Sometimes things just have a funny way of working out.

"Back again, I see."

"Um…yeah," Kikumaru replied as he stood there awkwardly in front of the counter. He could almost feel his heart beating faster than ever.

"You're not here for coffee, are you?" Nanako asked playfully.

"No, I'm not," he answered, "but…uh…I am here for something else."

Nanako slightly tilted her head to the side, innocently looking at Kikumaru with curiosity.

"And what would that be, Kikumaru-kun?"

Letting out a nervous giggle, Kikumaru tugged at the collar of his shirt frantically, as if the fabric was strangling him.

"Well…you see…I-I wanted to ask you something, and…uh…"

"If you're going to ask her something, you might want to do it soon, Kikumaru-senpai. Some of us are waiting to order back here."

Upon hearing this voice, Nanako and Kikumaru whipped around to face the figure standing nonchalantly in the background.

"Ryoma-kun, I didn't see you there."

"Eh?" Kikumaru exclaimed as he glanced back and forth between Nanako and Echizen. "How do you two know each other?"

"What are you talking about, Kikumaru-senpai?" Echizen asked, a crude smile gracing his lips. "Everyone knows that Nanako's my cousin."

"Cousin?!"

A gentle nod from Nanako confirmed this fact. Anxiousness quickly fading, Kikumaru instantly turned on Echizen, hands irately placed on his hips.

"Ochibi!"

Kikumaru chased Echizen out of the coffee shop.

Wandering the fields of the nearby park in Tokyo, Kikumaru fumbled his pockets for his cell phone and checked it yet again for any sign of Echizen.

"Damn that ochibi. Where is he?"

After glaring impatiently at the phone for a few more minutes, Kikumaru decided that he had finally had enough and punched in Echizen's number himself.

"Hello?"

"Ochibi, where are you?" Kikumaru yelled. "It's already four-seventeen. You told me to meet you at the park at four."

"I didn't tell you anything, Kikumaru-senpai," Echizen responded slowly. "Are you sure it was me?"

"What? Of course I'm sure it was you. I have the Caller ID to prove it."

Over on the other line, there was a short pause.

"I still have no clue what you're talking about. I'm hanging up now."

"No, don't hang up! Get back here, ochi-"

The next thing Kikumaru heard was dial tone.

"Ugh, ochibi. Why I oughta…"

"Um…Kikumaru-kun?"

Kikumaru stopped yelling at his cell phone for a moment to look up from its screen.

"Nanako-san, what are you doing here?"

"Well, Ryoma-kun called me at work and told him to meet me at the park. I was wondering if you've seen him. I can't find him anywhere."

Kikumaru seemed to contemplate this for a moment.

"No, I haven't."

"Oh," Nanako muttered with a sigh, "something must have come up. He's probably not coming."

"That's great! I-I mean, that's...too bad."

Feeling himself heating up, Kikumaru wished he could escape the awkward silence that followed.

"Hey Kikumaru-kun..."

"Yeah?"

"You want to go get some ice cream or something?" Nanako asked, brushing some hair out of her face to reveal gentle eyes.

"What?" Kikumaru stuttered, distracted by this virtuous image. "You mean like…on a date?"

"Yeah," Nanako said, narrowing her eyes slyly, a quality infamous among Echizens, "that was what you wanted to ask me, wasn't it?"

"Um…"

Seeing Kikumaru's shy expression, Nanako emitted another innocent giggle.

"Come on," she said, grabbing Kikumaru's hand. "Let's go."

With this, Kikumaru was calmly whisked away, and, hand-in-hand, the two of them walked out of the park, both wearing contented smiles. Over on the nearby park bench, Echizen, who had been hiding behind an open tennis magazine, twisted his lips into an amused smirk.

"Mada mada dane."

Yes, I still exist. Geez, it's been like two or three months since my last chapter, but I promise you I haven't forgotten about this story. I've just been so busy with sleepaway camp, then Homecoming, and the PSATs and school and whatnot. The first two months of school are always the slowest and the worst. It isn't until school hits October that it gets a little easier. But anyway, things are starting to settle down now, and I hope to be updating more quickly again. We'll just call the past couple of months an unannounced hiatus.

This chapter, though, is a little bit rushed since I was just so anxious to start publishing again. I might fix it later. I might not because I'm too lazy, but either way, please excuse the crappiness. Next chapter will hopefully be a lot better, and guess what? There's finally some more Niou/Sakuno. YAY!!! Oh yeah, please review! ^^