fuji and I were sitting in a small café, reminiscing about our lives so far while we enjoyed a nice cup of coffee; or rather, he had coffee while I stuck with hot cocoa, opting not to have any caffeine. I hadn't really heard of the place we were in, but apparently Fuji came here every so often for a nice cup of coffee or just to sit and relax while he waited for friends. It would definitely be a nice place for me to return to as well, now that Fuji had shown me the directions.

"I never knew you were interested in journalism," Fuji commented as we sat at a two person booth.

"You know, I never thought I'd be interested in it when one of my teachers in high school told me about it," I laughed, remembering the way the old woman had praised me as one of her best writers, "Honestly, back in high school I absolutely hated writing essays and reports."

"So your teacher made you change your feeling about writing then?" Fuji asked with a smile on his face.

I shook my head no, quickly remembering that Fuji always had a smile on, especially when he wanted to figure something out. "Actually, I guess I went into journalism because I really like telling stories. I figured journalism would be a way for me to tell people the stories that are happening around them in town."

He nodded, taking a sip of the steaming coffee he was holding in his hand. I took a small sip of my own drink, staring out the window at the heavy clouds looming above as the sweet taste of chocolate tantalized my taste buds. A small smile made its way to my features as I set my cup down. The hot cocoa was good, but it wasn't the best cup I ever had.

"What brought you to the small newspaper company?" I asked. That small question had been at the peak of my mind ever since I saw Fuji in the small waiting area; he never really looked like the journalist type back in school.

"Saa, my photography instructor recommended it." I mentally laughed; of course it would be for photography. "He said they were looking for people to photograph pictures for the articles in the paper."

"I should've known it would be for photography," I smiled, letting out a small, short laugh, "I remember back in Seigaku you would almost always have a camera with you, taking photos of every interesting thing you saw. You know, I never really thought the things you took pictures of were interesting, but hey, whatever floats your boat right?"

Fuji laughed along with me as a small wave of silence consumed us. Thinking about Seigaku for the first time in a really long time brought back many memories. My smile widened a bit as I thought about the good times I had during my stay in that small suburban home; all the people I met and all the things I did. The names of all the people I had befriended ran through my head, along with memories about them.

I remembered when I met Tsumi-chan and how she had gotten lost from her group at the carnival. The memory of us being chased by a pervert and having Kaidoh save us still stuck to my mind. It would be a moment I would never forget.

Thoughts of the first person I met, Momo, and how I had bumped into him in the hallway flashed through my head next. It was his fault that I met the tennis team, but I wouldn't have had it any other way.

As one last name flowed through my mind, a small frown settled itself onto my face. I remembered the good and bad memories I had with him; our first meeting, ditching practice for the carnival, our struggle for friendship, walking through the park, and our last day together. It had been a while since I had talked to Eiji and I wondered what he was up to. I was about to ask Fuji, but was interrupted as he beat me to it.

"Saa, how have you and Eiji been doing?"

I frowned, wondering why he was asking me that. Maybe he had lost contact with Eiji as well?

"Actually, I was just about to ask you about Eiji," I said, watching as Fuji frowned slightly in confusion. He set his coffee cup down on the floor, prompting me to continue, "You see, I kind of lost contact with him shortly after our second year of high school. I don't know what happened—maybe he moved, maybe he just couldn't find the time—but our emails and phone calls just got farther and farther apart. Before I knew it, they stopped."

Fuji looked at me disappointedly as he sighed. "How unfortunate," he said, putting his cup to his lips as he took another sip before continuing, "I also haven't talked to him in a while, but not as long as you two have been out of contact. I wonder what happened."

I shrugged, letting a pregnant moment of silence consume us once more. Finishing off the last drop of my hot cocoa, I tried not to scald my tongue. Searching through the small purse at my side, I placed some money on the table and stood silently from my seat in the small booth. Saying that I had to be on my way, I watched as Fuji also finished off the last of his beverage, placing his payment on the table as we both left the small café.

"Do you need a ride, Fuji?" I asked once we had made it to my car. "I'm driving over to a local shopping center to meet one of my friends. It wouldn't be too much trouble if I made a little side stop, though."

"It's fine," Fuji replied, holding his head up in protest, "My apartment isn't too far from here. It wouldn't be any trouble at all for me to walk."

I frowned, shivering slightly as a cold breeze blew by us. "What kind of friend would I be if I let you walk home on a cold winter day like this?"

Fuji laughed, pulling his scarf a little closer as he stuffed his free hand into the pocket in his jacket. It made me wonder if he had lost that sadistic side to him throughout the years, but knowing Fuji, he was only hiding it away to torture someone on another day.

"I'll be fine," he said. I shrugged once more, opening my car door as I climbed into the warmth of my vehicle. As I turned the car on, I saw Fuji still standing next to the car, his smile never fading. "There's going to be a little reunion of team members on Monday. I believe Oishi is hosting it; you remember him. It would be nice of you to join us considering you were on the team at a point."

I grinned, nodding my head, "Of course I remember the mother hen of the team. And, sure, it sounds like a lot of fun. I'll see if I have time that day."

Taking out a small piece of paper and a pen, Fuji and I quickly exchanged phone numbers. We waved our goodbyes as he walked home and I started the engine to my car. I hoped I would be able to see all of my old friends again at this party, but most of all, I hoped I got to see Eiji again.

??? POV

Glancing at the time on my cell phone once more, I sighed slightly in aggravation. It had been at least fifteen minutes and I was still waiting for Tsuki to show up at our usual table in the food court. My stomach grumbled slightly and I searched through my bag, only to see that I had eaten the majority of my snack supply. I sighed, not really wanting to spend my money on the food they had in the food court.

"I'm really sorry I'm late."

I turned in the chair I was sitting at, watching as Tsuki walked over to me, a sheepish smile on her face. I found my own smile making it way onto my features, but quickly put on a fake pout.

"You should be sorry," I said as she pulled out a chair for her to sit down in, "You left me waiting for nearly fifteen minutes! And look at this!" I quickly opened my bag, showing her the contents inside. "I ran out of Pocky and Hello Pandas! You could've left me here to starve for all we know."

Tsuki sighed, smiling lightly at me. "Like I said, I'm really sorry. I bumped into an old friend and he treated me to some hot cocoa at a local café. I don't see how you could've starved though. You have plenty of money to buy something to eat."

"This is my shopping money, Tsuki," I said, completely ignoring the fact that she had gone somewhere to have hot cocoa without me, "I need it to buy clothes and Pocky and other important things!"

She sighed once more, pulling out some money from her wallet, "Fine, since I was the one who was late, I'll treat you to some lunch. What do you want to eat?"

I looked around the food court, seeing that they sold things from tacos to hotdogs, burgers to fries, sushi to barbecue, and much more. Nothing in particular really looked appealing to me though, so I settled with the one fall back option I always went with.

"I want something chocolaty," I said, twirling a lock of my dark brown hair around my finger.

"Miki, chocolate isn't something you eat for lunch. It's a dessert," Tsuki laughed, telling me to choose again or else she would pick something for me.

"Fine, fine, I'll have a burger," I said, watching as Tsuki stood from her seat to go buy our food. "And a chocolate shake!"

Tsuki laughed, agreeing to my last minute request. Watching for only a moment as she got into line to order, a small yelping noise caught my attention and I quickly looked in its direction. Across from the food court I could see a large neon sign reading 'PET SHOP'. Smiling to myself, I stood from my seat, figuring that Tsuki wouldn't miss me too much if I went to take a little peek at the animals inside. I quickly walked over to the store, entering its doors as a small bell attached at the top signaled that someone had arrived. From behind the counter, I could see a young man walk out, his smile bright as he looked at me.

"Welcome to Second Chance Pet's Shop, can I help you find a pet today?"

I smiled at the red head, shaking my head no, "No thank you. I'm just here to look around."

Walking over to where the kittens were happily playing around with each other, I stared in awe as they pounced on everything in sight. I placed a palm up to the glass, giggling as one of the kittens—a gray one with brown patches—pawed at my hand in an attempt to get through the glass. Another kitten came up to the glass—this one a dull orange—and started to paw at something as well. Looking to my left, I saw that it was the same guy who had greeted me at the doorway holding his palm up to the glass as well. I smiled, watching as his blue eyes danced as he stared at the kittens.

"So cute, nya," he murmured.

I nodded, taking my hand off the glass. Walking towards the entrance of the pet shop, I called out a goodbye to the stranger still standing near the kittens. He said his own goodbye, saying things I'm sure his boss had told him to say as I left. Walking back to the table I was at previously, I saw Tsuki sitting down with our food ready for us to eat.

"Where were you?" she asked, placing a fry into her mouth.

"I was looking at these really cute kittens over at that pet shop over there," I said, pointing at the shop across from us, "They were so adorable! I pressed my hand up to the glass at one of them started pawing at my hand—or at least tried to—and then I guess one of the workers came up and started doing that also."

Tsuki sighed, but nonetheless had a smile on her face, "Miki, we're in college now. When are you going to start acting your age?"

"When it starts being fun."

And with that, I sat down across from her, taking my share of the food as I proceeded to have my lunch.

Chapter Ends

"Pregnant moment". I don't know why, but I've always wanted to use that phrase.
And, oh? What's this? Who could be that mysterious red head Miki met in the pet shop? Hurrhurr, I hope you all have good guesses! By the way, Miki isn't mine.
Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter! See you in the next chapter of Rematch in the Game of Love.