…in which Makoto moves in with Sora.

Sora walked downstairs at two in the afternoon after listening to someone pound loudly on his door for about seventeen minutes. He groaned in annoyance and opened the door, revealing a crying and bleeding Makoto, leaning heavily on his doorpost and lugging a large duffel bag on her shoulder.

"Why are you here?" Sora asked.

"Please let me in," Makoto muttered. "Sora, please. I really need you."

"Why?" Sora questioned her.

"My dad kicked me out of the house. I have nowhere to go."

"Great, now you can be a homeless woman and die early."

"This isn't funny, Sora!" Makoto snapped, her voice sounding choked and scared. "Listen! I almost died on the way over here! Do you see my left limbs?!"

Sora examined her. The whole left side of her body was practically torn to shreds. Her skin was peeling off, and there was blood billowing down her arm and leg.

No wonder she's leaning so heavily on my wall, Sora reasoned in his mind. "What happened to you?"

"I was riding my bike over here and some psycho almost ran me over. I jumped off the bike and I managed to get away, but I was skidding on the street and it tore open my skin. I limped the whole rest of the way here, I've lost a lot of blood, my bike is wrecked, and I have a headache. And I can't go home, because my father hates me."

Sora nodded slowly. She really is hurt, huh… "…Alright. Fine. You can stay until you find somewhere else, but only if you swear to me—and I mean swear!—that you won't make any weird advances or anything. You will sleep on the couch, you will not bathe when I am showering or going to the bathroom, you will not breathe in the same room as me, and you will not sleep, eat, or exercise around me. And one more thing, I live alone now, so I won't have anyone else here to fend you off. That means you will receive my full wrath if you do something stupid," he concluded.

Makoto's teary face broke into a large grin. "Really? Oh, Sora, thank you so much! Would you mind letting me use your sink to rinse off my limbs?"

"Go ahead. And…I'll bind your limbs, but that's it."

"Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me," Makoto trilled. "I promise you, there will be no advances. I just need a place to stay."

"Once you get back on your feet, I want you out. OK?" Sora told her.

"Yeah, thanks. I…" Makoto stopped and grunted slightly. "…am really hurt."

Sora nodded and stepped back. Makoto slowly set off inside and started towards Sora's stairs, but failed to get past the first step. Feeling surprisingly sympathetic and rather out-of-character, Sora helped her up and led her into his bathroom. He then left her there and let her treat her injuries until he was needed to wrap the wounds.

"Does Yukiho visit sometimes?" Makoto wondered aloud as Sora finished wrapping Makoto's leg.

"Yeah," Sora answered. "She drops by sometimes. By the way, why didn't you go to stay with Yukiho?"

"I feel…out of place there. Like I'm not welcome."

"Huh. Well, you're not really welcome here, either. Just recover and then you have to leave."

"Thanks." Makoto paused for a moment. "…hey, Sora?"

"What?"

"Do you hate me?"

Sora blinked. "What?"

"Do you hate me?" Makoto repeated. "I mean, I know you don't like me. But do you really, really hate me? You do a lot for me. You were the one to talk me out of my depression, you're letting me live with you…"

Sora shrugged. "…honestly, I feel sorry for you," he admitted. "I wouldn't say I like you, I just pity you. You have a rough life, huh? And…and I don't exactly hate you. Yet. I don't hate you yet."

"I always thought you hated me."

"My feelings towards you are ninety-nine-point-nine-percent despising you and point-one-percent caring."

"So, you do hate me."

"Not entirely. Point-one-percent of me cares about your safety. It's definitely not much at all, but it's there."

Makoto giggled. "Thanks. For me it's the opposite; ninety-nine-point-nine-percent of me thinks you're a really great guy, and that you and Yukiho are the greatest couple ever, and that I'm more grateful to you than I have ever been to another human being in my life, and the other point-one-percent thinks you're a total sarcastic jerk who I want all to myself."

Sora hit her on the arm. "More than point-one-percent of you wants me. Otherwise you would be less of an idiot, and maybe I wouldn't have reasons to hate you at all," he pointed out.

Makoto yelped. "That was my injured arm!" she whined.

"Cry about it."

"Jerk!"

"Thanks for the tip."

Makoto huffed loudly. "Well anyways, I guess it's more like eighty-percent of me loves you with Yukiho, and twenty-percent loves you period. But…I can't help it, you know?" she sighed. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled grimly. "You're really kind at heart, and you're funny, and attractive…and when I see you with Yukiho, as happy as I am for you two, I can't help but wish I had a guy like you."

Sora smiled slightly. "Well, if a guy is that good there's no way he could ever love you."

"H-hey…!"

"But I guess I'm grateful…" Sora trailed off. "Are you…crying?"

Makoto sniffled. "Geez…I get enough of that from my dad, I don't need you calling me stupid and worthless too…"

"No way, don't you dare get depressed on me," Sora ordered. "You're obnoxious and clingy when you're depressed. I mean, what about Kenchi? He likes you! Is obsessed with you, even. And he's a good kid, really. So obviously you can't be all that bad."

"You really think so?" Makoto grinned. "Thanks. So Sora, what do you think of Yukiho?"

"Huh?" Sora blinked. "Well…what do you think of her?"

"I think she's my best friend. She's the sweetest and cutest girl in the world, and…I would give anything to make her happy. Sora, that girl is worth more to me than my own life. I love her more than anyone else in the world, so you had better take really good care of her," Makoto said seriously.

Sora smiled. "Well, I'm obsessed with her, so…WAIT, I DIDN'T SAY ANYTHING!" he shouted.

Makoto shot him a glare. Sora quickly finished binding her leg and stood.

"I mean, I love her. She means everything to me, and…she's so beautiful, Makoto. She's just so beautiful, inside and out, and I just…I want to be around her. She has this amazing ability to make me smile no matter what. And I fall more in love with her every second we spend together. You understand, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Makoto agreed, slowly standing to her feet. She leaned heavily on her right foot and let her left arm hung limply by her side. "I'm so happy for you guys. I think you'll be really good for each other."

"Yeah." Sora nodded. "Thanks. This was actually a pretty decent conversation. You're pretty tolerable when you're not being your usual total idiot and freak of a self."

"I agree…I am not an idiot! Or a freak!"

Sora laughed at her. "You're so stupid!"

"I'm not stupid, I'm just a little slow…! My brain is so stuffed full of all the rules I have to follow in life that I can't process insults as fast as the average person! Instead, I spend my life struggling like heck to perform beyond the capabilities of the average person just so I can please my dad, and none of it is ever enough anyways!"

Sora sighed. "You're getting depressed again," he pointed out.

Makoto frowned. "I can't help it. Sora, my father sounded relieved that I was leaving the house. He hates me. My own father hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you," Sora insisted gently. "Trust me. All fathers just want the best for their kids. He was just trying to make you independent."

"That's the thing!" Makoto snapped. "I'm not independent! I'm still just a kid! I don't want to leave the house!"

Sora smiled sympathetically. "I can tell. You're really immature for your age."

"Sora, has anyone ever told you that you suck at helping people?"

"Sorry, I can't help it. You're just so easy to tease. And I don't like you."

"You suck."

"Right back at you."

Makoto huffed and limped out of the bathroom towards the stairs. Sora went to her side and gave her a quick tour of the house, including an in-depth lecture about the places she was definitely not allowed to go anywhere near (like his room, for instance). He then led her downstairs and set up the couch to work as a bed until she was able to get out on her own.

The two of them chatted from a distance until the sun went down. Makoto quickly settled into a deep sleep o the couch, and Sora check over everything one last time before heading up to bed himself.

While the beginning of their stay together passed well, neither boy nor girl knew the hardships and humor they'd soon get themselves into.