Hello my fellow writers and readers! Here we are again for another wonderfully suspenseful chapter of Rematch in the Game of Love!

Chapter Begins

"I wonder where we can find all these places."

"I'm sure it won't be that hard; it's only a few small businesses after all."

Fuji and I had just left Takada's office and were now currently in my car, on our way to the local shopping center. Our assignment was to interview a few new businesses that had just opened up, all of them wanting their own tiny little ads in the paper to promote their business. Fuji, of course, was only there to take a simple picture of each place.

"What the name of the first one we need to go to," I asked, glancing sideways at Fuji before placing my eyes back onto the rode as the car before me came to a slow stop.

"Second Chance Pet's Shop," Fuji replied as he unfolded the paper in his hand to take a look at the list of stores.

I raised a brow, the name of the shop seeming vaguely familiar somewhere in the back of my memory. Hadn't I seen it at the mall the last time I went there with Miki? I'm pretty sure it had been the same shop she came out of when I came back with her lunch.

"I know that place," I said after a while, slowly pulling into the shopping center's main parking lot, "Let's go there first."

Fuji nodded and I quickly found a spot to park, excited for my first job ever. I stretched my tired arms as we stepped out of my small car, quickly turning back towards the dashboard. I reached in to grab my notepad and pen; it'd be horrible for me to forget them on the first try. I looked over to Fuji, watching as he grabbed his camera and placed the strap around his neck so it wouldn't fall and break. I gave him an onceover and started to giggle, causing him to look at me with a questioning stare.

"You look like a tourist," I said as I closed the door to my car, locking it with the key.

He chuckled as well. "Well, how do you think a normal photographer would dress?"

I thought about it for a moment as we walked into the mall side by side. How would a photographer dress? Looking back at him, I gave him another onceover as my mind started to wander back to those really old, cheesy movies my dad always loved to watch. I remembered how the journalists and photographers—always men—would dress in pinstripe suits and silly hats with a piece of paper sticking out of them.

"You should get a fedora."

We both laughed as we continued to walk passed many shops, me leading the way as we walked towards the food court. Once there, I looked around, my hand shading my eyes as I searched the slightly familiar store. Where had it been again?

"There it is," Fuji said, pointing it out. My eyes slowly looked to where he was pointing, finally noticing the sign that said in bright coloring 'PET SHOP'.

We swiftly made our way through the food court and I reached out to open the door to the pet shop, hearing the stereotypical jingle of a bell sending a signal to whoever was working there. I heard somebody in the back room call out, saying he would be right there to help us. Leaning against the counter, I took in my surroundings, watching every detail of the store. I decided to jot down a few notes about the atmosphere in here, hoping it would help me when I actually had to right the small article for the shop. It actually felt relaxing to be in the pet shop, seeing as how all the animals weren't making loud noises like they were distressed. In fact, they seemed to comfortable and at home in their cages, almost as if they weren't in cages at all. I smiled and glanced over to where the kittens were. Miki was right, they really were cute.

"Hey there, how can I help you today?"

I turned to see a young man with brown hair and eyes. His eyes traveled to Fuji's and then to mine, seeming to linger there for a moment as he smiled in my direction.

"We see couples coming in here all the time to get a pet. What would you like? Cat? Dog? Bird?"

I blushed a light pink, waving my hand around in protest, "Oh, no, we're not a couple. You see, we're reporters," I gestured to my notepad and Fuji's camera, "And I wanted to know if the manager was here so I could interview him."

The guy seemed to gain a newer, happy look to his eyes as he looked me up and down. I could only imagine what was going through his mind as he happily nodded and went back through the back door. I sighed and turned back to Fuji, watching as he gave me a knowing glance. Apparently he knew what was going through the guy's head as well.

"I'm going to be heading out for my break now."

"Yeah, have fun on your date man. By the end of the day, I bet I'm going to have one too."

I furrowed my brows together at the two voices in the back room; one of them had sounded familiar. Well, both of them had sounded familiar, but it was the first one that really had me confused. It sounded like someone I knew, someone I hadn't seen in a while. I decided to keep my eyes one the backroom door, watching for the person who would step through it.

"I don't know what you're talking about, but have fun."

And that's when I knew exactly who it was.

"Eiji?"

I stared wide-eyed as the redhead walked out the backroom door, his steps faltering when he spotted who was standing near the counter. At first, he had not noticed me and his eyes were on Fuji, then gradually his eyes lowered to look into mines. His own dark blue eyes widened as he looked at me, his mouth falling open slightly. I smiled as I looked over his appearance, noticing the familiar curly red locks, his shining blue eyes, his tall and broad build now fit for a young man. I noticed that the bandage he would always have on his cheek was no longer present; he must've outgrown that phase of his life.

"Uwah, Tsuki-chan, is that really you?"

His bright smile that I remembered returned to his face as he walked over to me, giving me a tight hug. I wrapped my arms around him in return, laughing at his response to seeing me. It was like we had only seen each other last week. Unraveling me from his hug, he held me at arms length, staring at me with bright eyes and his famous pearly white smile.

"I haven't heard from you in forever, nya; not since high school at least. What are you doing here?" He glanced up at Fuji, "And with Fuji?"

I laughed, "Fuji and I are here on our first job. I'm going to be interviewing the manager for a small ad in the paper."

Eiji nodded, giving a small sigh of some sort. "We should hang out. Maybe after you get the interview done?"

I shook my head, "We have a few more places to hit before our job is done," I said, giving a small nod in Fuji's direction, "Besides, I heard that you have a date you need to attend to."

As if on cue, the door to the pet shop let off its signature jingle as someone stepped through. I turned around, shifting out of Eiji's grasp to see who had come through the door out of pure curiosity. I watched a blonde girl walked in, her bright smile slightly fading as she looked at the people before her. She seemed to be around my age, but I couldn't tell for certain. I glanced back at Eiji, watching as his eyes looked over to her, his jaw going a little slack. Was this person a regular costumer?

"Hey, Eiji," she said, her voice sweet as she skipped over to where we were standing, "I was wondering what was taking you so long, so I came to check up on you. Who's this?"

"This is Tsuki-chan," he said slowly, his eyes never leaving her, "She's my… uh…"

"I'm his friend," I interrupted, smiling at the girl before us. Now that she was closer I could tell that she was slightly taller than me.

"Oh," she said simply, giving me a glance before smiling a bit smugly, "My name is Yuko. I'm Eiji's girlfriend."

From my peripheral vision I could tell that even Eiji was surprised at that statement. I, however, decided not to show my surprise. Instead, I put on a smiling façade that could maybe even rival Fuji's. She was obviously not expecting me to smile for her own smile faltered a bit as I spoke to her.

"That's sweet. How long have you two been together?"

"A few days," she said, and I nodded. She was still looking at me even when Eiji coughed at the awkward silence that had seemed to consume the area. "How about we go catch a movie, Eiji? I'll wait for you outside."

With that said, she leaned in closer to him, planting her lips upon his. His eyes widened in surprise like it had been his first kiss that she had just stolen, but slowly, he relaxed, eyes glazing over with a mix of emotions. I looked away, slightly disgusted with the public display of affection. It's not that I hate couples who suck face in public—I had done it once in a while in my lifetime after all—but something about it being one of my best friends, and used to be boyfriend, made my stomach churn like I wanted to puke. I glanced over to Fuji, seeing that he seemed to be just as uncomfortable as I was in the situation. Finally, after what seemed to be a decade and a half, Yuko got off of Eiji and walked out the door, not before giving him a flirtatious wink.

"Did someone ask to see me?"

I looked over to the backroom door, giving a barely audible sigh of relief as I saw the manager walk through the door. "Yes, you see we're from the small newspaper company the owner contacted. I wanted to get a few words from you to put into the article."

"Oh, right," he said, running one of his hands through his graying hair, "He mentioned something about that. Would you like to talk here, or in the back?"

"Here is fine," I replied, getting out my pad and pen. I glanced back at Eiji, seeing that he had now come out of his daze and was looking at me, "Hey, I think your girlfriend is waiting for you. Don't worry; we can catch up another time."

"A-ah, right, see you then…" With that said, he turned and ran out the shop's door.

I looked after him, frowning as the jingling of the bell echoed in my ears. Suddenly I didn't feel as enthusiastic for my first interview as I had been earlier.

Chapter Ends

What's this? Tsuki and Eiji have finally met face to face, but… Why isn't it the happy meeting we were all hoping for? And what was that sickening feeling in the pit of Tsuki's stomach when she saw Eiji and Yuko kissing? Do people even read this thing? All this and more in the next chapter! See you all next time!